Lee County, NC Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Section 4.13.1 establishes the Airport Overlay District to prevent obstructions or land uses that endanger air navigation around the Sanford-Lee County Regional Airport, protecting airport users, nearby property owners, and the public investment in the airport. The district's boundary follows the 1993 Sanford/Lee County Airport Noise Contour and Land Use Plan map, and Table 4.13-1 rates every land use category as compatible (Y), not compatible (N), or generally compatible with a noise reduction requirement, across yearly day-night average sound level bands. The notes to that table spell out the compatibility code: uses needing 25 decibels of reduction are generally compatible in the moderate band, and uses needing 30 decibels of reduction are generally compatible in the next louder band, while anything marked N is barred outright regardless of underlying zoning.

Section 4.13.4 does not set an independent height cap for the overlay; it instead ties structure height to whatever the underlying zoning district allows. Any new structure, tree planting, or land use change inside the district needs a zoning clearance permit under section 4.13.6, and the Sanford-Lee County Regional Airport Authority reviews applications for airport hazard concerns before the county issues that permit. A property owner seeking a variance from the overlay's restrictions must first get a determination from the Federal Aviation Administration on the proposal's effect on air navigation before the board of adjustment will act.