Rowan County, NC Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Sec. 21-244 applies to junked motor vehicles kept on private property not associated with a business in the RA, RR and RS districts. General requirements bar storage within thirty feet of any adjoining property line or side street right-of-way and within eighty feet of a public or private road centerline, or fifty feet from the right-of-way edge existing on February 16, 1998, whichever is greater; forbid parts visible from adjoining properties; require the vehicles be entirely concealed during all seasons of the year from public view by a secured cover or tarpaulin if not otherwise screened; and prohibit placement in the front yard.

No more than five junked vehicles are allowed outside an enclosed building. An exception in subsection (2) lets the RA district keep five additional classic motor vehicles meeting the junked-vehicle definition, still subject to the other location rules, while a separate exception lets any household repair one personal vehicle without meeting the location and screening rules. Nonconforming automobile repair facilities face a parallel but distinct standard under Sec. 21-245: up to ten junked vehicles behind six-foot opaque screening, fifteen feet off side and rear lines. Sec. S. Chapter 20, Article 7A.