Lee County, NC Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)

UDO § 8.6 requires nonresidential buildings and structures to provide adequate off-street loading, unloading and maneuvering space for shipping and delivery vehicles on the same lot as the building, rather than relying on the street or an adjoining parcel. The off-street maneuvering space has to be designed so that no vehicle backs onto or off of a public street to use the loading area, a standard aimed at keeping delivery trucks out of through traffic. Loading spaces also have to be screened from adjacent residentially zoned or developed property, using the landscaping and buffering standards in Article 7, so a loading dock cannot sit exposed to a neighboring house.

Section 8.6.2 sets the sizing rule: loading and unloading spaces have to be large enough that any vehicle reasonably expected to use them will not protrude into a required parking space or into the street right-of-way. Because the requirement is tied to reasonably anticipated vehicle size rather than a fixed dimension, a use that regularly receives larger trucks, such as a grocery store or warehouse, needs a bigger loading bay than a small retail shop. Community Development reviews loading space design as part of site plan approval, and a project cannot get a zoning clearance permit without showing compliant loading space on the plan.