Catawba County, NC Parking Rules: RV & Boat Parking (2026)

UDO Sec. 44-627(a) allows an owner of a domestic or recreational vehicle to park or store it on private residential property, subject to two hard limits: the vehicle may never be occupied or used for living, sleeping or housekeeping purposes, and it may never be connected to any utility service, except as allowed under the temporary-permit path in subsection (c). That exception exists for a narrow emergency scenario: when the principal occupied structure has been destroyed by an act of God, including fire, tornado or hurricane, the owner may obtain a temporary permit to live in a recreational vehicle on the property during reconstruction.

Before that permit issues, the county conducts a visual inspection to confirm the home is uninhabitable, any electrical connections must comply with the building code, and the permit is valid for one year, though the planning director has authority to grant an extension under extenuating circumstances. Outside that emergency pathway, an RV, camper, or boat sitting in a residential yard is treated purely as parked/stored property, never as a dwelling, and it cannot be wired for power or plumbed to water or sewer while parked.