Kill Devil Hills, NC Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- Improved and unimproved lots
- Notice period
- 7 days to remove litter
- Notice method
- Return-receipt mail or hand delivery
- Repeat exposure
- Each 24 hours = new violation
- Enforcing dept.
- Public Services Department
Summary
In the Town of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, the litter ordinance reaches vacant, unimproved parcels the same as built lots: if trash piles up on an unimproved property or the right-of-way beside it, the town gives the owner seven days' written notice to clear it before treating the mess as an abatable nuisance.
(A) It shall be unlawful to litter in the town. If the town determines that there is litter upon a property or within the street right-of-way adjacent to an improved or unimproved property, the property owner shall be notified by return-receipt mailed or hand-delivered written notification and given seven days to remove the litter from the property or right-of-way. In the event the litter is not removed and abated within the allotted seven-day period, the litter shall become a nuisance and the town shall proceed to abate the nuisance in accordance with the provisions of § 10.99. ... (B) Upon a property owner's failure to abate the nuisance within the time set forth above, the owner of the improved or unimproved property shall be in violation of the town code and subject to the civil and criminal penalties set forth in the town code. Each 24-hour period that the nuisance remains unabated after notice to the property owner shall constitute a separate violation.
Full Breakdown
03, part of the solid waste chapter, is the section that reaches vacant and unimproved parcels directly: subsection (A) makes it unlawful to litter anywhere in town, and it expressly covers litter 'upon a property or within the street right-of-way adjacent to an improved or unimproved property,' language that puts undeveloped, unbuilt lots on the same footing as occupied ones. Once the town identifies litter on a vacant lot or the road frontage next to it, the Public Services Department sends the owner return-receipt mail or a hand-delivered written notice, and the owner then has seven days to remove it.
06. 03(B) makes clear the vacant-lot owner faces the same exposure as anyone else: failing to abate within the notice period is a violation of the town code subject to civil and criminal penalties, and each 24-hour period the litter remains is charged as a separate violation, so a lot left unattended for weeks can rack up repeated citations rather than a single fine.
Violations & Fines
Litter left on a vacant or unimproved lot after the seven-day notice under § 50.03 becomes a nuisance, and each 24-hour period it remains unabated is a separate violation, exposing the owner to civil and criminal penalties under the town code, including the § 10.99 civil penalty scale of $50 to $500 per day. Persistent lots can also be abated by the town and billed to the owner under Chapter 93's nuisance-abatement procedure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the litter ordinance apply to an empty, undeveloped lot?
How much time do I have to clean up a vacant lot after notice?
Can weeds on a vacant lot be handled the same way?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kill Devil Hills
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