Union County, NC Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)
Key Facts
- Where allowed
- HC zoning district only
- Frontage required
- Highway 74
- Nonresidential building buffer
- Within 1,000 ft
- Residential setback
- 500 ft minimum
- Sign-to-sign spacing
- 1,000 ft minimum
- Citation
- UDO § 50.060
Summary
In unincorporated Union County, off-premise signs, the freeway billboards along local highways, are allowed only in the HC (Highway Commercial) zoning district under UDO Section 50.060, and only on lots fronting Highway 74. A billboard must sit within 1,000 feet of a nonresidential building, stay at least 500 feet from an occupied dwelling it does not share ownership with, and keep 1,000 feet from any other billboard.
Off-premises signs are allowed only in the HC zoning district and only if and to the extent that such signs: 1. Comply with all applicable requirements of this ordinance; 2. Are located on lots with frontage on Highway 74; 3. Are located within a 1,000 foot radius of a principal building used for nonresidential purposes; and 4. Are not located within a 500-foot radius of an existing dwelling unit that is not owned by the owner of the land where the sign is to be located... ... No off-premises sign may be located within a 1,000 foot radius of any other existing off-premises sign.
Full Breakdown
Union County's Unified Development Ordinance confines billboards, defined as off-premise signs advertising something not located on the same lot, to a single zoning district. 060 permits an off-premise sign only in the HC (Highway Commercial) district, and only on a lot with frontage on Highway 74. Three additional location tests apply: the sign must sit within a 1,000-foot radius of a principal building used for a nonresidential purpose, it cannot be within 500 feet of an existing dwelling unit that the billboard's landowner does not also own, and it cannot be within 1,000 feet of any other existing off-premise sign, whether or not that sign is also on Highway 74.
The ordinance treats a dwelling or a competing sign as 'existing' if it is already built or under a valid permit at the time the new sign's permit application is filed, so a landowner cannot beat a nearby residential permit to the punch by filing first. Because HC zoning along Highway 74 is essentially the only place these standards can be met, freeway-facing billboards effectively cannot go up elsewhere in unincorporated Union County, including along other corridors zoned residential, office, or general commercial. 070 and the general prohibition on signs in the public right-of-way.
Violations & Fines
An off-premise sign erected outside the HC district, off Highway 74 frontage, or inside the 500-foot residential buffer or 1,000-foot sign-spacing buffer is unpermitted and subject to Article 95 enforcement: a 10-day warning citation, then escalating fines of $50, $200 and $500 for repeat citations, with each day of continued violation counted separately. The county can also deny or revoke other permits on the property until the violation is corrected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put up a billboard anywhere in unincorporated Union County?
How close can a billboard be to a house?
How far apart must billboards be from each other?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Union County
Compare Union County to another location·View the North Carolina sign regulations overview
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