Chapter 153A

Unless otherwise specifically provided, or unless otherwise clearly required by the context, the words and phrases defined in this section have the meaning indicated when used in this Chapter. (1) "City" means a city as defined by G.S. 160A-1(2), except that it does not include a…

North Carolina has 100 counties. They are: Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Avery, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Buncombe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Cherokee, Chowan, Clay, Cleveland, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, C…

The board of commissioners has and shall exercise the responsibility of developing and directing the fiscal policy of the county government under the provisions and procedures of the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act. (1777, c. 129, s. 4, P.R.; R.C., c. 28, s. 16; Co…

The board of commissioners may fix the fees and commissions charged by county officers and employees for performing services or duties permitted or required by law. The board may not, however, fix fees in the General Court of Justice or modify the fees of the register of deeds pr…

Subject to the limitations set forth below, the board of commissioners may fix the number of salaried employees in the offices of the sheriff and the register of deeds. In exercising the authority granted by this section, the board of commissioners is subject to the following lim…

The board of commissioners may require any officer, employee, or agent of the county to make to the board, either directly or through the county manager, periodic or special reports concerning any matter connected with the officer's, employee's or agent's duties. The board may re…

The inhabitants of each county are a body politic and corporate under the name specified in the act creating the county. Under that name they are vested with all the property and rights of property belonging to the corporation; have perpetual succession; may sue and be sued; may …

The board of commissioners shall appoint or designate a clerk to the board. The board may designate the register of deeds or any other county officer or employee as clerk. The clerk shall perform any duties that may be required by law or the board of commissioners. The clerk shal…

The board of commissioners shall appoint a county attorney to serve at its pleasure and to be its legal adviser. (1973, c. 822, s. 1.) §

Except as otherwise directed by law, each power, right, duty, function, privilege and immunity of the corporation shall be exercised by the board of commissioners. A power, right, duty, function, privilege, or immunity shall be carried into execution as provided by the laws of th…

(a) A county may by ordinance define, regulate, prohibit, or abate acts, omissions, or conditions detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of its citizens and the peace and dignity of the county; and may define and abate nuisances. (b) This section does not authorize a count…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Article, the board of commissioners may make any ordinance adopted pursuant to this Article applicable to any part of the county not within a city. (b) The governing board of a city may by resolution permit a county ordinance adopted pursu…

(a) A county may provide for fines and penalties for violation of its ordinances and may secure injunctions and abatement orders to further insure compliance with its ordinances, as provided by this section. (b) Except for the types of ordinances listed in subsection (b1) of this…

The enumeration in this Article or other portions of this Chapter of specific powers to define, regulate, prohibit, or abate acts, omissions, or conditions is not exclusive, nor is it a limit on the general authority to adopt ordinances conferred on counties by G.S. 153A-121. (19…

A county may by ordinance regulate, restrict, or prohibit the solicitation of contributions from the public for charitable or eleemosynary purposes, and also the business activities of itinerant merchants, salesmen, promoters, drummers, peddlers, flea market operators and flea ma…

A county may by ordinance prohibit or regulate begging or otherwise canvassing the public for contributions for the private benefit of the solicitor or any other person. (1973, c. 822, s. 1.)

A county may by ordinance define and prohibit the abuse of animals. (1973, c. 822, s. 1.)

A county may by ordinance regulate, restrict, or prohibit the sale, possession, storage, use or conveyance of any explosive, corrosive, inflammable, or radioactive substance or of any weapon or instrumentality of mass death and destruction. (1973, c. 822, s. 1.)

(a) Except as provided in this section, a county may by ordinance regulate, restrict, or prohibit the discharge of firearms at any time or place except in any of the following instances: (1) When used to take birds or animals pursuant to Chapter 113, Subchapter IV. (2) When used …

A county may enter into continuing contracts, some portion or all of which are to be performed in ensuing fiscal years. In order to enter into such a contract, the county must have sufficient funds appropriated to meet any amount to be paid under the contract in the fiscal year i…

A county may by ordinance regulate, restrict, or prohibit the sale, possession, or use of pellet guns or any other mechanism or device designed or used to project a missile by compressed air or mechanical action with less than deadly force. (1973, c. 822, s. 1.)

A county may by ordinance regulate, restrict, or prohibit the possession or harboring of animals which are dangerous to persons or property. No such ordinance shall have the effect of permitting any activity or condition with respect to a wild animal which is prohibited or more s…

(a) Grant of Power. - A county may by ordinance prohibit the abandonment of motor vehicles on public grounds and private property within the county's ordinance-making jurisdiction and on county-owned property wherever located. The county may enforce the ordinance by removing and …

The board of county commissioners of any county is hereby authorized to enact ordinances governing the removal, method or manner of disposal, depositing or dumping of any trash, debris, garbage, litter, discarded cans or receptacles or any waste matter whatsoever within the rural…

(a) A county may by ordinance regulate, restrain or prohibit the abandonment of junked motor vehicles on public grounds and on private property within the county's ordinance-making jurisdiction upon a finding that such regulation, restraint or prohibition is necessary and desirab…

A county may by ordinance regulate, restrict, or prohibit the production or emission of noises or amplified speech, music, or other sounds that tend to annoy, disturb, or frighten its citizens. (1973, c. 822, s. 1.)

(a) A county may by ordinance, subject to the general law of the State, regulate and license occupations, businesses, trades, professions, and forms of amusement or entertainment and prohibit those that may be inimical to the public health, welfare, safety, order, or convenience.…

(a) No county may adopt an ordinance, rule, or regulation or enforce an existing ordinance, rule, or regulation that does any of the following: (1) Requires any type of permit, fee, review, or approval for the installation or use of a battery-charged security fence in addition to…

A county may by ordinance regulate places of amusement and entertainment, and may regulate, restrict, or prohibit the operation of pool and billiard halls, dance halls, carnivals, circuses, or itinerant shows or exhibitions of any kind. Places of amusement and entertainment inclu…

(a) A county may by ordinance regulate the storage, collection, transportation, use, disposal, and other disposition of solid wastes. Such an ordinance may: (1) Regulate the activities of persons, firms, and corporations, both public and private. (2) Require each person wishing t…

A county may by ordinance provide for the annual registration of mobile homes, house trailers and similar vehicular equipment designed for use as living or business quarters and for the display of a sticker or other device thereon as evidence of such registration. No fee shall be…

The governing body of any county may, by ordinance, regulate the stopping, standing, or parking of vehicles in specified areas of any parking areas or driveways of a hospital, shopping center, apartment house, condominium complex, or commercial office complex or any other private…

A county may contract for and accept grants and loans as permitted by G.S. 160A-17.1. (1973, c. 822, s. 1; 2007-91, s. 2.)

A county shall have authority, subject to the provisions of Article 57 of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes, to remove, abate, or remedy everything that is dangerous or prejudicial to the public health or safety. Pursuant to this section, a board of commissioners may order the …

(a) A county shall have the authority to remove natural and man-made obstructions in stream channels and in the floodway of streams that may impede the passage of water during rain events. (b) The actions of a county to clear obstructions from a stream shall not create or increas…

A county may notify a chronic violator of the county's public nuisance ordinance that, if the violator's property is found to be in violation of the ordinance, the county shall, without further notice in the calendar year in which notice is given, take action to remedy the violat…

A county may by an appropriate ordinance impose a curfew on persons of any age less than 18. (1997-189, s. 2.)

No county ordinance may prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the installation and maintenance of cisterns and rain barrel collection systems used to collect water for irrigation purposes. A county may regulate the installation and maintenance of those cisterns and rain barr…

No county may enact or enforce an ordinance, rule, or regulation that requires an employer to assume financial, legal, or other responsibility for the mitigation of the impact of his or her employees' commute or transportation to or from the employer's workplace, which may result…

In accordance with G.S. 18B-904(h), a county may adopt an ordinance authorizing permittees holding a permit under Article 10 or 11 of Chapter 18B of the General Statutes to utilize an area that is not part of the permittee's licensed premises for the outdoor possession and consum…

(a) A county shall not adopt an ordinance that prohibits, or has the effect of prohibiting, either of the following: (1) The connection, reconnection, modification, or expansion of an energy service based upon the type or source of energy to be delivered to an individual or any o…

(a) Except as provided under subsection (b) of this section, no county may adopt an ordinance, resolution, regulation, or rule to: (1) Restrict, tax, charge a fee, prohibit, or otherwise regulate the use, disposition, or sale of an auxiliary container. (2) Regulate the use of sho…

No county ordinance may prohibit the sale of soft drinks above a particular size. This section does not prohibit any ordinance regulating the sanitation or other operational aspect of a device for the dispensing of soft drinks. For purposes of this section, "soft drink" shall hav…

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 113-131 or any other provision of law, a county may, by ordinance, define, prohibit, regulate, or abate acts, omissions, or conditions upon the State's ocean beaches and prevent or abate any unreasonable restriction of the public's right…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no county ordinance may regulate standards of care for farm animals. For purposes of this section, "standards of care for farm animals" includes the following: the construction, repair, or improvement of farm animal shelter or housing; …

(a) No county may have in effect any policy, ordinance, or procedure that limits or restricts the enforcement of federal immigration laws to less than the full extent permitted by federal law. (b) No county shall do any of the following related to information regarding the citize…

(a) If a State department or agency declares a regulation or rule to be voluntary or the General Assembly delays the effective date of a regulation or rule proposed or adopted by the Environmental Management Commission, or any other board or commission, a county shall not require…

In accordance with G.S. 18B-1004(c), a county may adopt an ordinance allowing for the sale of malt beverages, unfortified wine, fortified wine, and mixed beverages beginning at 10:00 A.M. on Sunday pursuant to the licensed premises' permit issued under G.S. 18B-1001. (2017-87, s.…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no county may require a business located on a property used for bona fide farm purposes, as provided in G.S. 160D-903(a), that provides on- and off-site catering services, to obtain a permit to provide catering services within the count…

A county may adopt an ordinance designating one or more social districts for use in accordance with G.S. 18B-300.1. (2021-150, s. 20.1; 2022-49, s. 3(d).)