Chapter 160A

The enumeration in this Article or other portions of this Chapter of specific powers to regulate, restrict or prohibit acts, omissions, and conditions shall not be deemed to be exclusive or a limiting factor upon the general authority to adopt ordinances conferred on cities by G.…

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

A city 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. (1971, c. 698, s. 1.)

(a) All deeds made, executed, and delivered by any city before July 1, 1970, for a good and valuable consideration are hereby in all respects validated, ratified, and confirmed notwithstanding any lack of authority to make the deed or any irregularities in the procedures by which…

A city may by ordinance regulate the operation of aircraft over the city. (1971, c. 698, s. 1.)

A city 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 any itinerant show or exhibition of any kind. Places of amusement and entertainment shall …

A city may by ordinance define and prohibit the abuse of animals. (1917, c. 136, subch. 5, s. 1; 1919, cc. 136, 237; C.S., s. 2787; 1971, c. 698, s. 1.)

A city may by ordinance restrict, regulate or prohibit the sale, possession, storage, use, or conveyance of any explosive, corrosive, inflammable, or radioactive substances, or any weapons or instrumentalities of mass death and destruction within the city. (1917, c. 136, subch. 5…

A city 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. (1971, c. 698, s. 1; 1973, c. 426, s. 25.)

A city may by ordinance regulate, restrict, or prohibit the emission or disposal of substances or effluents that tend to pollute or contaminate land, water, or air, rendering or tending to render it injurious to human health or welfare, to animal or plant life or to property, or …

A city may by ordinance regulate, restrict, or prohibit the keeping, running, or going at large of any domestic animals, including dogs and cats. The ordinance may provide that animals allowed to run at large in violation of the ordinance may be seized and sold or destroyed after…

A city may by ordinance regulate, restrict, or prohibit the possession or harboring within the city 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 prohib…

A city may by ordinance create and establish a bird sanctuary within the city limits. The ordinance may not protect any birds classed as a pest under Article 22A of Chapter 113 of the General Statutes and the Structural Pest Control Act of North Carolina of 1955 or the North Caro…

A city may by ordinance regulate, restrict, or prohibit the discharge of firearms at any time or place within the city except when used in defense of person or property or pursuant to lawful directions of law-enforcement officers, and may regulate the display of firearms on the s…

A city is authorized to lease as lessee, with or without option to purchase, any real or personal property for any authorized public purpose. A lease of personal property with an option to purchase is subject to Article 8 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. (1973, c. 426, s. …

A city may by ordinance regulate, restrict, or prohibit the sale, possession or use within the city 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. (1971, c. 698, s. 1.)

No ordinance regulating or prohibiting business activity on Sundays shall be enacted unless the council shall hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance. Notice of the hearing shall be published once each week for four successive weeks before the date of the hearing. The not…

(a) A city shall have authority to summarily remove, abate, or remedy everything in the city limits, or within one mile thereof, that is dangerous or prejudicial to the public health or public safety. Pursuant to this section, the governing board of a city may order the removal o…

(a) A city 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 city to clear obstructions from a stream shall not create or increase th…

(a) A city 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. I…

(a) No city 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…

Cities that (in whole or in part) are adjacent to, adjoining, intersected by or bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Roanoke, Albemarle, Currituck, or Pamlico Sound may by ordinance regulate the tie-ons to sewage systems within their corporate limits. (1985, c. 525, s. 1; 1987, c. 3…

A city may by an appropriate ordinance impose a curfew on persons of any age less than 18. (1997-189, s. 1.)

Nothing in this Chapter shall repeal or amend any city charter in effect as of January 1, 1972, or any portion thereof, unless this Chapter or a subsequent enactment of the General Assembly shall clearly show a legislative intent to repeal or supersede all local acts. The provisi…

(a) Purchase. - A unit of local government may purchase, or finance or refinance the purchase of, real or personal property by installment contracts that create in some or all of the property purchased a security interest to secure payment of the purchase price to the seller or t…

(a) Authority. - A city may contract with and appropriate money to any person, association, or corporation, in order to carry out any public purpose that the city is authorized by law to engage in. A city may not require a private contractor under this section to abide by any res…

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

No city 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 city may regulate the installation and maintenance of those cisterns and rain barrel c…

No city 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 have …

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no city 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; re…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no city 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 city. T…

(a) A city 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 oth…

No city 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 i…

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 113-131 or any other provision of law, a city 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 rights …

(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 city shall not require o…

(a) No city 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 city shall do any of the following related to information regarding the citizenshi…

In accordance with G.S. 18B-1004(c), a city 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. 4…

A city may adopt an ordinance designating one or more social districts for use in accordance with G.S. 18B-300.1. (2021-150, s. 20.2; 2022-49, s. 3(e).)

In accordance with G.S. 18B-904(h), a city 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 consumpt…

(a) A city may, by ordinance, prohibit the abandonment of vessels in navigable waters within the city's ordinance-making jurisdiction, subject to the provisions of G.S. 160A-303. The provisions of G.S. 160A-303 shall apply to abandoned vessels in the same manner that they apply t…

(a) Except as provided under subsection (b) of this section, no city 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 shopp…

(a) A city shall not adopt an ordinance or other regulation prohibiting no-impact home-based businesses within its jurisdictional limits or require a person to apply, register, or obtain any permit, license, variance, or other type of approval to operate a no-impact home-based bu…

(a) Authority. - A city shall have power to impose taxes only as specifically authorized by act of the General Assembly. Except when the statute authorizing a tax provides for penalties and interest, the power to impose a tax shall include the power to impose reasonable penalties…

In addition to any other remedies provided by law, the remedies of levy, garnishment, and attachment shall be available for collecting any city tax under the rules and procedures prescribed by the Machinery Act for the enforcement of tax liability against personal property, excep…

Except for taxes levied on property under the Machinery Act, a city may impose an authorized tax by a permanent ordinance that shall stand from year to year until amended or repealed, and it shall not be necessary to reimpose the tax in each annual budget ordinance. (1971, c. 698…

(a) Disclosure Prohibited. - Notwithstanding Chapter 132 of the General Statutes or any other law regarding access to public records, local tax records that contain information about a taxpayer's income or receipts are not public records. A current or former officer, employee, or…

(a) Pursuant to Article V, Sec. 2(5) of the Constitution of North Carolina, the General Assembly confers upon each city in this State the power to levy, within the limitations set out in this section, taxes on property having a situs within the city under the rules and according …

The boundaries of each city shall be those specified in its charter with any alterations that are made from time to time in the manner provided by law or by local act of the General Assembly. (1971, c. 698, s. 1.)

A city shall have power to levy an annual license tax on the privilege of keeping any domestic animal, including dogs and cats, within the city. This section shall not limit the city's authority to enact ordinances under G.S. 160A-186. (R.C., c. 111, s. 13; 1862, c. 51; Code, s. …

(a) A city may impose an annual license tax on motor vehicles as permitted by G.S. 20-97. (b) By ordinance a city may provide that the annual license tax imposed under subsection (a) above may be waived for individuals serving as firemen or as members of emergency medical teams. …