CODE OF ORDINANCES ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA

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VOLUME I

GENERAL ORDINANCES

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Published by Order of the Board of Commissioners

Republished in 2011

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CURRENT OFFICIALS

OF

ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

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Barry Jacobs, Chair

Earl McKee, Vice Chair

Renee Price

Alice M. Gordon

Mark Dorosin

Bernadette Pelissier

Penny Rich

Board of Commissioners

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Michael Talbert

Interim County Manager

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John L. Roberts

County Attorney

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Donna S. Baker

Clerk to the Board of Commissioners

OFFICIALS

OF

ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

AT THE TIME OF THIS REPUBLICATION

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Bernadette Pelissier, Chair

Pam Hemminger, Vice-Chair

Steve Yuhasz

Valerie P. Foushee

Alice M. Gordon

Pam Hemminger

Barry Jacobs

Earl McKee

Board of Commissioners

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Frank Clifton

County Manager

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John L. Roberts

County Attorney

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Donna S. Baker

Clerk to the Board of Commissioners

OFFICIALS

OF

ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

AT THE TIME OF THIS CODIFICATION

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Stephen Halkiotis, Chair

Barry Jacobs, Vice-Chair

Margaret W. Brown

Moses Carey, Jr.

Alice M. Gordon

Board of Commissioners

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John M. Link, Jr.

County Manager

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Geoffrey Gledhill

County Attorney

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Beverly A. Blythe

Clerk to the Board of Commissioners

PREFACE

The Code of Ordinances of Orange County, North Carolina as maintained by Municode, a private online service under contract with Orange County and is not intended to serve as the official County Code for Orange County. The information contained at this site is updated on a quarterly basis and thus may not include recent amendments to the County Code. Current information is available from records in the County Clerk's office in the official minutes of the Orange County Board of Commissioners. This republication is updated through the Ordinance of December 5, 2011, the official date of the adoption of the Code of Ordinances.

This Code constitutes a complete codification of the general and permanent ordinances of Orange County, North Carolina.

Source materials used in the preparation of the Code were the ordinances adopted by the board of commissioners. The source of each section is included in the history note appearing in parentheses at the end thereof. The absence of such a note indicates that the section is new and was adopted for the first time with the adoption of the Code. By use of the comparative tables appearing in the back of this Code, the reader can locate any ordinance included herein.

The chapters of the Code have been conveniently arranged in alphabetical order, and the various sections within each chapter have been catchlined to facilitate usage. Notes which tie related sections of the Code together and which refer to relevant state law have been included. A table listing the state law citations and setting forth their location within the Code is included at the back of this Code.

Chapter and Section Numbering System

The chapter and section numbering system used in this Code is the same system used in many state and local government codes. Each section number consists of two parts separated by a dash. The figure before the dash refers to the chapter number, and the figure after the dash refers to the position of the section within the chapter. Thus, the second section of chapter 1 is numbered 1-2, and the first section of chapter 6 is 6-1. Under this system, each section is identified with its chapter, and at the same time new sections can be inserted in their proper place by using the decimal system for amendments. For example, if new material consisting of one section that would logically come between sections 6-1 and 6-2 is desired to be added, such new section would be numbered 6-1.5. New articles and new divisions may be included in the same way or, in the case of articles, may be placed at the end of the chapter embracing the subject, and, in the case of divisions, may be placed at the end of the article embracing the subject. The next successive number shall be assigned to the new article or division. New chapters may be included by using one of the reserved chapter numbers. Care should be taken that the alphabetical arrangement of chapters is maintained when including new chapters.

Page Numbering System

The page numbering system used in this Code is a prefix system. The letters to the left of the colon are an abbreviation which represents a certain portion of the volume. The number to the right of the colon represents the number of the page in that portion. In the case of a chapter of the Code, the number to the left of the colon indicates the number of the chapter. In the case of an appendix to the Code, the letter immediately to the left of the colon indicates the letter of the appendix. The following are typical parts of codes of ordinances, which may or may not appear in this Code at this time, and their corresponding prefixes:

CODE	CD1:1
CODE APPENDIX	CDA:1
CODE COMPARATIVE TABLES	CCT:1
STATE LAW REFERENCE TABLE	SLT:1
CODE INDEX	CDi:1

 

Index

The index has been prepared with the greatest of care. Each particular item has been placed under several headings, some of which are couched in lay phraseology, others in legal terminology, and still others in language generally used by local government officials and employees. There are numerous cross references within the index itself which stand as guideposts to direct the user to the particular item in which the user is interested.

Looseleaf Supplements

A special feature of this publication is the looseleaf system of binding and supplemental servicing of the publication. With this system, the publication will be kept up-to-date. Subsequent amendatory legislation will be properly edited, and the affected page or pages will be reprinted. These new pages will be distributed to holders of copies of the publication, with instructions for the manner of inserting the new pages and deleting the obsolete pages.

Keeping this publication up-to-date at all times will depend largely upon the holder of the publication. As revised pages are received, it will then become the responsibility of the holder to have the amendments inserted according to the attached instructions. It is strongly recommended by the publisher that all such amendments be inserted immediately upon receipt to avoid misplacing them and, in addition, that all deleted pages be saved and filed for historical reference purposes.

Acknowledgments

This publication was under the direct supervision of Pattie Smith, Supervising Editor, and Eric Grant, Vice President of the Supplement Department, of the Municipal Code Corporation, Tallahassee, Florida. Credit is gratefully given to the other members of the publisher's staff for their sincere interest and able assistance throughout the project.

The publisher is most grateful to Ms. Donna S. Baker, Clerk to the Board of Commissioners, and John L. Roberts, County Attorney, and Sahana M. Ayer, Staff Attorney, for their cooperation and assistance during the progress of the work on this publication. It is hoped that their efforts and those of the publisher have resulted in a Code of Ordinances which will make the active law of the county readily accessible to all citizens and which will be a valuable tool in the day-to-day administration of the county's affairs.

ADOPTING ORDINANCE

AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING AND ENACTING A NEW CODE OF ORDINANCES FOR ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA; PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF CERTAIN ORDINANCES NOT INCLUDED THEREIN; PROVIDING A PENALTY FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF; PROVIDING FOR THE MANNER OF AMENDING SUCH CODE; AND PROVIDING WHEN SUCH CODE AND THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA:

Section 1. The Code entitled "Code of Ordinances, Orange County, North Carolina," published by Municipal Code Corporation, consisting of chapters 1 through 50, each inclusive, is adopted. Such Code updates references to certain state and county agencies and departments as specified in the Memorandum of Agency and Department Names dated November 1, 2011, which memorandum is incorporated in this Ordinance by reference.

Section 2. All ordinances of a general and permanent nature enacted on or before December 5, 2011, and not included in the Code or recognized and continued in force by reference therein, are repealed; provided, however that the Code does not contain, and is not intended to affect:

(a)

The Unified Development Ordinance of Orange County, North Carolina, as adopted on April 5, 2011 shall continue in full force and effect.

(b)

The Facilities Use Policy adopted on May 17, 2011, as amended, shall continue in full force and effect. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of the Facilities Use Ordinance (chapter 18 of such Code) and the Facilities Use Policy, the provisions of the Facilities Use Policy shall prevail. The Facilities Use Policy is available for review at the Orange County Clerk's Office.

(c)

Budget Ordinances and the annually adopted Schedule of Fees.

(d)

Bond Orders and Ordinances.

(e)

Any franchise ordinances not specifically incorporated in the Code.

Section 3. The repeal provided for in section 2 hereof shall not be construed to revive any ordinance or part thereof that has been repealed by a subsequent ordinance that is repealed by this ordinance.

Section 4. Unless another penalty is expressly provided, every person convicted of a violation of any provision of the Code or any ordinance, rule or regulation adopted or issued in pursuance thereof shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $500.00, or shall be imprisoned for not more than 30 days, for each offense. Each act of violation and each day upon which any such violation shall continue or occur shall constitute a separate offense. The penalty provided by this section, unless another penalty is expressly provided, shall apply to the amendment of any Code section, whether or not such penalty is reenacted in the amendatory ordinance. In addition to the penalty prescribed above, the county may pursue other remedies such as abatement of nuisances, injunctive relief and revocation of licenses or permits.

Section 5. Additions or amendments to the Code when passed in such form as to indicate an intention to make the same a part of the Code shall be deemed to be incorporated in the Code, so that reference to the Code includes the additions and amendments.

Section 6. Ordinances adopted after December 5, 2011, that amend or refer to ordinances that have been codified in the Code shall be construed as if they amend or refer to like provisions of the Code.

Section 7. Any typographical, reference, spelling or name errors may be corrected during final production of the Code.

Section 8. If any portion of this Code or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this Code which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Code are declared to be severable.

Section 9. A copy of this Code shall be kept on file in the office of the Clerk to the Board. It shall be the express duty of the Clerk, or the Clerk's designee, in consultation with the County Attorney, to insert in their designated places all duly adopted amendments to this Code, and to extract from this Code all provisions which may from time to time be duly repealed. A copy of this Code shall be available for all persons desiring to examine it during reasonable times, under the supervision of the Clerk or the Clerk's designee.

Section 10. No action or proceeding of any nature, whether civil or criminal, judicial or administrative, or otherwise, pending on the effective date of this Ordinance by or against Orange County or any of its departments or agencies shall be abated or otherwise affected by the adoption of this Code.

Section 11. This Ordinance shall become effective upon adoption.

Adopted by the Orange County Board of Commissioners this 5 ^th day of December, 2011.

By:	Attest:
_____ Bernadette Pelissier, Chair Orange County Board of Commissioners	_____ Donna Baker, Clerk to the Board
	[SEAL]
The Memorandum of Agency and Department Names is available for review at the Orange County Clerk's Office.