Cleveland County adopts complaint-driven minimum public health and safety standards ordinance

The Cleveland County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 to adopt a new local ordinance establishing minimum public health and safety standards and an administrative, complaint-driven enforcement process for exterior hazards around inhabited dwellings.

County Attorney Jonathan Sink told the board the draft reorganizes existing rules, removes references to repealed state law and creates a new Section 3.7 to allow the county to act when accumulated solid waste or other material poses a reasonable threat to public health or safety. "This would be a complaint-driven process," Sink said, adding that proposed enforcement is tied to North Carolina General Statute 153A-140.

The ordinance matters because the county currently has provisions on the books but, as Sink and commissioners said during debate, lacks an effective administrative enforcement mechanism. Under the adopted language, complaints trigger a review by a designee of the county manager, who may make an exterior inspection from public vantage points; entry onto private property requires the owner’s consent or an administrative search warrant. Property owners would receive written notice of an alleged violation and 10 calendar days to abate it or request an administrative hearing. The ordinance also provides an administrative hearing to be held within five business days of a request and a final administrative decision issued within three business days.

Sink described additional procedural elements: chronic violators—defined as owners receiving three written notices within a calendar year—could be subject to county abatement without further notice, and the county may recover abatement costs through a process similar to collection of unpaid taxes. He emphasized the draft exempts bona fide farms and vegetation that is "reasonably maintained," and said staff moved some existing provisions into a separate building-code enforcement section to align local rules with Chapter 160D and other state law consolidation enacted in 2019–2020.

During the public hearing, supporters and critics pressed the board on scope and fairness. Opponents urged delay and a legal review by the North Carolina attorney general’s office, arguing the measure could be used to circumvent zoning and could be unevenly applied. "This will be abused," one speaker warned, requesting the board postpone action. Supporters said the county needs enforceable tools to address hazards that endanger first responders and neighbors.

Commissioner Deb asked for and received confirmation from Sink that the ordinance does not permit entry into homes and that the process begins only after a complaint and a threshold determination that a public-health or -safety risk exists. Commissioner Bridges emphasized the county’s responsibility to public health and safety, citing instances where accumulated waste created dangerous conditions for emergency responders.

The board considered and then rejected a motion to postpone further study for public outreach; that motion died for lack of a second. A subsequent motion to approve the ordinance "as presented" carried on a 4-1 vote. The meeting record does not show member-level roll-call votes; the approved motion was recorded as 4 in favor, 1 opposed.

The new language creates: revised local Sections 3.5 and 3.6 (technical reorganization and statutory updates) and Section 3.7 (the new minimum public health and safety standards and enforcement process). It is built on N.C. Gen. Stat. 153A-140 and references the county's existing code sections 3.5–3.7 and 11-47 (solid waste). The county attorney said the draft is intended to give staff an administratively workable and legally aligned enforcement path where hazards are evident and substantiated by complaint and inspection.

The board directed staff and legal counsel to proceed with implementation steps consistent with the adopted ordinance. The county did not set a specific effective date during the meeting.

Votes at a glance

- Adoption of new minimum public health and safety standards ordinance (proposed Section 3.7): Approved 4-1; mover/second not specified in the record.

(Quotations in this article are taken from public remarks during the April public hearing; attributions use speakers recorded in the meeting transcript.)