Iredell County adopts permit requirement for solicitors, tightens county parking rules

The Iredell County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved changes to two sections of the county code that add a permit requirement for door-to-door solicitation and new rules governing parking on county-owned property.

County Attorney Valdez told commissioners the package includes revisions to Chapter 7.5 (the panhandling/solicitation ordinance) and Chapter 10.5 (parking on county property). "There are two ordinance revisions in front of you," Valdez said, adding the solicitation language was modeled on a Lincoln County ordinance and the solicitation permit would be obtained through the sheriff's office.

The changes require anyone soliciting door-to-door to obtain a permit from county facilities that will be administered by the sheriff's office. The permit will be valid for six months; the board set a $30 fee for each permit. Applications may be mailed or dropped off, but applicants must pick up the issued permit in person, and the application must be notarized (not necessarily in the presence of a sheriff's employee), Valdez said. The ordinance also clarifies that a single posted "no soliciting" or "no trespassing" sign at the entrance to a residential subdivision, mobile home park or multifamily development will be sufficient to bar solicitation on the premises.

The parking revision adds authority for county staff to remove vehicles parked in violation of posted restrictions, including vehicles left for extended periods at government facilities or in employee-only spaces. Valdez said the ordinances will not be effective until March 1 to give staff time to set up the permit application process.

Residents who spoke during the public hearing urged the changes. "It really made me feel like my home was being cased because it was the same person day after day," Amanda Gooden Sherrill of Foxglove Drive said, asking the board to help deter repeated callers. "I know our sheriff has more things to do than to address solicitors," she added. Chad Gandy of Stallion Lane, representing the Donsdale neighborhood, told commissioners the measure "gives a lot of us peace of mind" and said some elderly neighbors had been taken advantage of.

Commissioner Haupp moved to adopt the ordinance as amended to specify county facilities (including sheriff's offices), to require notarization but not in the presence of a sheriff's employee, and to set a $30 permitting fee. Commissioner Howe offered the amendment to the motion and the board voted to approve the revised ordinance; the vote was recorded as passing with no opposition.

The ordinance package was reported to be modeled on Lincoln County language and includes an explicit March 1 effective date so county staff can implement the permit and signage processes. The sheriff's office will administer permits; the ordinance text does not specify the internal accounting treatment of permit revenue, and officials said allocation of fees will be handled administratively.

Board members and county staff said the revisions respond to repeated complaints from homeowners about solicitors visiting at all hours and to recent problems with unauthorized vehicles occupying county parking areas. The board instructed staff and the sheriff's office to finalize application forms and signage guidance before the March 1 effective date.

Next steps: County staff will publish the permit application, confirm pickup locations at county facilities, and the sheriff's office will administer issuance and enforcement under the amended code.