Iredell County sets Feb. 4 public hearing on soliciting ordinance change, proposes towing authority for county property

The Iredell County Board of Commissioners set a public hearing for 6 p.m. on Feb. 4 to consider amendments to Chapter 7.5 of the county code of ordinances that address soliciting, no-solicitation postings, and enforcement. The amendments also include proposed language under county facility rules (Section 10.5) to allow removal or towing of vehicles left on county property when posted rules are violated.

Lisa Valdez, who presented the draft language and redlines, said staff adapted language used by Lincoln County at residents’ request and clarified the proposed prohibited acts. "The language that's included, and we use the Lincoln County language that was provided... the language you're referring to is under 7.553, the prohibited acts," Valdez said, describing how the proposed edits treat repeated solicitation by the same business entity and the role of posted signs or a resident's request to leave.

Commissioners discussed potential enforcement details, including whether the ordinance should treat solicitation like trespassing when the same business returns after being asked to leave and whether to add specific time windows for permissible solicitation. Some commissioners suggested a daytime window (for example, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. or daylight hours) to address complaints about early-morning solicitation. Valdez asked commissioners to provide guidance on preferred start/stop times before the public hearing.

The board approved, by consent, calling the public hearing for Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. and directed staff to finalize the hearing notice and related documents.