Statesville, NC zoning: where a drive-thru restaurant is allowed
Is a drive-thru allowed in Statesville, NC?
We have not confirmed any zoning district in Statesville, NC where a drive-thru restaurant is allowed by right.
35 districts are not confirmed yet.
Drive-thru rules in plain words
Table 3-1 has a single 'Eating establishment, carry-out, drive-in' use, marked permitted (X) in 8 of 23 district columns with no special-use (S) entries, so where allowed it is by right; the exact districts could not be read from the PDF text. Sit-down eating establishments are permitted in 9 columns. Drive-through restaurants need stacking for 5 vehicles per lane.
Code facts
- Jurisdiction
- City of Statesville, North Carolina
- Zoning code
- Statesville, North Carolina Unified Development Code (Code of Ordinances, Appendix A)
- Code last amended
- Read copy: Supp. No. 50 (latest cited Ord. No. 02-23, 1-9-2023); city lists later amendments (e.g. Ord. 13-25, 17-25) not yet codified
- Restaurant parking
- 1 space per 150 sf (with or without drive-through), plus 1 per 4 outdoor seats (Sec. 6.03, Table 6-4). In CB, CBP and H-115, off-street parking only in side and rear yards (Sec. 6.03.A.2).
- Drive-thru stacking
- Restaurant with drive-through: stacking for 5 in lane (Sec. 6.03, Table 6-4).
- Signs
- B-2: one monument sign per street front, 32 sf (40 sf with master sign plan), 6 ft tall. B-3/B-4/B-5: monument signs, up to 120 sf for shopping centers, 8 ft tall rising to 12 ft with extra setback. CB/CBP: 6 ft monument, 15-32 sf by frontage, downtown corporation approval. Drive-through menu boards are permit-exempt incidental signs up to 32 sf, or 52 sf behind the building (Sec. 6.07, Table 6-13).
- Official code
- statesvillenc.net
- Planning office
- City of Statesville Planning + Zoning statesvillenc.net
District standards
| District | Name | Minimum lot | Setbacks | Max height | Section |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B-1 | Neighborhood Service District | 6,000 sf (60 ft width) | front 30 ft, side 10 ft, rear 25 ft | 35 ft | Article 3 district dimensional standards source |
| B-2 | Neighborhood Business District | 6,000 sf (60 ft width) | front 30 ft, side 10 ft, rear 25 ft | 50 ft | Article 3 district dimensional standards source |
| B-3 | Shopping Center Business District | 220,000 sf center (400 ft width); outparcels 10,000 sf | front 40 ft, side 10 ft, rear 20 ft | 65 ft | Article 3 district dimensional standards source |
| B-4 | Highway Business District | 10,000 sf (75 ft width) | front 40 ft, side 10 ft, rear 20 ft | 65 ft | Article 3 district dimensional standards source |
| B-5 | General Business District | none (60 ft width) | front 25 ft, side 8 ft, rear 10 ft | 65 ft | Article 3 district dimensional standards source |
| CB | Central Business District | none | front max 10 ft (no minimum), side none (5 ft if provided), rear none | 80 ft | Article 3 district dimensional standards source |
| HI | Heavy Industrial District | none | front 30 ft, side none, rear 20 ft (Sec. 6.04 buffers if greater) | 80 ft | Article 3 district dimensional standards source |
| LI | Light Industrial District | none | front 30 ft, side none, rear 20 ft (Sec. 6.04 buffers if greater) | 80 ft | Article 3 district dimensional standards source |
| O+I-2 | Office and Institutional Complex District (O & I-2 in code) | 10,000 sf | front 25 ft, side 10 ft, rear 25 ft | 50 ft | Article 3 district dimensional standards source |
| O-1 | Office Single Lot District | 5,000 sf | front 25 ft, side 10 ft, rear 25 ft | 35 ft | Article 3 district dimensional standards source |
Overlays to watch
- HD Historic District Overlay: Overlay to preserve historic resources; certificate of appropriateness required for changes (Sec. 2.14). source
Second check against the source text: 2026-11-15 (Re-ran layer distinct values (35 confirmed). Found and read the city-hosted UDC PDF (Supp. 50): district names, Table 3-1 legend and rows, Table 6-4 parking/stacking, dimensional standards, signs. No status changed: the drive-in row's 8 X marks cannot be tied to columns because the PDF text drops blank cells, so all rows stay unclear (now confidence low with names and code citations instead of not read). A layout-preserving copy of Table 3-1 (or a city staff confirmation) would settle it.).
Drive-thru restaurant rule by zoning district
| District | Drive-thru restaurant | What the code says | Section | Source | Read on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3RD | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | maps.iredellcountync.gov | 2026-11-15 | |
| 4CRK | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | maps.iredellcountync.gov | 2026-11-15 | |
| AIRPT | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | maps.iredellcountync.gov | 2026-11-15 | |
| B-1 Neighborhood Service District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| B-2 Neighborhood Business District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| B-2CZ Neighborhood Business District - Conditional Zoning | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| B-3 Shopping Center Business District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| B-4 Highway Business District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| B-5 General Business District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| CB Central Business District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| CBP Central Business Perimeter District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| H-115 Highway 115/Shelton Avenue Corridor District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| HI Heavy Industrial District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| LI Light Industrial District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| LI CZ Light Industrial District - Conditional Zoning | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| MIXED | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | maps.iredellcountync.gov | 2026-11-15 | |
| O+I-2 Office and Institutional Complex District (O & I-2 in code) | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| O-1 Office Single Lot District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| PUD Planned Unit Development District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R5CZ High Density Single-Family Residential District - Conditional Zoning | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R5MFCZ High Density Multi-Family Residential District - Conditional Zoning | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R-5 High Density Single-Family Residential District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R-5M High Density Single-Family/Manufactured Housing Residential District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R-5MF High Density Multi-Family Residential District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R-8 Medium Density Single-Family Residential District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R-8CZ Medium Density Single-Family Residential District - Conditional Zoning | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R-8M Medium Density Single-Family/Manufactured Housing Residential District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R-8MF Medium Density Multi-Family Residential District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R-10 Urban Low Density Residential District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R-10CZ Urban Low Density Residential District - Conditional Zoning | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R-10M Urban Low Density Manufactured Housing Residential District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R-15 Urban Fringe Low Density Residential District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R-15M Urban Fringe Low Density Residential/Manufactured Housing District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R-20 Suburban Residential District | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 | |
| R-A Residential Agricultural District (RA in code) | Not confirmed | Not read closely enough to state a rule. | assets.locable.com | 2026-11-15 |
"By right" means permitted with site plan and building permit review only. Overlay districts, planned developments (PD/PUD) and conditions attached to a past rezoning can change the answer for a single parcel.
Official zoning map layer
To find the district for a parcel, query the jurisdiction's own GIS zoning layer: https://maps.iredellcountync.gov/server/rest/services/Data/Zoning/MapServer/1 (district field: ZONING)
Iredell County GIS sublayer 'Statesville Zoning'; 35 district values confirmed 2026-11-15. Code read from the city's own UDC PDF (Appendix A, Supp. No. 50, June 2023). Every row stays unclear: the Table 3-1 drive-in row has 8 permitted marks, but the PDF text drops blank cells, so which districts they fall in could not be read (needs the table viewed with its layout, or planning staff). The row has no special-use marks, so each district is either by right or not allowed. 3RD, 4CRK, AIRPT and MIXED are not UDC base districts.
Sources
How to confirm before you buy
- Look up the parcel on the official zoning map to get its district and any overlay.
- Open the code section linked in the table and read the use table and the drive-thru standards.
- Call the planning office and ask whether a drive-thru restaurant needs anything beyond site plan review at that address.
Why this library exists
I'm Luke Smith. I find land for drive-thru brands like 7 Brew, Ellianos Coffee and Starbucks, sign the tenant, build the shop and sell it as a net lease property. Every deal starts with the same question: is the use allowed here without a rezoning? Getting that answer takes too long, so we read the codes (with AI research help), and I publish what we find with a link back to every source so you can check it yourself.
If you have a site that fits a drive-thru, or you want to learn how these deals are put together, join the free Reverse Deal Finder community on Skool, see cap rates and land prices by brand, or call 1-760-392-1525. Brokers welcome: I pay commissions.