The application includes driveway requirements from the Hillsborough Code of Ordinances and Unified Development Ordinance. Follow guidance, and be sure to receive approval before building a driveway.

Apply for Driveway Permit

This application includes information on fees, patching asphalt and gravel roads, and general notes on utility cuts. Follow guidance, and be sure to receive approval before performing any work.

Apply for Utility Cut Permit

New development and redevelopment projects must:

• Submit a stormwater management plan prior to construction. Approval is required for construction to start.
• Manage stormwater using best management practices.

Submit Stormwater Management Plan

Resources

Examples of best management practices include:

• Non-structural — Riparian buffers, open space and other low-impact development techniques
• Structural — Stormwater wetlands, water quality ponds, wet detention and bio-retention

See the following documents:

• Erosion Control for Residential Construction
• Stormwater Standards for New Development and Redevelopment Projects

The town enforces a 50-foot vegetated riparian (stream) buffer along streams and the Eno River to:

• Reduce erosion.
• Encourage runoff to soak into the ground.
• Protect water quality.

Use or Impact Must Be Approved

Riparian buffers should remain undisturbed if possible. Clearing and building within a stream buffer requires approval. Allowable activities are typically minor in impact but require submitting and receiving approval of an analysis showing that no practical alternative exists. 

Typically allowed are:

• Impact from roadways, driveways and utilities.
• Agricultural and forestry activities within a buffer if state guidelines are followed.

Resources

• Hillsborough Unified Development Ordinance Section 6.20.17. The town’s riparian buffer rules contain a list of uses categorized as allowable or allowable with mitigation.
• North Carolina Neuse River Basin Buffer Rule through the Riparian Buffer Protection Program page of the North Carolina Division of Water Resources.
• Riparian (Stream) Buffers

Town stormwater staff are certified by the state to conduct surface water (stream) identifications. They will:

• Conduct on-site determinations of whether a stream is present before construction begins.
• Check drainage features on properties to determine whether the feature is a stream.

Request Stream Identification

Permits for supplemental irrigation may be purchased to protect new plantings for 90 days. To be eligible, a property:

• Must have an active building permit or have had one within the previous 90 days.
• Must not have received a supplemental irrigation permit in five years.

No permits are issued during water restrictions at Stage 2 or higher. For permit prices, see the town's Fees and Charges Schedule.