Can This Go Here?

Serving Orange & Chatham County, NC

Can This Go Here?

Enter any address in Orange or Chatham County and get the full picture: zoning, setbacks, impervious surface, septic or public sewer, environmental constraints — and what you may be able to build on it, from pools to ADUs to chicken coops.

Orange County and Chatham County, North Carolina.

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Before you build anything, understand the property

Most people find out what a property allows the expensive way — after the drawings, after the deposit, after the contractor is standing in the yard. The rules already exist in public records. They're just scattered across zoning maps, county parcel files, watershed layers and federal flood data.

We read all of it and hand you the picture in one place.

  • What the zoning district actually allows
  • How far from every property line you have to stay
  • How much hard surface the property can have in total
  • Whether the property is on septic or public sewer — and where a drainfield rules out building
  • Whether a stream buffer crosses the lot
  • Whether any part of it sits in a flood zone
  • Whether a historic or neighborhood conservation overlay applies
  • How much of the lot is realistically left to build on

One report. All questions answered.

You don't pick one question. Every report covers the things people ask about most.

A pool

Setbacks, impervious surface budget and buffer distance decide most of this.

An ADU

Whether an accessory dwelling is contemplated in this district, and at what size.

A home addition

How much room is left inside the buildable envelope, and how tall it can be.

A detached garage

Accessory placement rules, interior setbacks and added hard surface.

A shed

Usually the easiest — but size and placement still matter.

A deck or patio

Setbacks apply, and depending on the material it may count against impervious surface.

Chickens & animals

Backyard hens follow the local animal code; livestock depends on the zoning district. The report covers both.

Plus all the underlying property rules

Zoning district, setbacks, height limits, impervious surface, stream buffers, flood zones, watershed rules and historic overlays — so you can reason about anything else you might want to do later.

Sample

See a full report before you buy

This is a complete, unedited report for a real property in our coverage area — same maps, same overlays, same findings you get for your own address. Every finding is graded honestly. We never tell you a permit is approved; we tell you what the public record says and exactly what still has to be confirmed with the town or county.

Sample report

107 DOGWOOD LN

Pittsboro, NC 27312

Pulled from public records on 9/5/2026

On the record

Parcel ID (PIN)
0006871
Zoning district
R-15
Water & sewer
On-site septic · private well
Lot size
1.71 acres (74,488 sq ft)
Recorded building area
1,323 sq ft
Year built
1974
Legal description: K6-71Assessed land value: $77,570Assessed building value: $202,939Location (coordinates): 35.732655, -79.189587Buildings on parcel: 2

Buildability

Where could something potentially go?

Roughly open for a new structure

1,534–17,752 sq ft

about 2.1–23.8% of the 74,488 sq ft lot — an estimate, not a survey

  • Septic field and reserve repair area: 17,960 sq ft
  • Existing buildings (mapped footprints): 955 sq ft
  • Stream buffer (50 ft from the bank) — already excluded: 27,475 sq ft
  • Start with the full lot (74,488 sq ft), then remove the 35 ft street setback, 10 ft interior setbacks, and the solar setback.
  • Open ground estimate: roughly 1,534–17,752 sq ft (2.1–23.8% of the lot), after carving out the septic field and reserve repair area.
  • Stream buffer: the 50 ft buffer along the stream is already subtracted and shown on the map.
  • Floodplain: any part of the lot inside the Special Flood Hazard Area needs separate approvals before building.
  • Hard surface cap: roughly 44,693 sq ft total — often the real limit for pools, patios, or wide driveways.
  • Slope: not the binding constraint here — averages 4% with 15 ft of fall across the property.
  • Existing structures: 1 building mapped on the lot, about 951 sq ft of footprint.
  • Map note: parcel boundary, buildings, septic area, and steepest ground are approximate — confirm the true boundary and any easements with a survey.
Boundary from county records · setback lines approximate — confirm with a survey
NSWE

What may be possible here

The Big Questions

Applies to every project on this lot

  • !Measure the driveway, walks and patio you already have: everything on the lot has to fit under the same 44,693 sq ft.
  • !A stream buffer likely crosses part of the lot and nothing can be placed inside it.
  • !Part of this location is in a mapped flood hazard area.

Pool

Possible with constraints

This looks workable, but at least one real constraint shapes it.

  • ·Hard surface: adds about 700 sq ft — roughly 2% of this lot's 44,693 sq ft cap.
  • ·Room on the ground: a 700 sq ft footprint fits inside the 1,534–17,752 sq ft of open ground, but siting is tight.
  • ·Setback: at least 10 ft off interior property lines.

Watch-outs

  • !With this little open ground, placement matters as much as size — a survey is worth it before design.
  • !Pools under 3 feet in height are exempt from setbacks if kept 5 feet off the property line, but decking and equipment usually are not.
  • !Pool decking counts toward the impervious surface cap.
  • !A permitted septic system serves this property — the project must stay clear of the drainfield and its designated repair area. Get the permit drawing from Chatham County Environmental Health before siting it.

ADU / accessory dwelling

Possible with constraints

This looks workable, but at least one real constraint shapes it.

  • ·Hard surface: adds about 800 sq ft — roughly 2% of this lot's 44,693 sq ft cap.
  • ·Room on the ground: a 800 sq ft footprint fits inside the 1,534–17,752 sq ft of open ground, but siting is tight.
  • ·Accessory dwelling units are generally contemplated in this district.
  • ·Setback: at least 10 ft off interior property lines.

Watch-outs

  • !With this little open ground, placement matters as much as size — a survey is worth it before design.
  • !Size caps, parking, and separation from the main house are the usual sticking points.
  • !A permitted septic system serves this property — the project must stay clear of the drainfield and its designated repair area. Get the permit drawing from Chatham County Environmental Health before siting it.
  • !Adding bedrooms can trigger a septic capacity review, which is often the deciding factor on a served lot.

Home addition

Possible with constraints

This looks workable, but at least one real constraint shapes it.

  • ·Hard surface: adds about 700 sq ft — roughly 2% of this lot's 44,693 sq ft cap.
  • ·Room on the ground: a 700 sq ft footprint fits inside the 1,534–17,752 sq ft of open ground, but siting is tight.
  • ·Setback: at least 10 ft off interior property lines.

Watch-outs

  • !With this little open ground, placement matters as much as size — a survey is worth it before design.
  • !An addition also has to respect the height limit and solar setback measured from the northern property line.
  • !A permitted septic system serves this property — the project must stay clear of the drainfield and its designated repair area. Get the permit drawing from Chatham County Environmental Health before siting it.
  • !Adding bedrooms can trigger a septic capacity review, which is often the deciding factor on a served lot.

Detached garage

Possible with constraints

This looks workable, but at least one real constraint shapes it.

  • ·Hard surface: adds about 576 sq ft — roughly 1% of this lot's 44,693 sq ft cap.
  • ·Room on the ground: a 576 sq ft footprint fits inside the 1,534–17,752 sq ft of open ground, but siting is tight.
  • ·Setback: at least 10 ft off interior property lines.

Watch-outs

  • !With this little open ground, placement matters as much as size — a survey is worth it before design.
  • !Driveway paving to reach a detached garage usually costs more impervious allowance than the garage itself.
  • !A permitted septic system serves this property — the project must stay clear of the drainfield and its designated repair area. Get the permit drawing from Chatham County Environmental Health before siting it.

Shed

Potentially possible

Nothing in the mapped record rules this out — the numbers below are what shape it.

  • ·Hard surface: adds about 120 sq ft — roughly 0% of this lot's 44,693 sq ft cap.
  • ·Room on the ground: a 120 sq ft footprint is about 1% of the 1,534–17,752 sq ft of open ground — it fits comfortably.
  • ·Small accessory structures are the easiest thing to fit on most lots.
  • ·Setback: at least 10 ft off interior property lines.

Deck or patio

Potentially possible

Nothing in the mapped record rules this out — the numbers below are what shape it.

  • ·Hard surface: adds about 300 sq ft — roughly 1% of this lot's 44,693 sq ft cap.
  • ·Room on the ground: a 300 sq ft footprint is about 2% of the 1,534–17,752 sq ft of open ground — it fits comfortably.
  • ·Small accessory structures are the easiest thing to fit on most lots.
  • ·Setback: at least 10 ft off interior property lines.

The rules on this property

Zoning: R-15

This property sits in R-15 — Low Medium Density Residential (R-15). A third-of-an-acre Pittsboro residential district.

The lot (74,488 sq ft) meets the 15,000 sq ft minimum for this district.

Buildings generally have to stay 35 ft back from the street right-of-way, 10 ft from interior property lines, and meet a Not specified solar setback on the northern side.

Minimum lot size
From public record
15,000 sq ft
Minimum lot width
From public record
100 ft
Minimum street frontage
From public record
100 ft
Primary height limit
From public record
35 ft

Height at the front setback line.

Maximum height
From public record
Not specified

Allowed only with additional setbacks.

Maximum floor area ratio
From public record
Not specified

Pittsboro UDO section 2.3.3: 15,000 sq ft minimum lot, 100 ft width, 35 ft front, 10 ft side and 17.5 ft on a corner, 20 ft rear, 35 ft height, 60 percent maximum lot coverage.

The buildable envelope

Setbacks

Street setback

35 ft

Interior setback

10 ft

Solar setback

—

Setbacks define the buildable envelope: the area of the lot where a structure may sit.

Town of Pittsboro measures a street setback from the right-of-way line (not the pavement edge) and an interior setback from side and rear property lines.

Some features are commonly exempt — roof overhangs, fences and walls up to about 6 feet, and low patios, decks and pools kept a short distance off the property line. The exact exemptions vary by ordinance.

Where two setbacks apply to the same lot line, the larger of the two governs.

How much hard surface is allowed

Impervious surface

Ratio applied

0.60

Approximate cap

44,693 sq ft

Recorded building area

1,323 sq ft

Town of Pittsboro caps hard surface in this district at 60% of the lot. Existing driveway, walkway and patio area counts toward that cap and is not measured in county records, so the remaining allowance has to be established on the ground.

The recorded building area is the county's finished floor area, not a measured ground footprint — a two-storey house covers roughly half of it. To see how much of the cap is left, add up the house footprint, driveway, walks and patio on the ground today and subtract that from the cap above.

How the land lies

Topography

Typical slope
From public record
4% average, 10.8% at the steepest point

Gently sloping ground. Normal foundations, driveways and grading should work without unusual site costs.

Elevation change across the lot
From public record
15 ft (from 427 ft to 443 ft above sea level)

Sampled from USGS 3DEP elevation data across the parcel — bare ground, not a site survey.

Steep ground
Estimated
No part of the lot reaches a 15% slope

Slope is not a significant constraint here, so setbacks, the septic field and buffers are what shape the site.

Water, flood and watershed

Environmental constraints

Special Flood Hazard Area
From public record
FEMA zone AE touches this location

Building in a Special Flood Hazard Area triggers floodplain development rules and, usually, flood insurance requirements.

Mapped streams (3)
From public record
seasonal stream — Runs across the property

The state's riparian buffer runs about 50 ft from the bank on each side, and nothing can be built inside it. The buffer is drawn on the map and taken out of the buildable area figures.

County permit records

Septic & wastewater

Septic is common across Orange and Chatham counties, and it shapes a project as much as any setback. Below is what the county permit record says about this property and what it means for building on it.

Wastewater
From public record
On-site septic system on county record

Chatham County's tax record lists this parcel as served by an on-site system, and the county's Environmental Health map shows a septic area on or beside it. Where an area is mapped, it is the permit footprint; the surveyed trench layout is on the permit drawing.

Where you cannot build
From public record
Over the drainfield or its repair area

A septic system needs two areas kept clear: the field in use and an equally sized repair area held in reserve. Nothing structural goes on either one — no addition, ADU, garage, pool or pool deck.

Hard surface and paving
From public record
No paving or vehicle traffic over the field

Driveways, patios and parking cannot cross the field or repair area — the soil has to breathe and stay uncompacted. This does not change the impervious surface cap in the zoning section, but it does decide where the hard surface you are allowed can actually go.

Adding bedrooms
From public record
Triggers a county capacity review

Septic systems are permitted for a set number of bedrooms. An addition or ADU that adds one usually means Chatham County Environmental Health re-evaluates the system, and sometimes an expansion is required.

Trees, wells and setbacks
From public record
Keep the field clear of new planting

State rules keep the field a set distance from wells, streams, foundations and property lines, and tree roots can destroy a drainfield. Plan landscaping around it too, not just structures.

Exact drainfield location
From public record
Free from the county on request

Chatham County Environmental Health holds the permit drawing with the surveyed trench layout — request it before designing anything nearby.

Overlays

Historic and neighborhood restrictions

Historic and conservation overlays
From public record
None mapped at this location

Two layers of rules

Chickens, animals & small-scale agriculture

Two separate rulebooks apply at once: the zoning use table for the district, and the town or county animal ordinance, which is not zoning at all. Both have to allow what you want to keep.

Backyard chickens
From public record
Up to 10 chickens, on lots of 15,000 sq ft or more

This lot (74,488 sq ft) clears the 15,000 sq ft minimum. Up to 10 chickens or 15 rabbits in a rear-yard, predator-proof shelter, 15 ft from property lines, no slaughtering. Farm operations fall under Sec. 7.2 (200 ft setbacks, 100 ft if soundproofed/AC). Source: Pittsboro UDO Sec. 3.3.5.B.26 (accessory keeping of animals) and Sec. 7.2 (agriculture).

Livestock (horses, goats, etc.)
From public record
Stables and larger animals only in the rural districts

Stables are an accessory use in R-A districts. Agricultural animal keeping requires 200 ft setbacks (100 ft if soundproofed/AC) and cannot be for profit. Note that the zoning use table does not list livestock as an accessory use in R-15, and both layers of rules have to allow it.

Beekeeping
From public record
Allowed with chickens, on 15,000 sq ft or more

Hives follow the same accessory-use standard as chickens: rear yard on 15,000+ sq ft, no hive count specified.

Selling eggs, produce or animals
From public record
Keeping animals cannot be for profit

Animal keeping cannot be for profit and on-site slaughtering is prohibited on residential lots.

Gardens and small-scale growing
Needs verification
Generally fine; not separately listed

The use table for R-15 does not call out non-livestock agriculture as an accessory use. A household vegetable garden is rarely an issue, but anything at a scale that looks commercial should be checked with Town of Pittsboro.

Bona fide farms
From public record
Town rules still apply inside town limits

Under N.C.G.S. 160D-903, a genuine farm is exempt from county zoning — not town zoning. Farm status can be shown with a sales-tax exemption, Schedule F, forest management plan, or present-use-value classification. The exemption covers the farm operation, not ordinary residential building on the same parcel.

What works in your favour

Biggest opportunities

  • ✓The lot is well above the district minimum, which usually means real room behind the setback lines.
  • ✓Accessory dwelling units are generally contemplated in this residential district, subject to Town of Pittsboro's accessory dwelling standards.

What gets in the way

Biggest constraints

  • !Part of this location is mapped in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area.
  • !A mapped stream runs across the property, so a protected buffer roughly 50 ft wide covers part of the lot.
  • !A permitted septic system serves this property — new structures must keep clear of the drainfield and its designated repair area.

Before you spend money

What needs to be verified

  • ·The true property boundary and any easements — only a survey establishes these.
  • ·Existing impervious surface on the ground today (driveway, walks, patio), which county records do not measure directly.
  • ·Whether the lot is a lot of record predating current standards, which changes several rules.
  • ·Septic or utility easements, and any private covenants or HOA restrictions — these are not in any public map layer.
  • ·The current text of Town of Pittsboro's zoning ordinance, which is amended periodically.
  • ·Where the stream bank actually sits — the buffer is measured from the bank on the ground, not from the mapped centreline.

What to do now

Next steps

  1. 1Call or email Town of Pittsboro's planning staff with the parcel ID above and describe the project — they will confirm the district standards.
  2. 2Order or locate a current survey before designing anything near a property line.
  3. 3If the project adds hard surface, total up existing paving first so you know how much allowance is left.
  4. 4Talk to a licensed designer, contractor or land use professional once you know which constraints actually bind.

Where this came from

Sources

NC OneMap AddressNC (Orange and Chatham address points)·Orange County parcels (published by the Town of Chapel Hill)·Chatham County CAMA parcels·Chatham County structures·Chapel Hill zoning districts·Orange County 2025 zoning·Chatham County zoning·Pittsboro zoning·Chapel Hill overlay zoning districts·Chapel Hill streams and waterbodies·USGS National Hydrography Dataset (streams and waterbodies)·Jordan Lake Watershed Protection District·FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (Esri reduced set)·OWASA primary service area·Chatham County septic areas·Orange County on-site septic permits·FEMA USA Structures (building footprints)·USGS 3DEP elevation (1/3 arc-second)·Chatham County Zoning Ordinance / Pittsboro Unified Development Ordinance·Chatham County Environmental Health — septic & well records·Pittsboro UDO Sec. 3.3.5.B.26 (accessory keeping of animals) and Sec. 7.2 (agriculture)

Can This Go Here? provides preliminary property information based on available public data and should not be considered an official zoning determination, permit approval, survey, engineering opinion, or legal advice. Requirements should be confirmed with the town or county with jurisdiction and appropriate professionals before beginning a project.

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Can This Go Here? provides preliminary property information based on available public data and should not be considered an official zoning determination, permit approval, survey, engineering opinion, or legal advice. Requirements should be confirmed with the town or county with jurisdiction and appropriate professionals before beginning a project.