--- title: "Brunswick & Horry Turf Permit Checks | TIMELESS Grass & Greens" description: "Before you dig in Brunswick County, NC, or Horry County, SC: the order to check zoning, stormwater, floodplain and CAMA, sourced to each county's own pages." url: https://www.timelessgrass.com/guides/brunswick-and-horry-county-turf-permit-steps/ updated: 2026-09-13 --- The Grand Strand # The checks before a turf dig in Brunswick County, NC, and Horry County, SC, in the order to make them * * * Updated 2026-09-13 The short version ## What do I need to check before a turf installation in Brunswick County, NC, or Horry County, SC? Start with which office has jurisdiction over the parcel — county or one of the towns. In Brunswick County, ask whether the project crosses the stormwater ordinance's triggers: over an acre disturbed, a grade change over four inches, or work within 30 feet of a stream. On the Horry County side, the county's own page states single-family residential construction is exempt from the land-disturbance permit — but that exemption is a different question from whether turf counts as an impervious surface for stormwater fee purposes, so confirm both separately before scheduling work. Planning a turf installation? Get a layout, turf options and a written quote for your space. [Request a free estimate](https://www.timelessgrass.com/estimate/) [Call 303-349-2368](tel:3033492368) We’ll call to arrange a free site visit. [Jump to the checklist](https://www.timelessgrass.com/guides/brunswick-and-horry-county-turf-permit-steps/#section-3) On this page On this page 1. [Confirm the office before you confirm anything else](https://www.timelessgrass.com/guides/brunswick-and-horry-county-turf-permit-steps/#section-1) 2. [Brunswick County: the three stormwater triggers](https://www.timelessgrass.com/guides/brunswick-and-horry-county-turf-permit-steps/#section-2) 3. [Building permit checklists do not cover the rest](https://www.timelessgrass.com/guides/brunswick-and-horry-county-turf-permit-steps/#section-3) 4. [Floodplain and, on larger projects, heritage trees](https://www.timelessgrass.com/guides/brunswick-and-horry-county-turf-permit-steps/#section-4) 5. [The 30-foot CAMA buffer on coastal lots](https://www.timelessgrass.com/guides/brunswick-and-horry-county-turf-permit-steps/#section-5) 6. [Horry County: two different questions, not one](https://www.timelessgrass.com/guides/brunswick-and-horry-county-turf-permit-steps/#section-6) 7. [The order to work through it](https://www.timelessgrass.com/guides/brunswick-and-horry-county-turf-permit-steps/#section-7) ## Confirm the office before you confirm anything else A Grand Strand address does not tell you who reviews your project. Brunswick County's stormwater ordinance runs the unincorporated county plus five towns under administrative agreement — Belville, Boiling Spring Lakes, Bolivia, St. James and Sunset Beach — but Shallotte, Carolina Shores and other incorporated towns run their own permitting instead. The Town of Carolina Shores publishes a Planning & Zoning Division page listing zoning compliance permits, floodplain permitting and mapping, and commercial, site and subdivision plan review among that division's functions, working with the town's own internal cross-functional team. The page does not state whether any of that runs separately from the county's own process, so treat it only as a list of what the town's division handles, not as proof the two offices never overlap. On the South Carolina side, an unincorporated Horry County lot answers to the county; a Myrtle Beach or North Myrtle Beach address answers to the city. Pull the parcel record and confirm which office has the file before you ask anyone a permit question — the answer changes depending on who you ask. ## Brunswick County: the three stormwater triggers Brunswick County's Stormwater Ordinance page states a residential stormwater permit is required if any one of three conditions applies: the project disturbs more than an acre; the site is graded, filled or excavated in a way that changes elevation by more than four inches; or the work happens within 30 feet of the banks of a natural stream or other water body. Any one of the three is enough on its own — you do not need all three. The ordinance has run since 16 September 2002 for the unincorporated county and is administered the same way in Belville, Boiling Spring Lakes, Bolivia, St. James and Sunset Beach. Residential applications go on form SW-002, last updated 16 February 2026, through the county's online permit portal. The open question we could not settle from published material: whether excavating a turf base and refilling it back to the same finished grade counts as a four-inch elevation change, or whether the ordinance is measuring net change only. Ask Brunswick County Engineering (Stormwater) for a written answer on your specific grading plan before you schedule the dig. ## Building permit checklists do not cover the rest Brunswick County Code Administration publishes a "Do I Need a Permit?" list, and the page says plainly that the list "pertains to building permits only" and "does not account for non-building permits that other departments may require for your project (i.e. Zoning, etc.)." In other words, clearing a building-permit checklist tells you nothing about whether the stormwater ordinance, a floodplain permit or a zoning approval also applies to the same job. Treat it as one box among several, not the whole form. ## Floodplain and, on larger projects, heritage trees Brunswick County's Unified Development Ordinance, revised through 19 August 2024, sets out a separate Floodplain Development Permit in Article 7 for work in a mapped flood hazard area — a parcel-specific question, so check the county's flood maps for your lot before assuming it does or does not apply. The same UDO's Sec. 6.1.3 requires a heritage tree survey, but only for multifamily, nonresidential, major subdivision and planned development applications — the ordinance defines a heritage tree by species and trunk size, for example a live oak measuring 4 inches or more at 4.5 feet. A single-family residential turf job does not trigger it on its own. If your project is a residential putting green or backyard turf install, this one is unlikely to apply; a commercial or multifamily job should check it directly. ## The 30-foot CAMA buffer on coastal lots If the parcel is on tidal or estuarine water in Brunswick County, there is a separate rule that has nothing to do with the stormwater ordinance: North Carolina's Coastal Resources Commission voted 10 to 1 in September 2021 to prohibit artificial turf within the 30-foot coastal shoreline buffer. That prohibition applies regardless of how the stormwater or impervious-surface questions come out. We cover the built-upon-area side of North Carolina's turf rules, including where the CAMA buffer and the state's 2024 stormwater exclusion for turf interact, in our companion guide on [NC vs. SC built-upon area rules](https://www.timelessgrass.com/guides/nc-vs-sc-built-upon-area/). ## Horry County: two different questions, not one Horry County runs two separate regimes that this project can touch, and they are easy to conflate. The first is the stormwater utility fee system in Code of Ordinances Chapter 17.7, which defines impervious surface for the purpose of calculating a property's stormwater fee. We were not able to independently confirm the specific wording of Sec. 17.7-16 at the Municode page that publishes it — the page would not render on repeated attempts — so we do not quote it here and cannot tell you today whether a turf system's base and backing would be counted as impervious under that fee definition. That is a question for Horry County Stormwater, not something to assume either way. The second, separate regime is land-disturbance permitting, covered on the county's own current stormwater permitting page. That page states single-family residential construction is exempt from the county's stormwater land-disturbance permit requirement. The same page describes submitted project information as being reviewed to determine whether it is exempt — it does not describe a formal case-by-case standard beyond that. In practice, this means a straightforward single-family backyard turf job is likely to fall outside the land-disturbance permit requirement, while the separate stormwater-fee impervious-surface question in Chapter 17.7 is a different matter we could not confirm either way. Because the two regimes answer different questions, do not treat one as settling the other. Contact Horry County Stormwater for a written determination on your parcel and project scope — especially on a commercial job, anything larger than a small residential backyard, or if you want certainty on how the property's impervious-surface fee is affected. A Murrells Inlet mailing address is also worth double-checking: Murrells Inlet sits in Georgetown County, not Horry, which is a different office with its own rules we have not researched here. ## The order to work through it Putting the pieces in sequence: first, confirm the parcel's jurisdiction — county or town, and which state. Second, in Brunswick County, check the building-permit list only for what it covers, then separately check the stormwater ordinance's three triggers against your actual grading plan. Third, check whether Article 7 floodplain rules apply to your parcel, and whether Sec. 6.1.3 applies to your project type. Fourth, on any coastal lot, confirm CAMA jurisdiction and the 30-foot buffer before land alteration starts. Fifth, in Horry County, confirm the single-family land-disturbance exemption applies to your specific project on the county's permitting page, then separately ask Stormwater whether the Chapter 17.7 impervious-surface fee definition affects your parcel. We measure the ground and build the layout you approve, but we do not issue permits or interpret ordinances on a homeowner's behalf — that determination has to come from the office that administers the rule. Once you have it in hand, call us at 303-349-2368 and we will plan the install around it. ## Common questions ### Does a small backyard putting green need a Brunswick County stormwater permit? Only if it crosses one of the three stated triggers: more than an acre disturbed, an elevation change over four inches from grading or excavation, or work within 30 feet of a stream or water body. A small, shallow-graded green may clear all three — but excavating and refilling a turf base to the same finished grade is an open question the county has not answered in writing, so ask Brunswick County Engineering (Stormwater) directly for your grading plan. ### I cleared the Brunswick County "Do I Need a Permit?" checklist. Am I done? No. That page states it covers building permits only and does not account for zoning or other departments' permits. Clearing it says nothing about the separate stormwater ordinance, a floodplain development permit, or (for coastal lots) CAMA jurisdiction — check each of those on its own. ### Does Horry County require a stormwater permit for a residential turf project? The county's current stormwater permitting page states single-family residential construction is exempt from the land-disturbance permit requirement. That is a separate question from whether turf counts as an impervious surface under the county's stormwater-fee definitions in Chapter 17.7, which we could not independently confirm the wording of. Ask Horry County Stormwater to confirm both points for your specific project before signing a contract. ### My lot is in Sunset Beach, Belville, or another Brunswick County partner town. Does the county ordinance still apply? Yes — Brunswick County's stormwater ordinance is administered the same way in Belville, Boiling Spring Lakes, Bolivia, St. James and Sunset Beach as in the unincorporated county. Towns like Carolina Shores and Shallotte that are not on that list run their own permitting instead, so confirm which office has your parcel first. This page explains the rules that apply to turf installation. It isn’t legal advice: statutes change and local codes differ, so check with your town, your water provider or your HOA before you build. Free estimate ## See the plan before you decide. Tell us about your project and we’ll call to arrange a free visit. [Or call 303-349-2368](tel:3033492368) Your free estimate includes - A visit to measure your space - A custom layout, drawn for your space - Turf options, side by side - A written price, with no pressure to sign [Request a free estimate](https://www.timelessgrass.com/estimate/) Five short steps. We’ll call to arrange your visit.