City of Lewes, DE Article XIII Conditional Uses

§ 197-94 Definition.

"Conditional uses" are uses that are generally desirable for the general convenience and welfare but, because of their nature, require additional review to assess their impact on neighboring properties and the entire City.

§ 197-95 Application and review process.

A. New application submission.

(1) Applications for conditional uses shall be submitted to the City Planner. The City Planner may provide forms to facilitate application processing.

[Amended 2-14-2022]

(2) Applications shall be made in writing and shall provide the following information:

(a) Name(s) and address(es) of applicant(s) and property owner(s).

(b) Statement of the type of use requested.

(c) Information about the property for which the application is being made.

(d) Information to support the application:

[1] (Reserved)[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former § 197-95A(2)(d)[1], regarding information about the property, was repealed 9-10-2018.

[2] Statements as to how the application complies with all of the provisions of § 197-96.

[3] Plans or drawings that support or clarify the use requested.

[4] Other information requested by the Mayor and City Council.

B. Notification of neighboring property owners. An applicant for a conditional use shall provide copies of application materials to the owners of all properties within 200 feet of the property for which the application or review is being made.

C. Burden of proof on applicant. An applicant for a conditional use shall have the burden of presenting the information needed by the Mayor and City Council to make a determination.

D. Planning Commission review. The Planning Commission shall review each conditional use application at a regular or special meeting and forward a recommendation to the Mayor and City Council.

E. Mayor and City Council review.

(1) The Mayor and City Council shall review and take action on each conditional use application at a regular or special meeting.

(2) The Mayor and City Council may attach conditions to approvals of applications.

§ 197-96 Required findings.

The Mayor and City Council shall determine whether each conditional use application:

A. Is in harmony with the purposes and intent of the Comprehensive Plan.

B. Will be in harmony with the general character of its neighborhood considering density, design, bulk, and scale of proposed new structures.

C. Will not be detrimental to the use, peaceful enjoyment, economic value, or development of surrounding properties.

D. Will not cause objectionable noise, vibrations, fumes, odors, dust, glare, or physical activity.

E. Will have no detrimental effect on vehicular or pedestrian traffic.

F. Will not adversely affect the health, safety, security, or general welfare of residents, visitors, or workers in the area.

G. Will not unduly affect designated scenic byways.

H. Complies with all other applicable standards, laws, and regulations in addition to the provisions of this chapter.

I. May require additional off-street parking (based on the conditional use in question).

J. Additional requirements for certain conditional uses. The following requirements are in addition to the required findings in this article for the conditional uses listed below:

[Amended 9-11-2017]

(1) Restaurant, above street level:

(a) Minimum tract size shall be 20,000 square feet.

(b) The front yard setback shall be 25 feet or the established building line.

(c) At the time of application, a site plan shall be submitted, drawn to scale by a Delaware certified surveyor or professional engineer showing:

[1] The location of all structures (existing and proposed) located on the premises;

[2] The design, dimension and location of any proposed sign;

[3] The location of all vehicular entrances and exits to the proposed property;

[4] The location of all off-street parking spaces and loading areas;

[5] The location of all lot lines and the names of adjoining property owners;

[6] The location and type of any proposed fencing, screening or planting areas;

[7] The location of all proposed outdoor lighting; and

[8] Federal Emergency Management Agency floodplain delineations.

(d) If the structure contains a "basement" defined as a story, or the floor of the first story is elevated five feet above the level from which the height of the building is measured and the area beneath the first floor is used for business purposes or parking, then the restaurant use shall be confined to the first story of the structure.

(2) Manufactured home parks.

[Added 8-13-2018[1]]

(a) Permitted only when existing prior to annexation into the City of Lewes.

(b) The minimum area for a manufactured home site for placing one manufactured home shall be 5,000 square feet, with a width of not less than 50 feet and with corners of each site visibly marked and numbered by a permanent marker. Any manufactured home with its accessory buildings shall not occupy in the aggregate more than 40% of the gross area of the manufactured home site. No manufactured home site shall be offered for sale or sold.

(c) The park shall include open space accessible to all manufactured home occupants and suitable for recreation at a ratio of 300 square feet minimum of recreational area per manufactured home site.

(d) The manufactured home park shall be surrounded by a landscaped buffer strip of open space 50 feet wide along all boundary lines. The buffer strip shall remain free of any buildings or streets.

(e) No main residential structure or any addition thereto shall be placed closer than 16 feet to any other main residential structure, and no part of any authorized residential structure or addition thereto shall be extended closer than eight feet to the boundaries of the individual manufactured home site.

(f) No main residential structure or accessory structure shall exceed an overall height of 15 feet. Steps with related landing may project four feet into the required setback.

(g) Two off-street parking spaces shall be provided on each manufactured home site.

(h) Support operations intended primarily for occupants of the park, such as a management office and laundry facilities, shall be permitted within the park area.

(i) Proper provision shall be made for public water supply, sanitary sewers, electric connections, fire protection, laundry, toilet and bathing facilities. Open unenclosed landings and steps required to provide access into the main residential structure shall not be calculated as part of the lot coverage requirement of 40%.

(j) All manufactured homes must meet the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Code as approved June 15, 1976.

(k) No part of any accessory building shall extend closer than five feet to the boundaries of another manufactured home site, or within 10 feet of a main residential structure on another manufactured home site, or within eight feet of an accessory building on another manufactured home site, or exceed an overall height of 15 feet.

(l) All placement of new manufactured homes must be located outside of the flood hazard area.

(m) Any manufactured home may be replaced with another manufactured home as long as the above conditions are satisfied.

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance also amended the introductory text of Subsection J.

(3) Residential planned community (RPC).

[Added 8-13-2018]

(a) Permitted only in the Annexation Mix Zone (AX-MIX).

(b) The minimum tract area shall be 20 acres or greater.

(c) The minimum required open space shall be 20% of the tract area.

(d) The RPC must be developed so that total overall land area meets the following criteria:

[1] Townhouse residential shall not be greater than 50% of the total family units in the development.

[2] Area dedicated to commercial space shall be limited to 6% and office space shall be limited to 10%, or a combination of commercial and office space not to exceed 16% both including any accessory uses, of the overall land area including any common parking or utility areas that are required in connection with the uses.

(e) The base permitted residential units for an RPC shall be determined based on the following formula (Note: Convert all values into square feet):

[Gross Area - Commercial Area - Office Area - Open Space Area] = Base Permitted Residential Units

10890

(f) All lots shall be configured to be contained completely outside of all wetlands as defined by this chapter.

(g) A minimum of 25 feet of permanent setback buffer must be maintained around the outer boundaries of all wetlands, except for tidal waters, tidal tributary streams and tidal wetlands and from the ordinary high-water line of perennial nontidal rivers and nontidal streams where a fifty-foot permanent buffer is required. No building or paving shall be placed within these buffers. The "buffer zone" shall be maintained in natural vegetation but may include planted vegetation where necessary to protect, stabilize or enhance the area.

(h) Buildings or structures located within 50 feet of an existing residential development shall provide adequate transition in density or shall provide a thirty-foot buffer meeting the standards below and maintained by a designated entity.

[1] A planting strip at least 30 feet wide near the property line which shall include two canopy trees, four understory trees and 10 shrubs per 100 linear feet of buffer; or

[2] A landscaped rolling berm at least four feet in height; or

[3] A solid fence or wall a minimum of six feet in height designed with durable materials, texture and colors compatible with adjacent residential development.

(i) Open space for any RPC shall comply with open space criteria for cluster developments as defined in § 197-50C.

(4) Two-family dwelling in R-4 and R-4(H) Zones.

[Added 9-14-2020]

(a) The exterior of the building shall be designed and constructed to look as one building.

(b) There should be a separation distance of 600 feet between two-family dwellings along the same side of the street.

(c) The two-family dwellings should be in keeping with the proportion, rhythm, balance and scale of the houses within a 600-foot radius.

(d) Two-family dwellings are limited to one attached garage per unit.

§ 197-97 Relationship to development plan approval.

A. Approval of an application by the Mayor and City Council does not supersede or obviate the need for complying with any development plan review standards or requirements.

B. The Mayor and City Council may condition approvals on satisfactory compliance with applicable development review standards and/or may request that the Planning Commission conduct development plan review in conjunction with its review and recommendation on an application.

§ 197-98 Duration; expiration.

A. Duration.

(1) Conditional use applications for two-family dwellings are exempt from annual conditional use permit renewal.

[Added 9-14-2020[1]]

[1] Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former Subsection A(1) and (2) as Subsection A(2) and (3).

(2) For conditional use applications for public service organizations, the Mayor and City Council may grant long-term conditional use approval of up to five years, after which an applicant may reapply.

(3) For all other applications, the Mayor and City Council may grant conditional use approval of one year, after which an applicant may reapply.

B. Expiration. A conditional use approval expires when such use is abandoned.