As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ADJACENT
Physically touching or bordering upon; sharing a common boundary,
but not overlapping.
AGRICULTURE
Production, storage, keeping, harvesting, grading, packaging,
processing, boarding, or maintenance, for sale, lease, or personal
use, of plants and animals useful to humans, including but not limited
to:
C.
Dairy animals and dairy products.
D.
Poultry and poultry products.
E.
Livestock, including beef cattle, sheep, swine,
horses, ponies, mules, or goats or any mutations or hybrids thereof,
including the breeding and grazing or any or all of such animals.
F.
Bees and apiary products.
H.
Trees and forest products.
I.
Fruits of all kinds, including grapes, nuts,
and berries.
K.
Nursery, floral, ornamental, and greenhouse
products.
L.
Lands devoted to a soil conservation or forestry
management program.
ALLEY
See "street, alley."
ALTERATION
Any change in or rearrangement of the supporting members
of an existing building, such as bearing walls, columns, beams, girders,
or interior partitions, as well as any change in doors, windows, means
of ingress or egress, or any enlargement to or diminution of a building
or structure, whether horizontally or vertically, or the moving of
a building or structure from one location to another.
ALTERATION, STRUCTURAL
Any change in either the supporting members of a building,
such as bearing walls, columns, beams, and girders, or in the dimensions
or configurations of the roof or exterior walls.
ANIMAL KENNEL
Any structure or premises in which animals are boarded, groomed,
bred, or trained for commercial gain. See also "Veterinary hospital."
APPLICANT
A person submitting an application for approvals, permissions,
permits, reviews, variances, or waivers in this chapter.
ARCHITECT
An individual licensed to practice the profession of architecture
by the State of Delaware.
AUTOMOBILE
A self-propelled, free-moving vehicle, with not more than
two axles, usually used to transport passengers and licensed by the
appropriate state agency as a passenger vehicle.
AUTOMOBILE REPAIR SERVICES
Definitions include the following:
A.
MAJOR REPAIR SERVICESGeneral repair, rebuilding, or reconditioning of engines, motor vehicles, or trailers, including bodywork, welding, and major painting service.
B.
MINOR REPAIR SERVICESReplacement or repair of any motor vehicle part that does not require removal of the engine head or pan, engine transmission, or differential, but may include incidental body and fender work, minor painting, and upholstering service.
AUTOMOBILE SALES
Use of land and buildings for the display, sale, rental,
or lease of new or used automobiles, light trucks, vans, trailers,
recreation vehicles or sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
AUTOMOBILE SERVICE STATION
Building, land, or premises used for the retail dispensing
or sales of vehicular fuels, servicing, and repair of motor vehicles
and, as accessory uses, the sale and installation of lubricants, tires,
batteries, and similar vehicle accessories.
BASEMENT
A space having less than half of its height below ground.
BED-AND-BREAKFAST
A lodging place with no more than four guest rooms, or suites
of rooms, available for temporary occupancy, whose owner resides at
the facility, and where meals are available only to guests at the
facility.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE (BMP)
State-of-the-art technology as applied to a specific problem
and including a schedule of activities, prohibited practices, and
maintenance procedures.
BLOCK
A unit of land bounded by streets or by a combination of
streets and public land, railroad rights-of-way, waterways, or any
other barrier to the continuity of development.
BOARD
Board of Adjustment for the Town of Bridgeville. See §
234-17, Board of Adjustment.
BUILDABLE AREA
The area of a lot remaining after the minimum yard and open
space requirements of this chapter have been met.
BUILDING
Any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls
intended for the shelter, housing, or enclosure of any individual,
animal, process equipment, goods, or materials of any kind.
A.
BUILDING, ACCESSORYA subordinate structure on the same lot as a main building in which is conducted a use that is clearly incidental and subordinate to the lot's principal use.
BUILDING HEIGHT
The vertical distance from finished grade to the top of the
highest roof beams on a flat or shed roof, the deck level on a mansard
roof, or the average distance between the eaves and the ridge level
for gable, hip, and gambrel roofs.
BUILDING LINE
A line parallel to the street line touching that part of
a building closest to the street.
CLUB
A group of people, organized for a social, educational, or
recreational purpose, operating primarily neither for profit nor to
render services customarily carried on by commercial businesses.
COMMUNITY CENTER
A building used for recreational, social, educational, and
cultural activities, open to the public or a designated part of the
public, usually owned and operated by a public or nonprofit group
or agency.
CONDOMINIUM
A legal form of real estate ownership, not a type of dwelling
unit or building style, defined as a building, or group of buildings
in which dwelling units, offices, or floor area are owned individually,
and the structure, common areas, and facilities are owned by all the
owners on a proportional, undivided basis.
CONSOLIDATION
Removal of lot lines between parcels. See also "subdivision."
COUNTY
Sussex County, Delaware.
DAY-CARE, CHILD
Child day-care includes the following.
A.
FAMILY CHILD-CARE HOMEA private home, licensed by the State of Delaware, in which at any one time child care is provided for one to six children who are not relatives of the caregiver.
B.
LARGE FAMILY CHILD-CARE HOMEA place, licensed by the State of Delaware, that provides care, education, protection, supervision, and guidance for seven to 12 children, including preschool children who are related to the owner and/or caregivers, not including care provided exclusively for relatives. Service is provided on a regular basis, for part of the twenty-four-hour day, unattended by parent or guardian, and for compensation.
C.
CHILD DAY-CARE CENTERA place that provides care, protection, supervision and guidance for 13 or more children, including preschool children who are related to the operator. Service is provided on a regular basis for periods of less than 24 hours per day, unattended by parent or guardian, and for compensation and is licensed by the State Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families.
DEVELOPER
The legal or beneficial owner(s) of any land included in
a proposed development, including the holder of an option or contract
to purchase or other persons having enforceable proprietary interests
in such lands.
DEVELOPMENT
Any of the following.
A.
The division of a parcel of land into two or
more parcels.
B.
The construction, reconstruction, conversion,
structural alteration, relocation, or enlargement of any structure.
C.
Any mining excavation, landfill, or land disturbance.
D.
Any use or extension of the use of land.
E.
Any planned residential community.
DISTRIBUTION CENTER
An establishment that stores and distributes goods, products,
cargo, and materials, including shipment by boat, rail, air, or motor
vehicle.
DRIVE-IN USE
An establishment that by design, physical facilities, service,
or packaging procedures encourages or permits customers to receive
services, obtain goods, or be entertained while remaining in their
motor vehicles.
DWELLING
A building, or portion thereof, used as a place of residence,
containing sleeping, cooking, and sanitary facilities, excluding commercial
lodging facilities.
A.
DWELLING, ATTACHEDA single-family dwelling that is attached to or shares a common vertical wall with one or more single-family dwellings.
B.
DWELLING, DETACHEDA building containing one dwelling unit that is not attached to any other dwelling by any means, is surrounded by open space or yards, and does not have any roof, wall, or floor in common with any other dwelling unit.
C.
DWELLING, GARDEN APARTMENTOne or more two- or three-story multifamily structures, generally built at a gross density of 10 to 15 dwelling units per acre, with each structure containing between eight and 20 dwelling units and including related off-street parking, open space, and recreational facilities.
D.
DWELLING, MANUFACTURED HOMEA dwelling unit fabricated in an off-site manufacturing facility for installation or assembly at a building site and bearing a label certifying that it is built in accordance with Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, which became effective on June 15, 1976.
E.
DWELLING, MOBILE HOMEA transportable dwelling unit fabricated in an off-site manufacturing facility, designed to be a permanent residence and built prior to June 15, 1976, on which date the Federal Home Construction and Safety Standards became effective.
F.
DWELLING, MODULARA dwelling fabricated in an off-site manufacturing facility. Modular homes also include, but are not limited to, panelized, prefabricated, and kit homes.
G.
DWELLING, MULTIFAMILYA building containing three or more dwelling units, including units that are located one over the other.
H.
DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY DETACHEDA building containing one dwelling unit that is not attached to any other dwelling by any means and is surrounded by open space or yards.
I.
DWELLING, TOWNHOUSEA single-family dwelling in a row of at least three such units in which each unit has its own front and rear access to the outside, no unit is located over another unit, and each unit is separated from any other unit by one or more vertical common fire-resistant walls.
J.
DWELLING, TRIPLE-ATTACHEDOne of three dwelling units, located side by side on adjoining lots, each of which is totally separated from the other by an unpierced wall extending from ground to roof.
K.
DWELLING, TWO FAMILYA building on a tract containing two dwelling units, often referred to as a "duplex," "twin," or "semidetached," arranged either:
(1)
Side by side, where each unit is totally separated
from the other by an unpierced wall extending from ground to roof;
or
(2)
One on top of the other, where each unit is
separated from the other by an unpierced ceiling and floor extending
from exterior wall to exterior wall, except for a common stairwell
exterior to both dwelling units.
DWELLING UNIT
One or more rooms, designed, occupied or intended/designed
for occupancy as a separate living quarter, with cooking, sleeping,
and sanitary facilities provided within the dwelling unit for the
exclusive use of a single family maintaining a household.
EASEMENT
Authorization by a property for another to use the owner's
property for a specified purpose.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
Any school or training institution, however designated, which
offers a program of college, professional, preparatory, high school,
junior high school, middle school, elementary school, kindergarten,
or nursery school jurisdiction, or any combination thereof, or any
other program of trade, technical, or artistic instruction.
ENGINEER
An individual licensed to practice the profession of engineering
by the State of Delaware.
FAMILY
A.
Any of the following:
(1)
An individual or more than two persons, who
are related by blood or marriage, living together as a single housekeeping
unit with single culinary facilities.
(2)
A group of not more than three persons living
together by joint agreement as a single housekeeping unit with single
culinary facilities on a nonprofit, cost-sharing basis.
B.
Domestic servants employed and residing on the
premises shall be considered as part of the family.
FAST-FOOD RESTAURANT
An establishment whose principal business is the sale of
pre-prepared or rapidly prepared food directly to the customer in
a ready-to-consume state for consumption either within the restaurant
building, in vehicles on the premises, or off the premises.
FLOOR AREA
Definitions are as follows.
A.
FLOOR AREA, GROSSThe sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of a building or structure from the exterior face of exterior walls, or from the center line of a wall separating two buildings, but excluding any space where the floor-to-ceiling height is less than seven feet.
B.
FLOOR AREA, NETThe total of all floor areas of a building (excluding stairwells and elevator shafts, equipment rooms, interior vehicular parking or loading) and all floors below the first or ground floor, except when used or intended to be used for human habitation or service to the public.
FRONTAGE
The side of a lot abutting a street, i.e, the front lot line.
GARAGE
A deck, building, structure or part thereof, used for the
parking and storage of vehicles.
GASOLINE STATION
Any building, land area, premises, or portion thereof, where
gasoline or other petroleum products or fuels are sold and light maintenance
activities such as engine tune-ups, lubrication, incidental repairs,
and carburetor cleaning may be conducted. Gasoline station shall not
include premises where heavy automobile maintenance activities such
as engine overhaul, automobile painting, and body or fender work are
conducted.
GASOLINE STATION AND CONVENIENCE CENTER
A gasoline station (See definition.), fast-food restaurant
(See definition.), and convenience store (See definition.) located
on the same lot and planned, operated, and maintained as an integrated
planned development.
HOSPITAL
A place devoted primarily to the maintenance and operation
of facilities for the diagnosis, treatment, or care, for not less
than 24 hours in any week, of four or more nonrelated individuals
suffering from illness, disease, injury, or deformity or a place devoted
primarily to providing, for not less than 24 hours in any week, of
obstetrical or other medical or nursing care for two or more nonrelated
individuals, requiring a license issued under 16 Del. C. § 1003,
but does not include sanatoriums, rest homes, nursing homes, or boardinghomes.
INDUSTRY
Those fields of economic activity including:
A.
Forestry, fishing, hunting, and trapping.
F.
Communication, electrical, gas, and sanitary
services.
KENNEL
A commercial establishment in which dogs or domestic animals
are housed, groomed, bred, boarded, trained, or sold, all for a fee
or compensation.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
An individual licensed to practice the profession of landscape
architecture by the State of Delaware.
LAND SURVEYOR
An individual licensed to practice the profession of land
surveying by the State of Delaware.
LOT
A designated parcel, tract, or area of land established either
by plat, subdivision, or considered as a unit of property by virtue
of a metes-and-bounds description, to be separately owned, used, developed,
or built upon. See definitions for "yard" in this article.
A.
LOT, CORNERA lot or parcel of land abutting two or more streets at their intersection or upon two parts of the same street forming an interior angle of less than 135°.
D.
LOT, DEPTHThe average distance measured from the front lot line to the rear lot line.
E.
LOT LINEA line of record bounding a lot that divides one lot from another lot, a public street, or any other public space.
F.
LOT OF RECORDA lot that exists either by virtue of a metes-and-bounds description or by depiction on a plat or deed recorded in the Office of the Sussex County Recorder of Deeds.
G.
LOT, WIDTHThe horizontal distance between the side lines of a lot measured at right angles to its depth along a straight line parallel to the front lot line at the minimum required building setback line, i.e., the buildable width of a lot.
MANUFACTURING
Establishments engaged in the mechanical or chemical transformation
of materials or substances into new products, including the assembling
of component parts, the creation of products, and the blending of
materials, such as lubricating oils, plastics, resins, or liquors.
Manufacturing includes all mechanical or chemical transformations
regardless of whether the new product is finished or is semifinished
as a raw material for further processing.
MEDICAL CLINIC
An establishment where patients are admitted for examination
and treatment on an outpatient basis by one or more physicians, dentists,
other medical personnel, psychologists, or social workers and where
patients are not lodged overnight.
MOTOR VEHICLE
A self-propelled device licensed as a motor vehicle used
for transportation of people or goods over roads.
NURSING AND SIMILAR CARE FACILITIES
A facility that offers any of the following types of care
or services and including, but not limited to, facilities regulated
by the State Department of Health and Social Services, Division of
Long-Term Care Residents Protection [See 16 Del. C. § 1102
(2), (3) and (4).] such as those listed below.
A.
ASSISTED-LIVING FACILITYResidences for the elderly that provide rooms, meals, personal care, and supervision of self-administered medication and may provide other services such as recreational activities, financial services, and transportation.
B.
EXTENDED-CARE FACILITYA long-term facility or distinct part of a facility licensed or approved as a nursing home, infirmary unit of a home for the aged, or a governmental medical institution.
C.
INTERMEDIATE-CARE FACILITYA facility that provides, on a regular basis, personal care, including dressing and eating and health-related care and services, to individuals who require such assistance but who do not require the degree of care and treatment that a hospital or skilled nursing facility provides.
D.
LONG-TERM-CARE FACILITYAn institution or a distinct part of an institution that is licensed or approved to provide health care under medical supervision for 24 or more consecutive hours to two or more patients who are not related to the governing authority or its member by marriage, blood, or adoption.
E.
OTHERIncluding family-care homes, group homes, intermediate-care facilities for persons with mental retardation; neighborhood group homes; family-care homes; and rest-residential facilities.
OFFICE
A room or group of rooms used for conducting the affairs
of a business, profession, service, industry, or government and generally
furnished with desks, tables, files, and communications equipment.
OVERLAY ZONE
A zoning district that encompasses one or more underlying
(i.e., base) zones and that imposes additional requirements above
those required by the underlying zone.
PERSON
A corporation, company, association, society, firm, partnership,
or joint-stock company, an individual, a state, and all political
subdivisions of a state or any agency or instrumentality thereof.
PLACE OF WORSHIP
A building or structure, or groups of buildings or structures,
that by design and construction are primarily intended for conducting
organized religious services and associated accessory uses.
PREMISES
A lot, parcel, tract, or plot of land, together with the
buildings and structures on them.
PUBLIC BUILDING
A building owned or leased, occupied and used by an agency
or political subdivision of the federal, state, county, or Town government.
PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY
A building or structure used for the provision of public
safety services, such as fire protection, emergency medical service,
and rescue operations.
PUBLIC UTILITY SERVICES
A.
Any of the following:
(1)
Generation, transmission and/or distribution
of electricity, gas, steam, communications, and water.
(2)
Collection and treatment of sewage and solid
waste.
(3)
Provision of mass transportation.
C.
PUBLIC UTILITY SERVICE LINESThe system of lines, pipes, wires, or tracks that distributes, transmits, or provides a utility service. This includes equipment that is incidental and necessary to the lines and that is located on the lines.
PUBLIC WATER AND SEWER SYSTEMS
Any system, other than an individual septic tank, tile field,
or individual well, that is operated by the Town, a governmental agency,
a public utility, or a private individual or corporation approved
by the Town and licensed by the appropriate state agency, for the
collection, treatment, and disposal of wastes and the furnishing of
potable water.
RECREATION FACILITY
A place designed and equipped for the conduct of sports and
leisure-time activities.
B.
RECREATION FACILITY, PERSONALA recreation facility provided as an accessory use on the same lot as the principal permitted use and designed to be used primarily by the occupants of the principal use and their guests.
C.
RECREATION FACILITY, PRIVATEA recreation facility operated by a nonprofit organization and open only to bona fide members and guests of such nonprofit organization.
RESTAURANT
Includes the following:
A.
Establishments where food and drink are prepared,
served, and sold primarily for consumption within the principal building.
B.
Establishments where food and/or beverages are
sold in a form ready for consumption, where all or a significant portion
of the consumption takes place or is designed to take place outside
of the confines of the restaurant, and where ordering and pickup of
food may take place from an automobile.
RESUBDIVISION
Any change in a map of an approved or recorded subdivision
plat that affects any street layout on an area reserved for public
use or any lot line or that affects any map, plan, or plat recorded
prior to the adoption of any regulations controlling subdivision;
includes the consolidation of parcels.
RETAIL SALES ESTABLISHMENTS
Establishments engaged in selling goods or merchandise to
the general public for personal or household consumption and rendering
services incidental to the sale of such goods. Characteristics of
such uses include the following:
A.
Engages in activity to attract the general public
to buy.
B.
Buys, receives, and sells merchandise.
C.
May process or manufacture some of its products,
a jewelry store or a bakery, but processing is secondary to principal
use.
D.
Generally sells to customers for personal or
household use.
RETAIL STORE, CONVENIENCE
A retail establishment not to exceed 5,000 square feet, selling
primarily food products, household items, newspapers, magazines, candy,
and beverages, and a limited amount of freshly prepared foods, such
as sandwiches and salads, for off-premises consumption.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
Land occupied or intended to be occupied by a street, crosswalk,
railroad, electric transmission line, oil or gas pipeline, water main,
sanitary or storm sewer main, shade trees, or another special use.
SELF-STORAGE FACILITY
A structure containing separate, individual, and private
storage spaces of varying sizes, leased or rented individually, for
varying amounts of time.
SERVICES
Establishments primarily engaged in providing assistance,
as opposed to products, to individuals, businesses, industry, government,
and other enterprises, including hotels and other lodging places;
personal, business, repair, and amusement services; health, legal,
engineering, and other professional services' educational services;
membership organizations; and other miscellaneous services.
A.
SERVICES, BUSINESSEstablishments primarily engaged in rendering services to business establishments on a fee or contract basis, such as advertising and mailing, building maintenance, employment services, management and consulting services, protective services, equipment rental and leasing, commercial research, development and testing; photo finishing, and personal supply services.
B.
SERVICES, PERSONALEstablishments primarily engaged in providing services involving the care of a person or his or her personal goods or apparel.
C.
SERVICES, RETAILEstablishments providing services or entertainment, as opposed to products, to the general public for personal or household use, including eating and drinking places, hotels and motels, finance, real estate and insurance, personal service, motion pictures, amusement and recreation services, health, educational, and social services, museums, and galleries.
D.
SERVICES, SOCIALEstablishments providing assistance and aid to those persons requiring counseling for psychological problems, employment, learning disabilities, and physical disabilities.
SETBACK LINE
The line that is the required minimum distance from any lot
line and that establishes the area within which the principal structure
shall be placed. See also "yard."
STATE
The State of Delaware.
STORY
That portion of a building included between the surface of
any floor and the surface of the floor next above it, or if there
is no floor above it, then the space between such floor and the ceiling
next above it. A basement shall be counted as a story for the purpose
of height measurement if its ceiling is over five feet above the level
from which the height of the building is measured or if it is used
for business purposes other than storage.
STORY, HALF
A partial story under a gable, hip, or gambrel floor, the
wallplates of which on at least two opposite sides are not more than
two feet above the floor of each story.
STREET
Any vehicular way that is an existing state, county, or Town
roadway; is shown upon an approved plat; is approved by other official
action; or is shown on a plat duly filed and recorded in the Office
of the Sussex County Recorder of Deeds prior to the appointment of
the Planning and Zoning Commission and the grant of power to review
plats. A street includes the land between the right-of-way lines,
whether improved or unimproved.
A.
STREET, ACCESSA street designed to provide vehicular access to abutting property and discourage through traffic.
B.
STREET, ALLEYA service roadway providing a secondary means of public access to abutting property and not intended for general traffic circulation.
D.
STREET, COLLECTORA street that collects traffic from local streets and connects with minor and major arterials.
H.
STREET LINEThe line between a lot, tract, or parcel of land and an adjacent street.
J.
STREET, PUBLICA street that has been dedicated to public use and accepted by the Town or the state.
K.
STREET, SERVICEA street running parallel to a freeway or an expressway that serves abutting properties but restricts access to the freeway or expressway.
STRUCTURE
A combination of materials to form a construction for use,
occupancy, or ornamentation, whether installed on, above, or below
the surface of land or water.
SUBDIVIDER
Any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
estate, trust, or any other group or combination acting as a unit
that subdivides or proposes to subdivide land as defined in this chapter.
This also includes agents of subdividers.
SUBDIVISION
Subdivision includes the following:
A.
The division of any tract or parcel of land
into two or more plots, parcels, units, lots, condominiums, tracts,
sites, or interests for the purpose of offer, sale, lease, or development,
whether immediate or future; either on an installment plan or upon
any other plans, terms, or conditions; or for any other purpose.
B.
The division or partition of land or involving
the opening, widening, or extension of any streets or access easements
and the extension of any electrical, sewer, water or any other utility
line.
C.
The assemblage or consolidation of tracts, parcels,
lots or sites, resubdivision, and condominium creation or conversion.
SUPERMARKET
A retail establishment primarily selling food and convenience
or household goods.
SURGICAL CENTER
A facility where outpatients come for simple surgical procedures
and are not lodged overnight.
SWIMMING POOL
A water-filled enclosure, permanently constructed or portable,
having a depth of more than 18 inches below the level of the surrounding
land, or an above-surface enclosure having a depth of more than 30
inches, that is designed, used, and maintained for swimming and bathing.
TOWN
Commissioners of Bridgeville, a municipal corporation as
referenced in Section 1 of Bridgeville's Municipal Charter.
TOWN COMMISSIONERS
The Bridgeville governing body as referenced in Section 4
of the Municipal Charter.
USE
The purpose or activity for which land or buildings are designed,
arranged, or intended or for which land or buildings are occupied
or maintained.
A.
USE, ACCESSORYA use of land, or a building, or portion thereof, customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use of the land or building and located on the same lot with the principal use.
VARIANCE
Permission to depart from the literal requirements of this
chapter.
VETERINARY HOSPITAL
A place where animals are given medical care and the boarding
of animals is limited to short-term care incidental to the hospital
use. See also "animal kennel."
WAREHOUSE
A building used primarily for the storage of goods and materials.
WHOLESALE BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENTS
Places of business primarily engaged in selling merchandise
to retailers; industrial, commercial, institutional, or professional
business users; other wholesalers; or acting as agents or brokers
and buying merchandise for, or selling merchandise to, such individuals
or companies.
YARD
An open space that lies between the principal building or
buildings and the nearest lot line.
A.
YARD, FRONTA space extending the full width of the lot between any building and the front lot line and measured perpendicular to the building to the closest point of the front lot line.
B.
YARD, REARA space extending across the full width of the lot between the principal building and the rear lot line and measured perpendicular to the building to the closest point of the rear lot line.
C.
YARD, SIDEA space extending from the front yard to the rear yard between the principal building and the side lot line and measured perpendicular from the side lot line to the closest point of the principal building.
ZONING DISTRICT
A specifically delineated area in the Town within which uniform
regulations and requirements govern the use, placement, spacing, area,
height, and bulk of land and buildings.