[Amended 3-28-2017 by Ord. No. 2489]
No building permit shall be issued nor shall construction be authorized by the County on lands where a subdivision plat is required to be approved and recorded as provided herein unless such construction or use is in compliance with this chapter. No permit shall be issued until all required improvements have been installed, constructed or placed for the lot for which the permit is to be issued or unless the requirements that have been established in accordance with the provisions of § 99-32 of this chapter have been satisfied. No permit shall be issued nor shall construction be authorized by the County until an individual lot grading plan has been supplied to and approved by the County; provided, however, that this shall not apply to a lot within a subdivision that was not required to include a bulk grading plan as part of the approved final site plan. No certificate of occupancy shall be issued until a lot grading certificate is submitted to the Building Code Department demonstrating general conformity with the individual lot grading plan; provided, however, that this shall not apply to a lot within a subdivision that was not required to include a bulk grading plan.
A. 
The County Council may, from time to time, amend, supplement or change, by ordinance, the regulations herein established. Any such amendment or change may be initiated by resolution of the County Council or by motion of the Commission. Before taking action on any proposed amendment or change, the County Council shall submit the same to the Commission for its recommendation and report. Failure of the Commission to report within 60 days after its first meeting subsequent to the proposal being referred shall be deemed approval by the Commission.
B. 
The Commission shall hold a public hearing on any proposed amendment or change before submitting its report to the County Council. Notice of such public hearing before the Commission shall be given at least 15 days prior to the hearing by publishing the time, the place and the nature of the hearing in the newspaper having general daily circulation in the county. The published notice shall contain reference to the place or places within the county where the full text of the proposed amendment or change may be examined.
C. 
Before approving any proposed amendment or change, the County Council shall hold a public hearing thereon, notice of said hearing to be accomplished by publishing in the newspaper as prescribed above.
A. 
In addition to the penalties prescribed in § 115-229 of the Sussex County Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, whoever, being the owner or agent of the owner of any land located within Sussex County, offers to sell, negotiates to sell or sells any land as a subdivision or part of a subdivision without first recording an approved plat as required by this chapter shall be fined not more than $100.
B. 
Every act or omission in violation of this chapter shall be punishable as provided herein. Where such an act or omission is of a continuing nature, each and every day during which such act or omission continues shall be deemed a separate misdemeanor.
[Amended 2-28-2006 by Ord. No. 1829]
A. 
No preliminary plat shall be acted upon by the Commission without affording a hearing thereon as outlined in 9 Del. C. § 6812 and after notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be sent by registered mail to the applicant not less than five days before the date fixed for the hearing. Following said hearing any approval or disapproval of the preliminary plat by the Commission may be appealed to the County Council within 30 days of the official action of the Commission approving or disapproving the preliminary plat. As provided in 9 Del. C. § 6811, an appeal may be filed by a party aggrieved by either the approval or the disapproval of a preliminary plat.
B. 
If the appellant is aggrieved by the decision of the Commission, he may appeal that decision to the County Council within 30 days of the official action of the Commission. In such event, the appeal shall be an appeal on the record of the hearing before the Commission and the notice of appeal shall be on a form provided by the Office of Planning and Zoning and shall specify the grounds therefor and the appellant shall pay the appeal fee hereafter provided. In respect to an appeal to the Council from a decision of the Commission, the following procedures shall apply:
(1) 
Within 30 days following the filing of the appeal to the Council, it shall be the responsibility of the appellant to pay the costs to have a certified court reporter prepare a verbatim transcript of the hearing record before the Commission at the appellant's expense and to file said transcript with the Clerk of County Council. If the transcript is not filed within said thirty-day period. the appeal shall be dismissed and the appellant shall be notified of the dismissal by letter from the Clerk.
(2) 
The Council shall review the record of the hearing before the Commission and shall make a determination as to whether the Commission's decision was the result of an orderly and logical review of the evidence and involved the proper interpretation and application of the chapter. If the Council finds that the Commission misapplied or misinterpreted the applicable sections of this chapter or that its findings were not the result or an orderly and logical review of the evidence and the applicable provisions of this chapter:
(a) 
The Council may send the matter back to the Commission for further review and consideration and, if the Council considers it necessary, it may direct that the Commission hold a new hearing, specify the time period within such hearing shall be held and direct the Commission to issue a written decision containing findings and conclusions following the rehearing.
(b) 
The Council may reverse a decision only upon a finding that the Commission made an error in its interpretation of the applicable sections of this Chapter; or the Commission's findings and conclusions were not the result of an orderly and logical review of the evidence and the applicable provisions of this chapter.
(c) 
Within 120 days from the receipt of the transcript, the Council shall act on the record of the hearing before the Commission, and the Council shall not hold an additional public hearing.
[Amended 3-21-2023 by Ord. No. 2912]
C. 
Any party aggrieved by the decision of the Council may appeal to the appropriate court, but only after all remedies made available under this chapter have been exhausted. Such appeals shall be to the Superior Court in the same manner as appeals from decisions of the Board of Adjustment as specified in 9 Del. C. § 6918.
D. 
The standard of review to be applied by the Council is that a decision approving or disapproving a plat shall be upheld unless the appellant can demonstrate that the Commission made an error in its interpretation of the applicable sections of the Subdivision Ordinance and/or that the Commission's findings and conclusions were not the result of an orderly and logical review of the evidence and the applicable provisions of the Subdivision Ordinance.
E. 
Appeals to the Council shall not be based on new or revised subdivision plans that were not presented to the Commission prior to the plat being approved or denied or to appeal a condition imposed by the Commission.
F. 
The fee for filing an appeal to Council shall be included in the schedule of fees adopted as part of the annual Sussex County budget and shall be payable to the Clerk of Council on the date of filing the notice of appeal.
[Amended 6-21-2022 by Ord. No. 2868]
G. 
This amended appeal procedure shall apply to any preliminary plat applied for after the date of adoption of this amendment.
H. 
An applicant may request in writing that the Commission reconsider a condition imposed by the Commission but there shall be no appeal from the decision of the Commission on such request.
[Added 4-29-1997 by Ord. No. 1133; amended 12-15-2015 by Ord. No. 2428; 3-28-2017 by Ord. No. 2489]
A. 
Unless an extension is granted in accordance with § 99-40C below, any major subdivision approval granted by the Commission subsequent to the effective date of this section shall be rendered null and void if substantial construction is not actively and continuously maintained and/or underway thereon within five years of the date of recordation of the final plat pursuant to § 99-11.
B. 
For purposes of this section, the term "substantial construction" shall mean that the right-of-way has been cleared, the roadway has been rough-graded, the drainage system and/or stormwater management facilities have been rough graded and erosion and sedimentation control measures are in place and being actively maintained and proceeding to completion as required by this article.
C. 
The applicant of any preliminary subdivision plat under § 99-9B, and any recorded subdivision plat valid under §§ 99-11 and 99-40; any Residential Planned Community District valid under Article XVI of Chapter 115 of the Sussex County Code; or any conditional use action approved and valid pursuant to the provision of Article XVI, Article XXIV, and Article XXVIII of Chapter 115 of the Sussex County Code and relating to new residential, commercial, or industrial developments may seek up to a six-month extension of said approval pursuant to this § 99-40C.
(1) 
Prior to the expiration of its current approval, any applicant holding a currently valid approval as set forth in this § 99-40C may request an extension up to six months for the validity of said approval. The six-month period shall commence upon the date of expiration of the current approval. Such a request must be in writing and delivered to the Director on or before the expiration date of its current approval. At a minimum, the written request must include the following information:
(a) 
A schedule or plan for the project describing the steps that have been completed through the date of the extension request and describing the remaining steps to be completed. For any steps that remain outstanding, the applicant is to provide the anticipated time frame for completing those remaining steps.
(b) 
A detailed explanation of the reasons in support of the applicant's request for the time extension. The applicant is to include an explanation of whether such reasons were within the applicant's reasonable control. Examples of reasons beyond the applicant's reasonable control include, but are not limited to, undue delays in receiving regulatory approvals, litigation affecting the progression of the project, third-party economic restrictions of an extraordinary or unreasonable nature, or delays caused by significant medical or health issues impacting the applicant's key stakeholders.
(c) 
For subdivisions with recorded final plats that are valid in accordance with §§ 99-11 and 99-40, a specific schedule and plan demonstrating that the improvements on the subdivision plat will be substantially constructed within six months of the expiration of the current approval.
(d) 
For conditional uses, a specific schedule and plan demonstrating that the construction or use will be substantially underway within six months of the expiration of the current approval.
(2) 
The Director, after consultation with and input from other County departments or public agencies as the Director sees fit, shall consider any written request and the accompanying documentation submitted pursuant to this § 99-40C. Time extensions shall be recommended to Sussex County Council by the Director only upon a finding that all of the following criteria have been met:
(a) 
That the approval constitutes one of the approvals defined in the first paragraph of this § 99-40C;
(b) 
That the request for said extension was timely filed;
(c) 
That all of the information required herein has been supplied;
(d) 
That there is good cause for the granting of the requested extension;
(e) 
That necessity for the extension is due primarily to reasons beyond the reasonable control of the applicant, such as undue delays in receiving regulatory approvals, litigation affecting the progression of the project, third-party economic restrictions of an extraordinary or unreasonable nature, or delays caused by significant medical or health issues impacting applicant's key stakeholders;
(f) 
With respect to subdivisions with recorded final plats that are valid in accordance with §§ 99-11 and 99-40, that there is a reasonable plan and schedule demonstrating that the improvements set forth on the subdivision plat in conformance with Chapter 99, Article VI, of the Sussex County Code will reach substantial construction within six months; and
(g) 
With respect to a conditional use under Chapter 115, Article XXIV, of the Sussex County Code, that there is a reasonable plan and schedule demonstrating that the construction or use shall be substantially underway within six months.
(3) 
After consideration of the relevant factors in accordance with this § 99-40C, the Director shall make a written recommendation whether to grant an extension to the applicant. This recommendation will be provided to Sussex County Council, who shall render the final decision whether to grant an extension to the applicant for up to six months from the expiration date of the current approval.