This chapter shall be known as the
"Zoning Ordinance for Sussex County, Delaware."
This chapter shall apply to the unincorporated
territory of Sussex County and to incorporated municipalities without
zoning provisions which have or may petition the Sussex County Council
for inclusion under the Zoning Ordinance and which have complied with
the stipulations prescribed by the County Council for inclusion thereunder.
The zoning regulations and districts
as herein established are designated and adopted in accordance with
a Comprehensive Plan to promote, in accordance with the present and
future needs, the health, safety, morals, convenience, order, prosperity
and general welfare of the inhabitants of Sussex County, Delaware,
including, among other things, the lessening of congestion in the
streets or roads or reducing the waste of excessive amounts of roads;
securing safety from fire, flood and other dangers; providing adequate
light and air; preventing on the one hand excessive concentration
of population and on the other hand excessive and wasteful scattering
of population or settlement; promoting such distribution of population
and such classification of land uses and distribution of land development
and utilization as will tend to facilitate and provide adequate provisions
for public requirements, transportation, water flowage, water supply,
water- and air-pollution abatement, drainage, sanitation, education
opportunities, recreation, soil fertility, food supply and protection
of the tax base; securing economy and governing expenses; fostering
the state's agricultural and other industries and protecting both
urban and nonurban development. The regulations are made with reasonable
consideration, among other things, of the character of the particular
district involved, its particular suitability for particular uses,
the conservation of property values and natural resources and the
general and appropriate trend and character of land, building and
population development.
A.Â
General rules of construction. The following
general rules of construction shall apply to the regulations of this
chapter:
(1)Â
The singular number includes the plural,
and the plural, the singular, unless the context clearly indicates
the contrary.
(2)Â
Words used in the present tense include
the past and future tenses, and the future, the present.
(3)Â
The word "shall" is always mandatory. The
word "may" is permissive.
(4)Â
The word "building" or "structure" includes
any part thereof, and the word "building" includes the word "structure."
(5)Â
Words and terms not defined herein shall
be interpreted in accord with their normal dictionary meanings and
customary usage.
B.Â
ACCESSORY BUILDING
ACCESSORY USE
ACRE
ADJACENT
AGGREGATE AREA or WIDTH
AGRICULTURAL RELATED INDUSTRY
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE SALES
ALLEY
ANIMAL HOSPITAL
APARTMENT
APARTMENT BUILDING
APPLICANT
AQUACULTURE
AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC (ADT)
BASEMENT[1]
BED-AND-BREAKFAST
BIOTECH INDUSTRY
BIOTECH CAMPUS
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
(4)Â
BOARD
BOARDINGHOUSE
BREW/DISTILLING PUB
BREWERY
BUILDABLE AREA
BUILDABLE WIDTH
BUILDING
BUILDING, HEIGHT OF
BULK
BULK GRADING PLAN
(1)Â
(a)Â
(b)Â
(c)Â
(d)Â
(e)Â
(f)Â
(g)Â
(h)Â
(2)Â
(a)Â
(b)Â
(c)Â
(d)Â
(e)Â
(f)Â
BULK REQUIREMENTS
BUSINESS DISTRICT
CANOPY
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
CHILD CARE
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
(4)Â
(5)Â
CLINIC, MEDICAL
CLUB INDOOR, PRIVATE
CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT
COLLECTOR STREET
COMMERCIAL FEED LOT AND STRUCTURE
COMMERCIAL POULTRY HOUSE
COMMUNICATION TOWER
COMMUNITY CENTER
CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
CONSTRUCTION, STARTING OF
CONVENIENCE STORE
DETAILED GRADING PLAN
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
(4)Â
DEVELOPMENT
DIRECTOR
DISTILLERY
DISTRIBUTION CENTER
DISTRICT
DISTRICT, COMMERCIAL
DISTRICT, INDUSTRIAL
DISTRICT, RESIDENTIAL
DRIVE-IN
DWELLING
DWELLING, MULTIFAMILY
(1)Â
(a)Â
(b)Â
(c)Â
(d)Â
(e)Â
(f)Â
(2)Â
DWELLING, MULTIFAMILY CONVERTED
DWELLING, SINGLE FAMILY
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
(4)Â
(5)Â
(6)Â
DWELLING UNIT
EASEMENT
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
EPHEMERAL STREAMS
FAMILY DAY-CARE HOME
FILLING OR SERVICE STATION
FITNESS CENTER
FLOOR AREA
(1)Â
(2)Â
FRONTAGE
(1)Â
(2)Â
FUEL STATION
FUNERAL HOME
GARAGE, COMMERCIAL
GARAGE, PRIVATE
GARAGE/STUDIO APARTMENT
GRADE ELEVATION
GRADING CERTIFICATE
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
(4)Â
(5)Â
(a)Â
(b)Â
(c)Â
(d)Â
(e)Â
(f)Â
(6)Â
(7)Â
GREEN
GREENHOUSE, COMMERCIAL
GREENWAY
GROUP HOME
GUEST HOUSE
HOME OCCUPATION
(1)Â
(a)Â
(b)Â
(c)Â
(d)Â
(e)Â
(f)Â
(2)Â
HOSPITAL
HOTEL
INDIVIDUAL SITE GRADING PLAN
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
(4)Â
INTERMITTENT STREAMS
JUNK
KENNEL, COMMERCIAL
KENNEL, PRIVATE
LAUNDROMAT
LOADING SPACE
LODGING HOUSE
LOT
LOT AREA
LOT, CORNER
LOT COVERAGE
LOT, DEPTH OF
LOT, INTERIOR
LOT LINE
LOT THROUGH (DOUBLE-FRONTAGE)
LOT WIDTH
MAJOR ARTERIAL ROADWAYS
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
(4)Â
(5)Â
(6)Â
(7)Â
MAJOR STREET OR HIGHWAY
MANUFACTURED HOME (a.k.a. HOUSE TRAILER, SINGLE-WIDE, DOUBLE-WIDE,
MOBILE HOME)
MANUFACTURED HOME PARK (a.k.a. TRAILER PARK, TRAILER COURT,
MOBILE HOME PARK OR COMMUNITY)
MANUFACTURING
(1)Â
(2)Â
MARINA
MARINE CONTRACTING
MATERIAL STORAGE YARD
MOTEL, MOTOR COURT, TOURIST COURT or MOTOR LODGE
NONCONFORMING USE
NONTIDAL WETLANDS
NURSING AND SIMILAR CARE FACILITIES
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
(4)Â
(5)Â
(6)Â
(7)Â
NURSING HOME
OFFICE
OPEN AREA
OPEN SPACE
(1)Â
(a)Â
(b)Â
(c)Â
(d)Â
(e)Â
(f)Â
(g)Â
(h)Â
(i)Â
(j)Â
(2)Â
(a)Â
(b)Â
(c)Â
(d)Â
(3)Â
ORDINARY HIGH-WATER MARK DELINEATION
PARKING LOT, COMMERCIAL
PARKING LOT DRIVE
PARKING SPACE, OFF-STREET
PARKING STRUCTURE
PATH
PERENNIAL NONTIDAL RIVERS AND STREAMS
PHARMACY
PLACE
PLACE OF WORSHIP
PREMISES
PRIVATE FEED LOT AND STRUCTURE
PUBLIC
PUBLIC BUILDING
PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY
PUBLIC UTILITY SERVICE
PUBLIC UTILITY SERVICE FACILITY
PUBLIC UTILITY SERVICE LINES
PUBLIC WATER AND SEWER SYSTEM
RECREATION FACILITY
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
(4)Â
REGULATIONS
RENTAL UNIT
RESOURCE BUFFER - WETLANDS AND WATERS
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
(4)Â
RESOURCES
RESTAURANT
(1)Â
(2)Â
RETAIL SALES
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
(4)Â
RIDING ACADEMY
ROOMING HOUSE
SELF-STORAGE FACILITY
SERVANTS' QUARTERS
SERVICES, COMMERCIAL
(1)Â
(2)Â
(3)Â
SETBACK
SETBACK LINE or BUILDING SETBACK LINE
SHOPPING CENTER
SIGN
SITE PLAN
STABLE, PRIVATE
STABLE, PUBLIC
STORY
STORY, HALF
STREET
STREET LINE
STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS
STRUCTURE
SURGICAL CENTER
SWIMMING POOL
TAX DITCH
TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
TECHNOLOGY CENTER
TELEPHONE CENTRAL OFFICE
TENTING AREA
TIDAL WATERS (MEAN HIGH-WATER LINE)
TIDAL WETLANDS
TOURIST HOME (ALSO REFERRED TO AS "BED-AND-BREAKFAST INN")
TOWNHOUSE
USE
WAREHOUSE
WATER-DEPENDENT ACTIVITIES
WATER-RELATED ACTIVITIES
WATERWAY
WETLANDS
WHOLESALE ESTABLISHMENT
WHOLESALE TRADE ESTABLISHMENT
WIND TURBINE or WINDMILL
WINERY
YARD
YARD, FRONT
YARD, REAR
YARD, SIDE
General definitions. For the purpose of
this chapter, certain terms and words are hereby defined as follows:
A detached/unattached subordinate building, the use of which
is incidental to or customarily found in connection with and, except
as otherwise provided in this chapter, is located on the same lot
as the main building or principal use of the land. Examples of an
accessory building may include a shed, a storage building, garage,
gazebo or similar structure.
[Amended 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2152]
One which is clearly incidental to or customarily found in
connection with and, except as otherwise provided in this chapter,
is located on the same lot as the principal use of the premises. When
the term "accessory" is used in this chapter, it shall have the same
meaning as "accessory use."
A measurement of land area equivalent to approximately 43,560
square feet.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Physically touching or bordering upon; sharing a common boundary,
but not overlapping.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
The sum of two or more designated areas or widths to be measured,
limited or determined under the provisions of this chapter.
Business establishments that rely on farm or forest products
for a substantial portion of their material inputs and that obtain
at least 51 percent of their inputs either directly from the local
farm or forest/logging industry or indirectly through local early
stage processors or wholesalers. For the purpose of this definition,
"local" is interpreted to mean the Delmarva Peninsula.
[Added 1-27-2004 by Ord. No. 1658]
The retail sale of beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverages
for on- or off-premises consumption in compliance with the Office
of the Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner (OABCC).
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A narrow public or private thoroughfare, not exceeding 16
feet in width, which provides only a secondary means of vehicular
access to abutting properties and which is not intended for general
traffic circulation.
A place where animals are given medical care and the boarding
of animals is limited to short-term care incidental to the hospital
use.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A dwelling unit held in common ownership with other units
in a building, and subject to a leasehold arrangement between the
owner of the building and a tenant.
[Added 5-2-2000 by Ord. No. 1371]
A building in which two or more apartments are located.
[Added 5-2-2000 by Ord. No. 1371]
Any individual submitting a plan for development under the
provisions of this chapter.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
The cultivation, production or marketing of any fish, aquatic
invertebrate or aquatic plant that is spawned, produced or marketed
as a cultivated crop in waters of the State of Delaware.
[Added 11-26-1991 by Ord. No. 806]
The total volume of traffic during a given time period in
whole days greater than one day and less than one year, divided by
the number of days in that time period.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
That portion of a building between the floor and ceiling
which is wholly or partly below grade and having more than 1/2 of
its height below grade.
A lodging place with no more than six 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.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
The research, development and manufacture of products by
using biotechnology primarily for agricultural application. For the
purposes of this chapter, "biotechnology" is defined as the scientific
manipulation of living organisms especially at the molecular genetic
level to produce useful products. Examples of this include, but are
not limited to, herbicide-tolerant soybeans and insect and herbicide-resistant
cotton. Gene splicing and the use of recombinant DNA (rDNA) are major
techniques used. Applications also include the production of certain
drugs, synthetic hormones and bulk foodstuffs as well as the bioconversion
of organic waste and use of genetically altered bacteria in the cleanup
of oil spills.
[Added 1-27-2004 by Ord. No. 1659]
An area consisting of at least 20 acres under one ownership
and:
Developed in such a way that there
is a common theme of construction in bulk, area, height and the facade
of multiple buildings;
With substantial landscaping throughout
the entire site;
With natural, landscaped buffers
using native vegetative species and surrounding the site;
Within the site, buildings are used
predominately by the biotech industry in a multipurposed and interdisciplinary
association with college or university level research, or research
by an agri-chemical or related agricultural industry or research carried
out jointly by an institution of higher education and an agri-chemical
or related industry that is engaged in biotech research.
[Added 1-27-2004 by Ord. No. 1659]
The Board of Adjustment of Sussex County.
Same as "tourist home."
[Amended 5-16-1989 by Ord. No. 585]
An establishment in which beer or liquor is manufactured
on the premises of the licensed establishment, limited to restaurants
owned or leased by the pub applicant; and where alcohol is manufactured
in the establishment, and is sold for on-premises consumption, in
conjunction with the service of complete meals.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Establishments that are primarily a brewery, which produce
more than 15,000 barrels per year. A regional (small) brewery typically
has an annual beer production of between 15,000 and 6,000,000 barrels.
A large brewery typically has an annual beer production of more than
6,000,000 barrels.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
The area of that part of the lot not included within the
yards or open spaces herein required.
The width of that part of a lot not included within the open
spaces herein required.
Any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls
for the housing or enclosure of persons or property of any kind.
The vertical distance from the grade or the one-hundred-year
flood zone requirement, whichever is required, to the highest point
of any portion of a structure, including, but not limited to, any
ornamental improvements, such as cupola, widow's watches, crow's nest
or similar.
[Amended 10-31-1995 by Ord. No. 1062]
A term used in this chapter to describe the size and shape
of a building or structure and its relationship to other buildings,
to the lot area for a building and to open spaces and yards.
An overall grading plan prepared by a licensed professional
who is permitted to prepare detailed sediment and stormwater plans
specifying the elevation, surface gradients, lot types, swale locations,
driveway pipe sizes and other drainage information required for grading,
as further set forth in the Sussex Conservation District Technical
Drainage and Grading Requirements. A bulk grading plan shall confirm
that all conveyance features must be located in deeded open space
or the subject of a permanent easement and satisfy the following requirements:
[Added 3-28-2017 by Ord. No. 2489]
Conveyance swale design criteria:
A minimum longitudinal swale slope
of 1.0% if contiguous to a dwelling excluding roadside swales. If
the slope is greater than 0.5% but less than 1%, then no more than
300 feet of conveyance swale can be routed through an adjacent lot,
not to exceed three side-by-side lots, prior to entering a closed
drainage system. All other conveyance swale design criteria shall
apply.
Maximum side slopes of 3:1 or flatter.
Must contain the ten-year design
storm within the banks.
Conveyance must be nonerosive.
Must show spot elevations at grade
breaks in the proposed conveyance swales as applicable.
Must include flow direction arrows.
Pipe/inlet size, type, inverts, slope,
rim elevations must be labeled on the plan view.
Must include a summary table listing
conveyance swale drainage area, discharge (Q10), velocity and depth
of flow.
Closed drainage system design criteria:
Must include yard basins where required
within the drainage easement or open space to capture and convey lot
surface runoff via a closed system to a positive outfall location.
Must show spot elevations at grade
breaks in the proposed conveyance swales as applicable.
Must include flow direction arrows.
Pipe/inlet size, type, inverts, slope,
rim elevations must be labeled on the plan view.
Profiles for closed drainage systems
receiving residential lot drainage shall only be required on multiruns.
Must include a summary table listing
conveyance swale drainage area, discharge (Q10), velocity and depth
of flow.
A term used in this chapter to describe the size and shape
of a building or structure and its relationship to other buildings;
to the lot area for a building and yards. See: 115 Attachment 1.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
See "district, commercial."
A detachable roof-like cover, supported from the ground or
deck, floor or walls of a building, for protection from sun or weather.
A statement, signed by a duly authorized county officer,
setting forth that a building, structure or use legally complies with
the Zoning Code and that the same may be used for the purposes stated
therein.
As per Delaware Code:
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
FAMILY CHILD-CARE HOMESChild care in a private home for one to six children preschool-age or younger and one to three school-age children.
LARGE FAMILY CHILD-CARE HOMESChild care in a private home or commercial (nonresidential) setting for seven to 12 children preschool-age or younger and one or two school-age children.
EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION AND SCHOOL-AGE CENTERSChild care in a commercial (nonresidential) setting for 13 or more children (includes day-care centers, nursery schools, preschools, and before/afterschool care).
RESIDENTIAL CHILD-CARE FACILITIES AND DAY TREATMENT PROGRAMSServices for children with behavioral dysfunctions; developmental, emotional, mental or physical impairments; and/or chemical dependencies.
CHILD PLACING AGENCIESAdoption and foster care services.
A building or portion thereof designed for, constructed or
under construction or alteration for or used by two or more physicians,
surgeons, dentists, psychiatrists, physiotherapists or practitioners
in related specialties or a combination of persons in these professions,
but not including lodging of patients overnight.
[Amended 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Buildings and facilities owned or operated by a corporation,
association, person or persons for a social, educational or recreational
purpose but not primarily for profit which insures to any individual
and not primarily to render a service which is customarily looked
on as a business. For outdoor private recreational clubs, see "Recreational
Facility, Private."
[Amended 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A development concept which encourages and permits variations
in residential developments by allowing deviation in lot size, type
of dwelling, lot coverage and open space from that which is normally
required as further described in the applicable residential districts.
[Added 8-3-2004 by Ord. No. 1709]
A street which is intended to collect traffic from the minor
streets within a neighborhood or a portion thereof and to distribute
such traffic to major thoroughfares.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A facility for housing or feeding cattle, hogs and sheep
or goats on a farm of five acres or more for more than four cattle,
eight sheep, eight goats and eight hogs.
A facility for housing and feeding more than 100 poultry.
The antenna(s), antenna support structure, wireless communications
equipment building, parking and/or other structures, building, cabinets
and equipment involved in receiving or transmitting wireless communications
or radio signals.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
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.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Conditions, placed on the final approval of an applicant's
plan, that are both consistent with the guidelines for development
review and do not allow for the denial of a plan that is consistent
with the objectives of the guidelines for development review and appropriate
uses and intensities of use set forth in this chapter.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
The combining of labor and material into any portion of the
structure on the site thereof.[2]
Any retail establishment offering for sale prepackaged food
products, household items, newspapers, and prepared foods, usually
for off-site consumption.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A plan depicting final grades for land development prepared
by a licensed professional who is permitted to prepare detailed sediment
and stormwater plans, including dwelling perimeter spot elevations
and conveyance features to ensure positive drainage under the minimum
slope requirements. A detailed grading plan shall satisfy the following
requirements;
[Added 3-28-2017 by Ord. No. 2489]
It must demonstrate that sites adjacent
to dwellings can be graded with a minimum slope of 5% the first 10
feet from the dwelling or as required by building/residential codes
and 1% beyond a point 10 feet from the side and rear swales or a closed
pipe or swale positive outfall.
It must show spot elevations delineating
grade breaks at all property and right-of-way lines, including finished
grades at all dwelling corners.
It must show first floor and slab
elevations.
Relief from the foregoing standards
may be granted by the Sussex County Engineer for environmental, topographical,
archeological or site constraints or low-impact development (i.e.,
rain gardens, bioswales, etc.).
Any man-made change to improved or unimproved real estate,
including, but not limited to, buildings or other structures, mining,
dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavating or drilling operations
or storage of equipment or materials.
[Amended 6-6-1995 by Ord. No. 1032][3]
The Planning and Zoning Director of Sussex County.
A facility that distills alcoholic beverages or spirits and
may include the intake of grains, fruits, sugars or other products,
their fermentation, distilling, aging, and bottling. Products may
include liquors, liqueurs, brandies, etc. Such facilities may include
a tasting room or retail space to sell the products to patrons on
site.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
An establishment that distributes and stores goods, products,
cargo, and materials, including transshipment by boat, rail, air,
or motor vehicle.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Any section of Sussex County in which the zoning regulations
are uniform.
Any district designated in these regulations as a business
or commercial district or special commercial district of this chapter
or containing the word "business" or "commercial" in its title.
[Amended 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Any district established in this chapter whose designation
includes the letter "l" and contains the word "industrial" and/or
the letter "M," representing the Marine District.
A term used to describe an establishment designed or operated
to serve a patron while seated in an automobile parked in an off-street
parking space.
Any building, structure, or portion thereof which is occupied
as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence; and any
vacant land which is offered for sale or lease for the construction
or location thereon of any such building, structure, or portion thereof.
"Dwelling" shall not include hotels, motels, motor lodges, boarding-
and lodging houses, tourist houses, or similar structures.
[Amended 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2152; 12-2-2014 by Ord. No.
2374]
[Amended 3-25-1997 by Ord. No. 1131; 12-2-2014 by Ord. No.
2374]
A dwelling designed or occupied exclusively
by two or more of the following living independently of each other,
each with single culinary facilities:
One family, which may consist of
one person or two or more persons related by blood or marriage with
any number of natural children, foster children, stepchildren or adopted
children.
Two single parents or guardians with
any number of their natural children, foster children, stepchildren
or adopted children functioning as a single housekeeping unit.
A group of not more than four persons
not necessarily related by blood or marriage functioning as a single
housekeeping unit.
A group residential facility licensed
and approved by the appropriate state agencies serving 10 or fewer
persons with disabilities on a twenty-four-hour-per-day basis.
One person or two persons, one of
whom shall be elderly and/or disabled, and one or both of whom own
the dwelling unit, plus one family, which may consist of one person
or two persons related by blood or marriage, and with any number of
natural children, foster children, stepchildren or adopted children.
For the purpose of this Section,
"disabled" or "persons with disabilities" includes any person or persons
with a handicap or disability as those terms are defined in the Delaware
Fair Housing Act, Title 6, Chapter 46 of the Delaware Code, as may
be amended.
"Multifamily dwellings" shall be
considered as apartments, garden apartments, condominiums, duplexes
or similar structures.
A structure converted from a single-family dwelling unit
into a multifamily dwelling unit.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A detached dwelling designed or occupied by not more than
one of the following as a single housekeeping unit with single culinary
facilities:
[Amended 3-25-1997 by Ord. No. 1131; 12-2-2014 by Ord. No.
2374]
One family, which may consist of
one person or two or more persons related by blood or marriage with
any number of natural children, foster children, stepchildren or adopted
children.
Two single parents or guardians with
any number of their natural children, foster children, stepchildren
or adopted children, functioning as a single housekeeping unit.
A group of not more than four persons
not necessarily related by blood or marriage functioning as a single
housekeeping unit.
A group residential facility licensed
and approved by the appropriate state agencies serving 10 or fewer
persons with disabilities on a twenty-four-hour-per-day basis.
One person or two persons, one of
whom shall be elderly and/or disabled, and one or both of whom own
the dwelling unit, plus one family, which may consist of one person
or two persons related by blood or marriage, and with any number of
natural children, foster children, stepchildren or adopted children.
For the purpose of this section,
"disabled" or "persons with disabilities" includes any person or persons
with a handicap or disability as those terms are defined in the Delaware
Fair Housing Act, Title 6, Chapter 46, of the Delaware Code, as may
be amended.
A room or group of rooms occupied or intended to be occupied
as separate living quarters by a single family or other group of persons
living together as a household or by a person living alone.[4]
Authorization by a property owner for another to use the
owner's property for a specified purpose.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Any school, educational institution 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.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A feature, excluding laterals draining agricultural fields,
that carries only runoff in direct response to precipitation with
water flowing only during and shortly after large precipitation events.
An ephemeral stream may or may not have a well-defined channel, its
aquatic bed is always above the water table during a year of normal
rainfall, and runoff is its primary source of water. An ephemeral
stream typically lacks the biological, hydrological, and physical
characteristics commonly associated with the continuous or intermittent
conveyance of water.
[Added 5-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2852]
A home occupation providing care, protection, supervision
and guidance in private homes for one to six children, excluding care
provided by relatives. Service is provided for part of the twenty-four-hour
day, unattended by parent or guardian, and for compensation. Due to
a change in shifts or because of before- and after-school care, the
number of children in care may exceed the licensed capacity by two
children for a period of time not to exceed two hours in any child
care day. These facilities are required by state law to be licensed
by the State Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their
Families.
[Added 7-28-1992 by Ord. No. 847]
Any building, structure or land used for the sale, at retail,
of motor vehicle fuels, lubricants or accessories or for the servicing
of automobiles or repairing of automobiles or repairing of minor parts
and accessories.
[Amended 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A private health, athletic or recreational club facility
that provides fitness services including, but not limited to, gymnasiums
(except public), weight-training facilities, aerobic floors, tennis/racquetball
courts, swimming pools, and similar athletic facilities, with full
service amenities including but not limited to showers, lockers, baths
and saunas.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
For commercial, business and industrial
buildings or buildings containing mixed uses, the sum of the gross
horizontal areas of the several floors of a building measured from
the exterior faces of the exterior walls or from the center line of
walls separating two buildings, but not including attic or basement
storage space, accessory off-street parking spaces, accessory off-street
loading spaces, mechanical utility equipment areas, rest rooms and
stairs.
For residential buildings, the sum
of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of a dwelling,
exclusive of garages, open breezeways and open porches, measured from
the exterior faces of the exterior walls.
STREET FRONTAGEAll of the property on one side of a street between two intersecting streets (crossing or terminating), measured along the line of the street or, if the street is dead-ended, then all of the property abutting on one side between an intersecting street and the dead end of the street.
LOT FRONTAGEThe distance for which the front boundary line of the lot and the street line are coincident.
An accessory use for the retail dispensing or sales of vehicular
fuels consisting of fuel pumps.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A building or part thereof used for human funeral services,
including chapels, embalming, autopsies, storage of caskets, funeral
urns and other related funeral supplies, and the storage of funeral
vehicles, but does not include facilities for cremation.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A deck, building, structure, or part thereof used for the
parking and storage of vehicles for a commercial application.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A garage used for storage purposes only and having a capacity
of not more than four automobiles. Space therein may be used for not
more than one commercial vehicle of not more than a one-ton capacity.
A building or use designed and used as a single apartment unit containing not more than 800 square feet of total floor area and accessory to the single-family dwelling. Garage/studio apartments do not include duplexes, tourist homes, servant quarters, or guest homes. Prior to use, a garage/studio apartment shall obtain a special use exception under the provisions of Article XXVII, Board of Adjustment, and all necessary state and local permits.
[Added 3-18-2008 by Ord. No. 1959]
Determined by averaging the elevations of the finished ground at all the corners and/or other principal points in the perimeter wall of the building, except that grade elevation for any building which is required to be elevated in accordance with the provisions of § 115-189 shall be measured from the minimum elevation required for the site by the Flood Zone.
A certification prepared by a licensed professional who is
permitted to prepare detailed sediment and stormwater plans that a
site, as graded, is in general conformity with the individual site
grading plan. A lot grading certificate shall include the following
information:
[Added 3-28-2017 by Ord. No. 2489]
North arrow.
Tax Map and parcel number(s).
Subdivision name and lot number.
Property lines, lot dimensions, drainage
easements and adjacent rights-of-way.
The location of the following items:
Elevations at four corners of the
structure and at the location of the spot elevations indicated on
the detailed grading plan, as applicable.
Inverts of drainage structures receiving
runoff from the site.
Top and bottom of curb and gutter
(if applicable).
Driveway culvert pipe material, size
and inverts, where applicable.
Immediately adjacent upstream and
downstream driveway culverts, including inverts and pipe sizes (if
applicable).
Swale inverts along property frontage.
Finished floor and slab elevations.
A description of any discrepancies
or variations from the approved plans (including site plans, detailed
grading plan, construction plans or calculations and specifications)
and any approved revisions as a result thereof.
A civic space for passive recreation, spatially defined by
landscaping rather than buildings.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A structure in which plants, vegetables, flowers, and similar
materials are grown for sale.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
An open-space corridor in largely natural conditions which
may include trails for bicycles and pedestrians.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A residential facility licensed or approved by a state agency
serving three to 10 developmentally disabled persons on a twenty-four-hour-per-day
basis pursuant to 16 Del. C. § 1101 which must meet minimum
acceptable standards for living conditions and supports.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Living quarters within a detached accessory building located
on the same premises with the main building for use by temporary guests
of the occupants of the premises, such quarters having no kitchen
facilities or separate utility meters and not rented or otherwise
used as a separate dwelling.
[Amended 7-28-1992 by Ord. No.
847]
Any occupation, profession, enterprise or activity, conducted
solely by one or more members of a family on the premises, which is
incidental and secondary to the use of the premises for dwelling,
provided that no commodity is stored or sold, except such as is made
on the premises, and there shall be no group instruction, assembly
or activity and no outside storage or display material on the premises.
When within the above requirement,
a "home occupation" includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Art or craft studio.
The practice of cosmetology or barbering
in AR and GR Districts, limited to one chair.
Dressmaking or custom baking.
Professional office of a physician,
dentist, lawyer, engineer, architect, accountant or salesman.
Private instruction limited to one
or two pupils at a time.
Family day-care homes.
A "home occupation," however, shall
not be interpreted to include nursing homes, convalescent homes, rest
homes, restaurants, tearooms, tourist homes or similar establishments.
A building or group of buildings having room facilities for
overnight patients, used for providing services for the inpatient
medical or surgical care of sick or injured humans and which may include
related facilities, central service facilities and staff offices;
provided, however, that such related facility must be incidental and
subordinate to the main use and must be an integral part of the hospital
operations. This use requires a license issued under Delaware Code,
Title 16, Chapter 10, § 1003, but does not include sanatoriums,
rest homes, nursing homes or boarding homes.
[Amended 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A building in which lodging or boarding and lodging are provided
for more than 15 persons, primarily transient, or with more than 10
guest rooms offered to the public for compensation. Ingress and egress
to and from all rooms is made through an inside lobby or office supervised
by a person in charge at all hours. As such, it is open to the public,
in contradistinction to a boarding-, rooming or lodging house or an
apartment house, which are herein separately defined. A "hotel" may
include restaurants, taverns, club rooms, public banquet halls, ballrooms
and meeting rooms.
A lot grading plan prepared by a licensed professional who
is permitted to prepare detailed sediment and stormwater plans conforming
to the approved detailed grading plan submitted simultaneously with
a building permit for construction. An individual site grading plan
shall satisfy the following requirements:
[Added 3-28-2017 by Ord. No. 2489]
It must show compliance with a minimum
slope of 5% the first 10 feet from a dwelling or as required by building/residential
codes and 1% beyond a point 10 feet from the side and rear swales
or a closed pipe or swale positive outfall.
It must show spot elevations delineating
grade breaks at all property and right-of-way lines, including finished
grades at all dwelling corners.
It must show first floor and slab
elevations.
Relief from the foregoing standards
may be granted by the Sussex County Engineer for environmental, topographic,
archeological or site constraints or low-impact development (i.e.,
rain gardens, bioswales, etc.).
A well-defined channel, excluding laterals draining agricultural
fields, that contains flowing water for only part of the year, typically
during winter and spring when the aquatic bed is below the water table,
connecting otherwise isolated nontidal wetlands to downstream tidal/perennial
waters/streams. The flow may be heavily supplemented by runoff. An
intermittent stream often lacks the biological and hydrological characteristics
commonly associated with the continuous conveyance of water.
[Added 5-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2852]
Dilapidated automobiles, trucks, tractors and other such
vehicles and parts thereof, dilapidated wagons, trailers and other
kinds of vehicles and parts thereof, scrap building materials, scrap
contractor's equipment, tanks, casks, cans, barrels, boxes, drums,
piping, bottles, glass, old iron, machinery, rags, paper, excelsior,
hair, mattresses, beds or bedding or any other kind of scrap or waste
material which is stored, kept, handled or displayed.
The keeping of any dog or dogs, regardless of number, for
sale, breeding, boarding or treatment purposes, except in an animal
hospital, dog beauty parlor or pet shop as permitted by these regulations,
or the keeping of five or more dogs, six months or older, for any
purpose.
A structure used for the keeping of domestic dogs and cats.
A business that provides washing, drying and/or ironing machines
or dry-cleaning machines for hire to be used by customers on the premises.
A space within the main building or on the same lot, providing
for the standing, loading or unloading of trucks, having a minimum
width of 12 feet, a minimum depth of 40 feet and a vertical clearance
of at least 14 feet.
Same as "tourist home."
[Amended 5-16-1989 by Ord. No. 585]
A fractional portion of a subdivision, measured, surveyed
and platted and set apart, for separate use and occupancy, from contiguous
parcels of land and having its principal frontage upon a street.
The total horizontal area within the lot lines of the lot.
A lot abutting upon two or more streets at their intersection.
That portion of the lot area that is covered by buildings;
the building area divided by the lot area, e.g., a lot containing
10,000 square feet has principal and accessory buildings planned or
existing whose area is 2,500 square feet, thus the lot coverage is
25%.
The average horizontal distance between the front and rear
lot lines.
A lot other than a corner lot.
The boundary line of a lot.
A lot having a frontage on two approximately parallel streets.
The shortest horizontal distance between the side lot lines
measured at the required building setback line. If the angle between
the front and side lines is less than 90°, the "lot width" shall
be measured from side to side of the right angle to the length of
the setback line. (See diagram below for example.)
Those roadways in the unincorporated areas of Sussex County
or subject to the zoning regulations of Sussex County, Delaware, which
because of the traffic patterns of Sussex County operate at capacity
and which are designated as follows:
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Delaware Route 1 from the Kent County
line to the Worcester County, Maryland, line.
U.S. Route 113 from the Kent County
line to the Worcester County, Maryland, line.
U.S. Route 13 from the Kent County
line to the Wicomico County, Maryland, line.
Delaware Route 404 from the Caroline
County, Maryland, line to its intersection with Delaware Route 18.
Delaware Route 18 from its intersection
with Delaware Route 404 to its intersection with U.S. Route 113.
U.S. Route 9 from its intersection
with U.S. Route 13 to its intersection with Delaware Route 1.
U.S. Route 9 from its intersection
with Delaware Route 1 to the southwesterly town limit of the Town
of Lewes.
A street or highway designated as a primary highway by the
Delaware State Division of Highways.
A movable or portable dwelling not less than 450 square feet
in size, constructed to be towed on its own chassis, connected to
utilities and designed with or without a permanent foundation for
year-round occupancy, which can consist of one or more components
that can be retracted for towing purposes and subsequently expanded
for additional capacity or of two or more units separately towable
but designed to be joined into one integral unit.
[Added 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2152[5]]
Any tract of land used or offered for use for the location
of manufactured homes of other ownership to be occupied as dwellings.
[Added 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2152[6]]
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 semi-finished as a raw material for further processing.
The processing of farm products grown
on a farm is not manufacturing, but rather an accessory use to farming
operations.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A place for docking pleasure boats or providing services
to pleasure boats and the occupants thereof, including minor servicing
and repair to boats while in the water, sale of fuel and supplies
and provision of lodging, food, beverages and entertainment as accessory
uses. "Marina" shall also include a dry stack boat storage facility
(also known as a "boatel," "valet storage," "pigeonhole storage and
"stackominium") whereby pleasure boats are stored in an enclosed structure
on dry land, with direct loading and unloading capabilities to a waterway
or body of water. A yacht club shall be considered as a "marina,"
but a hotel, motel or similar use, where docking of boats and provision
of services thereto is incidental to other activities, shall not be
considered a "marina," nor shall boat docks accessory to a multiple
dwelling where no boat-related services are rendered.
[Amended 2-27-1990 by Ord. No. 665]
Development, redevelopment or renovation development in or
adjacent to a water body, including but not limited to any original
construction or extension, modification or alteration of any dock,
seawall, retaining wall, pier, finger pier, dolphin, bulkhead, dock
house, boat house or boat lift.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
An outdoor area where vehicles, equipment, merchandise, raw
materials, or other items are accumulated and stored for an indefinite
period until needed. Storage yards are often used in conjunction with
a warehouse, storage buildings, sheds or other structures and may
be public or private. Unless a function of a government agency or
public utility, storage yards are considered accessory to a business
or other principal use.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A building without cooking facilities in which lodging or
boarding and lodging are provided and offered to the public for compensation.
As such, it is open to the public, in contradistinction to a boarding-
or lodging house or a multiple dwelling; same as a hotel, except that
the buildings are usually designed to serve tourists traveling by
automobile, ingress and egress to rooms need not be through a lobby
or office and parking usually is adjacent to the rooms.
A building or land which does not conform to the height,
area or use regulations of the district in which it is located.
Those wetlands, not classified by this chapter as tidal wetlands,
which lie contiguous or abutting to tidal waters, tidal wetlands,
perennial streams or those intermittent streams providing a surface
water connection between adjacent wetlands and ultimately downstream
navigable waters. Nontidal wetlands also include those wetlands only
separated from otherwise contiguous or abutting wetlands by constructed
dikes, barriers, culverts, natural river berms and beach dunes.
[Added 5-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2852]
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:
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
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.
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.
GRADUATE CARE FACILITYContains elements of elderly independent living, assisted living and nursing homes. Residents can take advantage of the full range of services available and the ease of transfer to a different type of facility as his or her condition and needs change without needing to look for a new facility, relocate or adapt to a new setting. The resident may begin in the independent living residences, move to assisted living as he or she needs help with activities of daily living, and eventually move to the nursing home as ongoing care becomes necessary.
INDEPENDENT CARE FACILITYA residential development of detached single-family dwelling units or multifamily dwelling units restricted to individuals or families in which all residents are older adults. Such development may contain compatible commercial elements.
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.
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.
OTHERIncludes family care homes, group homes, intermediate care facilities for persons with mental retardation, neighborhood group homes, family care homes, and rest residential facilities.
Same as "convalescent home."
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.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
That portion of a lot excluding area set aside or used for
buildings, parking, loading and streets.
[Amended 12-16-2008 by Ord. No. 2022]
Those land areas within all major residential subdivisions,
residential planned communities or developments which have a purpose
to provide active and/or passive recreational opportunities, maintain
land in a predominantly undeveloped or natural state, including lands
used for agricultural purposes, promote conservation, protect wildlife
or serve as a buffer between residential and nonresidential areas
and/or commercial and noncommercial areas.
[Added 12-16-2008 by Ord. No. 2022]
The following uses are permitted
and the land area devoted to said uses will be included in the calculation
of open space:
Recreational facilities, including
swimming pools, game courts, play areas, walking paths, bike paths
and multimodal paths that are not located on state road rights-of-way,
provided that impervious cover does not exceed 15% of calculated open
space area.
Ponds which have a demonstrated recreational
value.
Buffers and forested areas.
Areas protected by perpetual conservation
easements.
Areas providing scenic vistas, areas
providing wildlife corridors.
Sidewalks not located within street
rights-of-way.
Areas designated as "safe zones" under the Source Water Protection Ordinance contained in Chapter 89.
Spray irrigation areas, not including
areas occupied by rapid infiltration basins.
Tidal and nontidal wetlands.
Stormwater management facility area.
The following uses are not permitted
and the land area devoted to said uses will not be included in the
calculation of open space:
Land area included within designated
lot lines.
Building footprints.
Predominantly impervious surfaces
such as street rights-of-way, sidewalks within street rights-of-way,
parking and/or loading areas.
Utility facilities, including but
not limited to, any building, plant, equipment for treatment or pumping,
lagoons and rapid infiltration basins, for sewer, water, gas, and/or
electric utilities.
Any reference in this chapter to
"open space" shall be subject to and governed by this definition.
The boundary of perennial nontidal rivers or streams, intermittent
streams or ephemeral streams shall be defined by the ordinary high-water
mark. "Ordinary high-water mark" means the line on a shore or bank
established by the fluctuations of water and indicated by physical
characteristics, such as a clear, natural line impressed on the bank,
shelving, changes in the character of soil, destruction of terrestrial
vegetation, the presence of litter and debris, or other similar physical
characteristics indicating the frequent presence of flowing water.
[Added 5-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2852]
An area used for the storage or parking of automobiles, not
including mobile dwelling units, for any period of time and operated
for gain.
A paved drive or network of drives for the exclusive access to perpendicular and/or angled parking spaces and connected to a street via an intersection in accordance with Chapter 99.
[Added 3-28-2017 by Ord. No. 2489]
A paved area not part of a street or alley, exclusive of
driveways and parking lot drives, permanently reserved for the temporary
storage of one vehicle and connected with the street or alley by a
paved surface which affords ingress and egress for an automobile without
requiring another automobile to be moved.
[Amended 3-14-2006 by Ord. No. 1831; 3-28-2017 by Ord. No. 2489]
A building containing two or more stories of parking.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A pedestrian way traversing open space or rural area, with
landscape consistent with the preservation of ecological functions
of the open space, ideally connecting directly with the sidewalk network.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A well-defined channel that contains flowing water year round
during a year of normal rainfall with the aquatic bed located below
the water table for most of the year and which is not subject to tidal
influence. Groundwater is the primary source of water for a perennial
stream, but it also carries runoff. A perennial stream exhibits the
typical biological, hydrological, and physical characteristics commonly
associated with the continuous conveyance of water.
[Added 5-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2852]
A building or structure that is intended to provide prescribed
or nonprescribed medication along with medical equipment and other
items that can be used for improving health and quality of life.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
An open unoccupied space, other than a street or alley, permanently
reserved as a principal means of access to abutting property.
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.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A lot, together with all buildings and structures thereon.
A facility for housing or feeding cattle, hogs, sheep and
goats for not more than four cattle, eight sheep, eight goats and
eight hogs.
Open to common use-, whether or not public ownership is involved.
A building, owned or leased, occupied, and used by an agency
or political subdivision of the federal, state, county, or municipal
government.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A building or structure used for the provision of public
safety services, such as police protection, fire protection, emergency
medical service, and rescue operations.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
The generation, transmission, and/or distribution of electricity,
gas, steam, communications, and water; the collection and treatment
of sewage and solid waste; and the provision of mass transit to the
public.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Any use or structure associated with the provision of utility
services.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
The 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.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Any system, other than an individual septic tank, tile field,
or individual well, that is operated by a governmental agency, a public
utility, or a private individual or corporation licensed by the appropriate
state agency, for the collection, treatment, and disposal of wastes
and the furnishing of potable water.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A place designed and equipped for the conduct of sports.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
RECREATION FACILITY, COMMERCIALA recreation facility operated as a business and open to the public for a fee.
RECREATION FACILITY, GOVERNMENTA recreation facility owned or operated by a government organization.
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.
RECREATION FACILITY, PRIVATEA recreation facility operated by a nonprofit organization and open only to bona fide members and guests of such nonprofit organization.
The whole body of regulations, text, charts, tables, diagrams,
maps, notations, references and symbols contained or referred to in
this chapter.
A dwelling unit intended for rental to transients on a day-to-day
or week-to-week basis, but not intended for use or used as a permanent
dwelling and not including culinary facilities.
A managed area between residential land uses and resources
that is not subdividable once established, with the exception of a
subdivision boundary resulting from an approved phase. Resource buffers
function to:
[Added 5-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2852]
Protect the resources and their associated
functions.
Improve/protect water quality via
sediment filtration, reduce impact of nutrient loading on resources,
moderate water temperature, and enhance infiltration and stabilization
of channel banks.
Provide wildlife habitat via nesting,
breeding, and feeding opportunities; provide sanctuary/refuge during
high-water events; protect critical water's edge habitat; and protect
rare, threatened, and endangered species associated with each resource
and its upland edge.
Enhance and/or maintain the floodplain
storage functionality via reduction of flood conveyance velocities
as well as dissipation of stormwater discharge energy.
Those wetlands and waters to be provided with a resource
buffer due to their importance to Sussex County. These resources include
tidal waters, tidal wetlands, nontidal wetlands, perennial streams,
and those intermittent streams providing a surface water connection
between wetlands.
[Added 5-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2852]
"Restaurant" includes the following:
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Establishments where food and drink
are prepared, served, and sold primarily for consumption within the
principal building.
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.
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:
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Usually a business place engaged
in activity to attract the general public to buy.
Buys and receives as well as sells
merchandise.
May process or manufacture some of
its products (e.g., a jeweler or a bakery), but processing is secondary
to principal use.
Generally sells to customers for
personal or household use.
Any structure or place where horses or ponies are kept for
riding, driving or stabling for compensation or incidental to the
operation of any club, association, ranch or similar establishment.
See "tourist home."
A structure containing separate, individual, and private
storage spaces of varying sizes leased or rented on an individual
basis for varying amounts of time.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Living quarters within a portion of a main building or in
an accessory building located on the same lot with the main building
used for servants employed on the premises, such quarters having no
kitchen facilities or separate utility meters and not rented or otherwise
used as a separate dwelling.
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.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
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.
SERVICES, ENTERTAINMENTEstablishments providing services or entertainment, as opposed to products, to the general public for personal or household use, including bowling alleys, miniature golf, indoor amusements, motion pictures, amusement and recreation services, museums, and galleries.
SERVICES, PERSONALEstablishments primarily engaged in providing services involving the care of a person or his or her personal goods or apparel.
An area extending from the lot lines to the building setback
lines within which no buildings or other structures may be erected.
A line parallel to the front or street line and distant from
it the least minimum depth of a required front yard; a line parallel
to a side boundary line and distant from it the least minimum depth
of a required side yard; a line parallel to the rear boundary line
and distant from it the least minimum depth of a required rear yard.
A group of commercial establishments planned, constructed
and managed as a total entity in accordance with an approved plan,
with customer and employee parking provided on site, provision for
goods delivery separated from customer access, aesthetic considerations
and protection from the elements, and landscaping and signage.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
For definitions pertaining to signs, see Article XXI.
A drawing illustrating a proposed development and prepared in accordance with the specifications of Article XXVIII.
An accessory building, not related to the ordinary operation
of a farm, for the housing of not more than four horses or mules owned
by a person or persons living on the premises and which horses or
mules are not for hire or sale.
Any stable for the housing of horses or mules, operated for
remuneration, hire, sale or stabling, or any stable, not related to
the ordinary operation of a farm, with a capacity for more than four
horses or mules, whether or not such stable is operated for remuneration,
hire, sale or stabling.
That portion of a building, other than a basement, included
between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next
above it or, if there is no floor next above it, then the space between
such floor and the ceiling next above it.
A space under a sloping roof which has the line of intersection
of roof decking and wall face not more than three feet above the top
floor level and in which space not more than two-thirds (2/3) of the
floor area is finished for use. A "half-story" containing living quarters
shall be counted as a full story.
A public or private thoroughfare which affords the principal
means of access to abutting lots and whether designated as "freeway,"
"expressway," "highway," "road," "avenue," "boulevard," "lane," "place,"
"circle" or however otherwise designated.
[Amended 3-28-2017 by Ord. No. 2489]
A dividing line separating a lot, tract or parcel of land
and a contiguous street; and also referred to as "right-of-way line."
Any change in the supporting members of a building, such
as footings, bearing walls or partitions, columns, beams or girders,
or any substantial change in the roof or in the exterior walls, excepting
such repair as may be required for the safety of the building.
Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires
more or less permanent location on the ground, or attached to something
having a permanent location on the ground, including, but without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, manufactured homes, signs,
swimming pools, fences, backstops for tennis courts and pergolas.
[Amended 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2152]
A facility where outpatients come for simple surgical procedures
and are not lodged overnight.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Any portable pool or permanent structure containing a body
of water 18 inches or more in depth area intended for recreational
purposes, including a wading pool, but not including an ornamental
reflecting pool or fish pond or other type of pool located and designed
so as not to create a hazard or be used for swimming or wading.
A drainage channel or conveyance and the corresponding right-of-way
established and/or formed in accordance with Title 7, Chapter 41,
of the Delaware Code, and approved by a ditch order entered by the
Superior Court of the State of Delaware and County of Sussex.
[Added 5-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2852]
A Committee comprising the staff of the Commission, County
Engineer and representatives of the following, which shall be designated
from time to time by the Commission: the State Division of Highways,
State Division of Environmental Control, State Fire Marshal's Office
and such other professional and technical representatives as may be
deemed necessary by the Commission. The exact membership of the Committee
shall be determined by vote of the Commission, as will the number
necessary to constitute a quorum, the times and places for meetings
and such other measures necessary to create a Committee which shall
effectively function as an advisory body to the Commission with regard
to design requirements, improvement specifications and other applicable
standards relating to the design and construction of a residential
planned community or new development.
[Added 4-6-2004 by Ord. No. 1678]
A repository that primarily houses computing facilities such
as servers, routers, switches and firewalls, as well as supporting
components like backup equipment, fire suppression facilities and
air conditioning.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A building and its equipment used for facilitating transmission
of telephone and radio-telephone messages between subscribers and
other business of the telephone company.
Any park, tourist park, camp, court, site, lot, parcel or
tract of land which is designed, maintained or intended for the purpose
of supplying a location or accommodation for two or more tents, tent
trailers, camp trailers, trailerettes or other camping vehicles or
facilities as temporary living or sleeping quarters for persons engaged
in recreational, educational or vacation activities.
Those waters occurring below the mean high-water line of
any tidal water body, tidal stream, or tidal marsh, which is defined
as the average height of all the high-tide water recorded over a nineteen-year
period as defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[Added 5-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2852]
Areas under the jurisdiction of Title 7, Chapter 66, of the
Delaware Code, as regulated and mapped by the Department of Natural
resources and Environmental Control.
[Added 5-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2852]
A dwelling having not more than six rental rooms for guests.
No cooking facilities shall be permitted in individual rental rooms.
[Amended 5-16-1989 by Ord. No. 585]
A single-family dwelling forming one of a group or series
of three or more attached single-family dwellings separated from one
another by party walls and being situated on an individual lot.
The purpose or activity for which land or buildings are designed,
arranged, or intended or for which land or buildings are occupied
or maintained.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A building used primarily for the storage of goods and materials.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Activities that are approved through federal and state permit
programs that meet the definition of water-dependent activities included
in those programs. Water-dependent uses are uses that can only be
conducted on, in, over, or adjacent to the water; each involves, as
an integral part of the use, direct access to and use of the water.
Examples include marinas, boat ramps/launches, docks, piers, water
intakes, aquatic habitat restoration, and similar uses.
[Added 5-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2852]
Those considered ancillary to and supporting permitted water-dependent
activities completed on adjacent uplands. Examples include utility
connections, limited points of access, loading/unloading areas, and
similar uses.
[Added 5-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2852]
Any body of water, including any creek, canal, river, lake
or bay or any other body of water, natural or artificial, except a
swimming pool or ornamental pool located on a single lot.
Areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or
groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and
that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation
typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Agricultural
land consisting of prior converted croplands, as defined by the National
Food Security Act Manual (August 1988), are not wetlands. The procedure
for delineating the boundary of all wetlands, except for tidal wetlands
as defined by this chapter, shall be the methodology provided in the
Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual (January 1987) and the
Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation
Manual: Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Region (November 2010).
[Added 5-17-2022 by Ord. No. 2852]
For the purposes of this chapter, a wholesale establishment
is a wholesale warehouse type of retail store establishment.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
Establishments or places of business primarily engaged in
selling merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional,
or professional business users; to other wholesalers; or acting as
agents or brokers and buying merchandise for, or selling merchandise
to, such individuals or companies.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
A device exterior to a building that is designated to convert
naturally occurring wind into usable electricity for on-site or off-site
use. Such term shall also include any supporting pole or equipment
that is attached to the wind turbine for electrical purposes. The
terms âwind turbineâ and âwindmillâ shall
have the same meaning. Examples of similar references to wind turbines
may include but are not limited to "wind turbine," "windmill," "wind-powered
systems," "wind-powered generator," etc.
[Added 9-13-2011 by Ord. No. 2213]
A facility where wine is manufactured and packaged. Such
facilities may include a tasting room or retail space to sell the
products to patrons for on-site or off-site consumption.
[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord. No. 2550]
An unobstructed space where no buildings or other structures
are permitted on a lot, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
(See diagram below for example.)
A yard extending between the side lot lines and being the
minimum horizontal distance between the street line, or other officially
approved front line, and the main building or any projections thereof.
A yard extending across the rear of the lot between the side
lot lines and measured between the rear lot line and the rear of the
main building or any projection, other than steps, unenclosed porches
or entranceways.
A yard between the main building and the side line of the
lot and extending from the front yard to the rear yard and being a
minimum horizontal distance between the side lot line and side of
the main buildings or any projection thereof.
[1]
Editor's Note: See also the definition of "basement" for flood-prone districts in Subsection C below.
[2]
Editorâs Note: The former definitions
of âconvalescent home,â and âday-care center,â
which immediately followed this definition, were repealed 2-27-2018
by Ord. No. 2550.
[4]
Editor's Note: The former definition of "family,"
which immediately followed this definition, was repealed 12-2-2014
by Ord. No. 2374.
[5]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
the former definition of âmobile home (house trailer).â
[6]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
the former definition of âtrailer park, trailer court or mobile
home park.â