The purpose of this district is to
provide zoning regulations for incorporated municipalities having
no zoning provisions of their own and which choose to come under the
Sussex County Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. The pattern of most
areas within incorporated municipalities is already established by
existing structures and uses. The intent of the UR regulations, therefore,
is to prevent deterioration and abuse of the existing pattern in each
locality of a municipality. To avoid making a majority of the existing
structures and uses nonconforming, UR regulations are broadly flexible.
A building or land shall be used
only for the following purposes:
A.
Detached single-family dwellings, other
than manufactured homes.
[Amended 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2152]
B.
Churches, rectories, parish houses, convents
and monasteries, temples and synagogues.
C.
Golf courses, not lighted for night play
and not including miniature golf courses, putting greens, driving
ranges and similar activities operated as a business, but including
a building for a golf shop, locker rooms and snack bar as an accessory
use to a permitted golf course, provided that no such building is
located closer than 100 feet to adjoining property lines. Practice
greens and tees may accompany a standard nine-hole or eighteen-hole
golf course occupying at least 75 acres.
D.
Public and private parks, forests, wildlife
reservations and similar conservation projects.
E.
Recreational uses such as tennis courts,
swimming pools and other similar activities operated exclusively for
the use of private membership and not for commercial purposes, provided
that no such use, structure or accessory use is located closer than
50 feet to an adjoining property line, unless such property line fronts
a public street or waterway with rights-of-way not less than 25 feet,
in which instance the required setback need not exceed 25 feet, and
provided further that all such facilities must be located on a site
having a minimum of two acres.
F.
Swimming pools, game courts, picnic grounds,
boat basins, lakes or similar activities in a development or subdivision,
when such facilities are situated on a separate lot or parcel within
said development or subdivision for use of the residents and their
guests and not commercially operated, may be on less than two acres.
Such facilities will be subject to a site plan review, and setbacks
will be determined by the Commission.
H.
Use of a manufactured home as a single-family dwelling to meet an emergency or hardship situation that is administratively approved by the Director or his or her designee the requirements set forth in Article IV, § 115-20A(14).
[Added 10-22-2019 by Ord. No. 2684]
I.
Garage/studio apartment with at least one parking space for the exclusive use of the tenant included on the premises that is administratively approved by the Director or his or her designee, and subject to the requirements set forth in Article IV, § 115-20A(15).
[Added 10-22-2019 by Ord. No. 2684]
J.
Use of a manufactured-home-type structure for any business, commercial or industrial use that is administratively approved by the Director or his or her designee, and subject to the the requirements set forth in Article IV, § 115-20A(16).
[Added 10-22-2019 by Ord. No. 2684]
K.
A Sussex County Rental Program, or SCRP, townhouse or multifamily development governed by, and subject to, Chapter 72, where at least 25% of all dwelling units are SCRP Units pursuant to Chapter 72. The SCRP development must satisfy the following criteria:
[Added 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 2889]
(1)
The site must be located within a Town
Center, a Developing Area, the Commercial Area or the Coastal Area
as described within the Land Use Element and as shown on the Future
Land Use Plan of the adopted Sussex County Comprehensive Plan.
(2)
The site shall be located within 2,640
feet of a principal arterial road, minor arterial road or major collector
road as classified by the Delaware Department of Transportation. In
addition, an Applicant should make every effort to coordinate with
DART for transit access to and from the site.
(3)
The site must be served by a central sewer
system and a central water system.
(4)
The total maximum number of dwelling units (including both SCRP Units and non-SCRP Units) that may be permitted shall be determined by dividing the gross area by 3,630 square feet. "Gross area" shall exclude any area designated as a tidal tributary stream or tidal wetlands by § 115-193.
(5)
There shall be a one-hundred-foot-wide setback around the entire site, which shall incorporate the forested and/or landscaped buffer strip identified in § 99-5. This setback may include walking and biking trails.
(6)
The height of any townhouse or multifamily
buildings shall not exceed 52 feet or four stories, whichever is greater;
provided, however, that if the height does not exceed 42 feet, then
the setback described in this subsection shall be reduced from 100
feet to 50 feet.
(7)
There shall be sidewalks on at least one
side of all streets, roadways and parking areas, with interconnectivity
to adjacent walkway systems wherever possible.
(8)
There must be interconnectivity with any
adjacent property that is zoned C-1, CR-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-5, B-1,
B-2 or B-3.
(9)
There shall be open space that exceeds
50% of the gross area of the entire site.
(10)
Sussex County shall commence a comprehensive
review of the provisions of this SCRP program as set forth herein
on or before January 1, 2028.
[Amended 9-13-2011 by Ord. No. 2213; 10-8-2019 by Ord. No. 2683]
Permitted accessory uses shall be
as follows:
|
A wind turbine which meets § 115-194.4 as a permitted use
|
|
Accessory off-street parking and
loading spaces. An open or enclosed place for parking one commercial
vehicle of not more than one-ton capacity and used by the occupant
of a dwelling shall be permitted as accessory
|
|
Boat docks and boathouses for private
use
|
|
Domestic storage in a main building
or in an accessory building
|
|
Garages, private
|
|
Home barbecue grills
|
|
Home occupations in a main building
or accessory building
|
|
Playhouses, without plumbing, limited
in floor area to 150 square feet and headroom limited to five feet
|
|
Servants' quarters
|
|
Storage of a boat trailer or camp
trailer or a boat, but not in a front yard, provided that it is not
used for living purposes while so parked or stored
|
|
Swimming pools and game courts, lighted
or unlighted, for the use of occupants or their guests
|
|
Temporary buildings, including manufactured
home-type structures, the use of which is incidental to construction
operations or sale of lots during development being conducted on the
same or adjoining tract or subdivision and which shall be removed
upon completion or abandonment of such construction or upon the expiration
of a period of two years of the time of erection of such temporary
buildings, whichever is sooner. If construction operations or the
initial sale of lots remain actively underway, the Director may grant
extensions to this time period
|
The following uses may be permitted as conditional uses when approved in accordance with the provisions of Article XXIV of this chapter:
|
Beaches, commercial
|
|
Cemeteries, including a crematorium
if located at least 200 feet from the boundaries of the cemetery
|
|
Institutions, educational or philanthropic,
including museums, art galleries and libraries
|
|
Marinas or yacht clubs
|
|
Multifamily dwelling structures, subject to the provisions of § 115-219
|
|
Nursing and similar care facilities
[Added 4-16-2019 by Ord. No. 2645] |
|
Private clubs
|
|
Public or governmental buildings
and uses, including schools, parks, parkways, playgrounds and public
boat landings
|
|
Public utilities or public service
uses, buildings, generating or treatment plants, pumping or regulator
stations, substations and transmission lines utilizing multilegged
structures, but not telephone central offices
|
|
Structures for commercial poultry
raising on a farm of five acres or more, provided that such structures
shall be located at least 200 feet from any dwelling not located on
the premises
|
|
Swimming or tennis clubs, private,
nonprofit or commercially operated
|
Special use exceptions may be permitted by the Board of Adjustment and in accordance with the provisions of Article XXVII and may include:
A.
Temporary and conditional permits for a
period not to exceed five years, such period to be determined by the
Board, for the following uses:
[Amended 3-5-1991 by Ord. No. 750; 11-10-1992 by Ord. No.
863; 10-12-1999 by Ord. No. 1346; 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2152; 10-22-2019 by Ord. No. 2684]
|
Archery ranges
|
|
Miniature golf courses or driving
ranges
|
|
Raising for sale of birds, bees,
rabbits and other small animals, fish and other creatures. Building
setbacks shall be the same as required for the main structure.
|
|
Temporary buildings for use as a
sales or rental office for an approved real estate development or
subdivision
|
|
Tents for special purposes for a
period exceeding three days. The Director may, without requiring an
application for a special use exception, grant approval for a tent
for a special purpose (revival, reception, tent sale as an accessory
to a business or commercial use, or other similar activities). If
approved by the Director, a tent for special purposes may be utilized
on a parcel no more than three times in a calendar year.
|
|
Use of a manufactured home as a single-family
dwelling in any district to meet an emergency or hardship situation
when not approved administratively by the Director or his or her designee,
such permit not to exceed two years. The Director may, without requiring
an application for a special use exception, grant an extension for
an emergency or hardship situation previously approved by the County
Board of Adjustment upon receipt of an affidavit from a doctor stating
that the emergency or hardship situation still exists. Such extension
may be granted annually as long as the emergency or hardship still
exists.
|
|
Use of a manufactured-home-type structure
for any business, commercial or industrial use when not approved administratively
by the Director or his or her designee
|
B.
Exceptions to parking and loading requirements
as follows:
(1)
Off-street parking areas, adjacent to or at a reasonable distance from the premises on which parking areas are required by the parking regulations of Article XXII, where practical difficulties, including the acquisition of property, or undue hardships are encountered in locating such parking areas on the premises and where the purpose of these regulations to relieve congestion in the streets would best be served by permitting such parking off the premises.
(2)
Waiver or reduction of the parking and
loading requirements in any district whenever the character or use
of the building is such as to make unnecessary the full provision
of parking or loading facilities.
(3)
Waiver or reduction of loading space requirements
where adequate community loading facilities are provided.
(4)
Waiver or reduction of loading space requirements
for uses which contain less than 10,000 square feet of floor area
where construction of existing buildings, problems of access or size
of lot make impractical the provision of required loading space.
C.
Other special use exceptions as follows:
[Amended 5-16-1989 by Ord. No. 585; 4-24-2001 by Ord. No.
1445; 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2152; 9-13-2011 by Ord. No. 2213; 4-16-2019 by Ord. No. 2645; 10-22-2019 by Ord. No. 2684]
|
Alteration, extension or replacement of a nonconforming manufactured home, subject to the provisions of § 115-196
|
|
Cemeteries for pets
|
|
Commercial communications towers
and antennas
|
|
Commercial greenhouses, wholesale
or retail, and nurseries for growing plants, trees and shrubs, including
a building for sale of products produced on the premises
|
|
Day nurseries or child-care centers
|
|
Garage/studio apartments, when not
approved administratively by the Director or his or her designee,
provided that at least one parking space for the exclusive use of
the tenant is included on the premises
|
|
Private garages for more than four
automobiles and with floor area more than 900 square feet in a residential
district
|
|
Public telephone booths in residential
districts
|
|
Telephone central offices, provided
that all storage of materials, all repair facilities and all housing
of repair crews are within a completely enclosed building
|
|
Tourist homes (also referred to as
"bed-and-breakfast inns")
|
[Amended 10-3-1989 by Ord. No. 619; 12-2-2008 by Ord. No. 2008]
A.
Minimum lot sizes. Minimum lot sizes shall
be as follows:
|
Use
|
Area**
(square feet)
|
Width*
(feet)
|
Depth
(feet)
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Single-family dwelling
|
10,000
|
75
|
100
|
|
*NOTE: A lot fronting on a numbered
road shown on the General Highway Map for Sussex County of 1964, as
revised, shall have a minimum lot width of 90 feet.
[Added 11-7-1989 by Ord. No. 632] | |||
|
**NOTE: Any lot which is not connected to a central sewer system, as defined by § 115-194A, or which is located within a planning area as defined by a sewer planning study approved by the Sussex County Council, shall have a minimum area of 3/4 acre.
[Added 7-15-1997 by Ord. No. 1157] |
B.
Minimum yard requirements. Minimum yard
requirements shall be as follows:
(1)
On a street or road with existing buildings
having a front yard setback that is less than that required in the
district, any new or relocated building may have a front yard setback
that is equal to the average setback of those existing buildings located
on the same side of the street or road and being within 300 feet of
the new or relocated building. Any vacant lot shall be calculated
as having the required setback for the district. In cases where the
above does not apply, there shall be a setback of 30 feet from the
street right-of-way line.
(2)
Side yards shall not be less than 10 feet,
free of all accessory buildings.
(3)
Rear yards shall be not less than 10 feet,
free of all accessory buildings.
C.
Maximum height requirements. Maximum height
requirements shall be as follows:
[Amended 10-31-1995 by Ord. No. 1062]
|
Use
|
Feet
|
|---|---|
|
Single-family dwelling
|
42
|
D.
See also the table of district regulations
at the end of this chapter.
E.
Sussex County Rental Unit development permitted by § 115-53K. The minimum lot size, lot area per dwelling unit, open space, height and setback requirements for a Sussex County Rental Unit development permitted by § 115-53K shall be governed by the dimensional requirement set forth in that section.
[Added 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 2889]
