Kent County, DE Ordinances (2026)

Kent County's Drainage Code, Chapter 116, requires an approved sediment and stormwater management plan and permit before land disturbing activity, plus positive drainage grading around…

Kent County bars any construction, grading, filling, subdivision, manufactured home placement, or storage tank installation within a FEMA-mapped special flood hazard area until the…

In Kent County's non-coastal special flood hazard areas, Zones A, AE and AO, Chapter 188 requires the lowest floor of a residential structure, including any basement, to sit at least…

Kent County bars anyone from disturbing land, whether by grading, excavating, clearing, or filling, without an approved sediment and stormwater management plan and permit first. The…

Kent County requires private piers, wharves, moorings, pilings and buoy installations to comply with Delaware DNREC and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulations under Zoning Code §…

Detached sheds, garages, and other accessory buildings in unincorporated Kent County must stay out of the front yard or front setback unless set back at least 100 feet from the front…

Kent County permits tiny houses by adopting IRC Appendix Q outright, without local changes. Tiny house construction goes through the same building permit, plan review, and inspection…

Chapter 101 of the Kent County Code, adopted September 26, 2023, permits one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) per residential lot, attached or detached, capped at 50% of the principal…

Kent County Code § 101-3.D requires that "one dwelling unit on the property shall be owner-occupied" wherever an accessory dwelling unit is built, and a signed, recorded declaration of…

Kent County allows poultry, pigeons, ducks and similar animals only on lots of at least 15,000 square feet, capped at five birds under County Code § 205-34. Coops must sit in the rear…

Kent County Code § 205-35 makes it unlawful to possess any dangerous animal, including animals exotic to Delaware, anywhere in the unincorporated county. Zoos, licensed wildlife…

Kent County Code § 205-36 caps every household in the unincorporated county at four domestic pets over six months old. The limit sits in Chapter 205's Article IV general provisions…

Kent County zones dog grooming, training and day-care establishments as a conditional use in the Agricultural Conservation and Agricultural Residential districts, but a permitted…

Kent County zones veterinary offices and animal hospitals under its 'commercial kennel' use category, which needs site-plan-backed conditional approval in the Agricultural Conservation…

Kent County's building code does not require automatic fire sprinklers in new homes. Its amendment to the International Residential Code changes the model mandate to a local option…

Kent County requires carbon monoxide alarms in dwelling units built under new construction. The requirement comes through the county's adopted and amended International Residential…

Kent County requires a permit before erecting, installing, enlarging, altering, repairing, converting or replacing any electrical system regulated by Chapter 105. Approval from a…

Kent County adopts the International Plumbing Code for all plumbing work in the unincorporated county and requires a permit from the Department of Planning Services before any plumbing…

Kent County's amended building code classifies day cares serving more than five children over 2.5 years old as Group E, and custodial day cares for people of any age as Group I-4, each…

Kent County requires a permit from the Department of Planning Services before constructing, enlarging, altering, moving, demolishing or changing the occupancy of any building or…

Kent County's building official must inspect permitted work at set stages, footing and foundation, concrete slab, framing, energy efficiency and a final inspection, before work can…

Kent County's Housing Code requires every exterior door, hinge and latch in a rental dwelling to be kept in good condition, and door locks specifically must be in good repair and…

Kent County requires a zoning certificate of use from the Division of Planning before running a home occupation out of a house in the unincorporated county. The business must stay…

A home-based professional office or studio in unincorporated Kent County may post one identification sign, capped at 6 square feet and 5 feet above grade, under Zoning Code Section…

Kent County zones a licensed family child-care home as an authorized home occupation under § 205-55, capped at six full-time children plus three part-time or latch-key children for a…

Kent County caps home-occupation customer traffic at six visitors a day between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. under § 205-68E(12), and § 205-55 separately bars any home occupation from generating…

Kent County sets numeric noise limits keyed to ambient sound rather than a flat decibel cap. A sound that exceeds the ambient noise level by 10 dBA at the complaint point is a…

Kent County treats a barking or howling animal as an illegal noise disturbance once it barks continuously for 10 minutes or intermittently for a half hour. The Chapter 161 noise…

Kent County bars noisy construction, repair or demolition equipment between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. under its general noise ordinance. The rule also forbids construction noise from…

Kent County does not single out leaf blowers by name, but its noise ordinance bars power saws, sanders, drills, grinders and 'garden equipment or tools of a similar nature' outdoors in…

Kent County bars radios, TVs, phonographs, musical instruments and speakers from causing a noise disturbance, and specifically bans running them between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. (9:00…

Kent County does not set its own aircraft decibel limits: § 161-2B(1)(c) requires all aircraft and railroads operating in the county to comply with applicable federal and state noise…

Kent County bans yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or otherwise creating a racket on public streets between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. under § 161-2B(9), one of several…

Kent County bars repairing, rebuilding, testing, racing or 'gunning' a motor vehicle in a residential district between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. in a way that creates a noise…

Kent County Code § 175-2(B), amending Property Maintenance Code § 302.4, caps weeds and grass at 12 inches on any parcel, including vacant lots, and gives the owner five days after…

Kent County's Property Maintenance Code caps weeds and grass at 12 inches on any parcel and adopts the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code to control blighted, unsafe or…

Kent County limits yard and garage sales to eight total days per calendar year on any one property under Zoning Code § 205-17.B. A single sale runs one day, or up to two consecutive…

Kent County Code § 168-31 confines cooking fires in county parks to fireplaces and barbecue grills the county has installed in picnic areas, though visitors may bring their own…

Kent County Code § 171-4(B) requires every off-street loading space to be sized and placed to fit the proposed land use, sit close to the building it serves, and be clearly marked on…

Kent County Zoning Code § 205-27 bars storing, parking or abandoning inoperable, wrecked or unregistered motor vehicles on any lot. Owners get a narrow exception for up to two exempt…

Kent County Code § 171-2(G) doesn't require EV charging stations, but it directs that any charging spaces built be installed to comply with the Delaware Code and encourages developers…

Kent County Code § 171-2(C) bars parking a commercial vehicle on a public right-of-way or on a residential lot, with narrow exceptions for vehicles tied to a permitted use, temporary…

Kent County allows recreational vehicles on residential property but forbids using one as a permanent home under Zoning Code § 205-24. An RV counts as inhabited if someone sleeps…

Every parking area, loading area and driveway in Kent County must be graded and drained to shed surface water and finished with a durable dust-free surface the Department of Planning…

Kent County requires every streetlight and other outdoor lighting fixture installed in a new subdivision to be shielded or aimed downward so glare and light intensity never spill onto…

Kent County exempts political signs from its sign-permit process, but caps them at 32 square feet, bars illumination, and requires removal within 15 days after the election under…

Billboards in Kent County's industrial districts are confined to divided highways, capped at 288 square feet and 35 feet tall, and set back 25 feet from the right-of-way, under Zoning…

Kent County requires 2,500 feet between two electronic variable message billboards and 500 feet from any static billboard under § 205-73.C(7), on top of the base billboard rules…

Kent County's subdivision ordinance requires Regional Planning Commission approval before any developer clears land defined as woodland, a wooded area of at least 10,000 square feet…

Kent County makes it a public nuisance to let weeds, underbrush or other noxious growth reach 12 inches or taller on any improved lot, under Zoning Code § 205-32. The rule exempts…

Kent County requires a $100 building permit for roof-mounted solar panels and sets zoning standards for both roof- and ground-mounted systems under § 205-73.A. Roof-mounted arrays must…

Kent County adopts the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code and requires a compliant barrier around every pool and spa under ISPSC §§ 305.2-305.7. A 2023 amendment removed the old…

Kent County requires a building permit for most residential pools, exempting only small above-ground prefabricated pools under 24 inches deep and 5,000 gallons. Pool permits are valid…

Kent County does not run a standalone parade-permit office; instead, parades and public gatherings are exempted from the county noise ordinance only if the organizer has obtained a…

Kent County requires a permit from the Parks Division to reserve a recreation building, pavilion or grounds for exclusive use, to hold a cultural or recreational special event or…

Kent County Zoning Code § 205-26 permits barbed wire or electrified fences only on a farm operation. Everywhere else, a fence can carry up to six strands of barbed wire along its top…

Kent County exempts fences of seven feet or less from its building permit requirement, but that exemption does not cover a fence required for a pool, a fence a state-approved home day…

Kent County exempts retaining walls up to four feet tall from a building permit under Building Code § 105-4.B(3), measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall. Any…

Kent County lets an ornamental fence or wall up to 4 feet tall sit inside the front or side setback, and up to 7 feet tall in other required setbacks, under Zoning Code Section…

Outside Kent County's Growth Zone Overlay, residential structures in the AC, AR, RS1, RS5, and RMH zoning districts are capped at 35 feet, while the RM multifamily district allows up…

Kent County Code § 101-4.D caps total lot coverage, meaning impervious surface such as buildings, driveways and patios, at 50% for any property adding an accessory dwelling unit. The…

In Kent County's unincorporated areas outside the Growth Zone Overlay, residential lots must keep principal structures 30 feet from the front subdivision street, 15 feet from side…

Kent County's zoning code lists agriculture and aquaculture as a permitted by-right use in all eleven zoning districts, from Agricultural Conservation to Industrial General, under the…

Kent County's Historic Preservation Commission can recommend an individual property as a designated landmark if it is listed or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places…

Kent County zoning bars a new adult entertainment establishment within 1,500 feet of another one, 2,800 feet of a school or place of worship, and 500 feet of the AC, AR, RS1, RS5, RMH…

Kent County's zoning code flatly excludes automobile and accessory service or repair from the list of suitable home occupations under § 205-55, alongside watercraft repair, machinery…

Kent County's Housing Code makes owners responsible for exterminating insects, rats and other vermin before renting, leasing or selling a structure, while tenants must keep the unit…

Kent County Code § 168-23(O) makes it unlawful to discharge or set off fireworks, firearms or other explosives anywhere in a county park. The Parks Division enforces the ban, and…

Kent County Zoning Code § 205-29 bans bulk fuel storage, a category that includes propane and other LP-gas tanks, on residential lots in every residential zoning district, with an…

Kent County Code § 90-3.A(5) puts "lack of required operating smoke detectors" in the county's most urgent violation tier: property owners get just 48 hours to fix a missing or…

Kent County parks and recreation facilities operate on a dawn-to-dusk schedule under § 168-3 of the county code. The Parks Division can close any section of a park, temporarily or…

Kent County Code § 90-2 lays out the complaint pipeline for suspected code violations: a resident or field staff files an initial complaint, an Inspection and Enforcement employee logs…

Kent County Code § 90-3.A groups the violations residents most often report into six categories that must be corrected within 48 hours: safety hazards like missing railings and…

Kent County Code § 90-3 sets two response clocks: safety, health, unpermitted-structure, hazardous-condition, smoke-detector and mechanical-equipment violations must be fixed within 48…

Kent County bans loitering and unlawful assembly in its parks and forbids lingering in or around comfort stations except to use them for their intended purpose. The Parks Division…

Kent County bans both intoxication and mere possession of alcohol or drugs in its parks. Section 168-12 makes it unlawful to enter or use a recreation facility while under the…

Kent County Code § 168-31(D) lets the Parks Division or the Fire Marshal prohibit or limit smoking in county parks whenever fire-hazard conditions make it necessary, folding tobacco…

Kent County's Housing Code sets minimum habitability standards for every rental dwelling in the unincorporated county: owners must maintain premises free of rubbish, pests and hazards…

Kent County treats short-term rentals as a permitted use subject to specific conditions rather than a discretionary permit: no conditional-use hearing is required, but § 205-68.I…

A Kent County short-term rental must meet the residential dwelling's normal off-street parking requirement under § 205-226, plus one additional off-street parking space dedicated to…

Kent County's noise ordinance bars loading, unloading or handling boxes, crates and containers in a residential district between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. if it creates a noise…