Building Setbacks & Zoning in New Castle County, DE (2026)
3 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in New Castle County, Delaware.
Verified from official government sources
Setback Rules
New Castle County's Unified Development Code sets minimum front, side, and rear yard setbacks for every zoning district in Table 40.04.110, ranging from 50-foot yards in Suburban Reserve to single-digit side yards in dense Traditional Neighborhood districts.
New Castle County Yard Setback Minimums
Some RestrictionsNew Castle County Code § 40.04.110
Sec. 40.04.110. - District and bulk standards. This Section contains the basic district standards applicable to all uses. Table 40.04.110 contains intensity, lot, bulk and exterior storage standards. ... NC10 0.14 2.65 3.09 na. na. P 10,000 sf. 10,000 sf. 80 25 8 30* na. na. 35 na. * 20 feet for corner lot
Structure Height Limits
New Castle County's Unified Development Code sets building height by zoning district in Table 40.04.110: most single-family districts cap homes at 35 to 40 feet, with taller buildings near existing homes triggering matching setback increases.
New Castle County Structure Height Limits
Some RestrictionsNew Castle County Code § 40.04.110(C)
Maximum building height. If there are single-family detached or single-family attached dwellings within one hundred (100) feet of a property line of the parcel to be developed with a building over fifty (50) feet, the required front, street, side or rear yards adjacent to those dwellings shall be at a minimum equal to the height of the proposed building.
Lot Coverage Limits
New Castle County caps impervious surface at 20 percent of the base site area inside Water Resource Protection Areas, the Cockeysville Formation, wellheads and recharge areas, without a certified environmental study and RPATAC sign-off; elsewhere lot coverage is set district by district through Open Space Ratio standards, not one flat number.
New Castle County Impervious Cap in Water Areas
Significant RestrictionsNew Castle County Code § 40.10.160
No development shall be permitted to have more than twenty (20) percent impervious surface ratio without an environmental impact assessment report and a recommendation from RPATAC supporting a greater than twenty (20) percent impervious surface ratio. The environmental impact assessment report shall be certified by a State-registered professional geologist or professional engineer with technica...
Building Setbacks & Zoning by City in New Castle County
1 cities in New Castle County have their own building setbacks & zoning rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
All New Castle County ordinances
See every category we cover for New Castle County: parking, noise, fences, fires, animals, pools, and more.
New Castle County Ordinance Hub →