Sussex County, DE Ordinances (2026)

Sussex County's Moderately Priced Housing Unit (MPHU) Program lets developers earn a 20% to 30% density bonus above the base zoning density in exchange for building affordable units on…

Sussex County does not require automatic fire sprinklers in new one- and two-family homes or townhouses; the county's adopted IRC exempts these dwellings from the sprinkler mandate…

Sussex County requires a permit from the Building Official before constructing, enlarging, altering, repairing, moving or demolishing any regulated building or structure, or erecting a…

Sussex County requires foundation, frame and final inspections on permitted construction, each triggered by a 48-hour notice from the permit holder, with a final inspection required…

Sussex County's Housing Code doesn't set an elevator maintenance schedule; instead it treats a disrepaired elevator as "unsafe equipment" that can support a finding that a structure is…

Sussex County's Housing Code requires every exterior door, hinge and latch to stay in good condition, and dwelling-unit locks specifically must be in good repair and capable of tightly…

Sussex County requires a County permit before anyone connects, disconnects or opens into the public sewer system, and only a Delaware-licensed plumber may apply. Section 110-6 of the…

Sussex County's Housing Code bans lead-based paint with more than 0.5% lead content from any interior or exterior surface of a dwelling, dwelling unit, fence or outbuilding. Section…

Sussex County does not mandate microchipping, but its dog licensing law accepts a microchip as an alternative to the metal license tag, letting owners identify a licensed dog without a…

Sussex County lets residents keep bees, birds, rabbits and other small animals for personal enjoyment as a permitted accessory use under § 115-21B, no permit needed. Raising bees or…

In Sussex County's AR-1 and AR-2 districts, keeping horses, ponies, cattle, sheep, goats, hogs or poultry for personal enjoyment is a permitted use under Section 115-20A(8), but any…

Sussex County lets a household keep dogs individually licensed up to four; anyone keeping more than four dogs for show, trial, sale or breeding must instead hold a kennel license…

In unincorporated Sussex County, veterinary clinics and animal hospitals are a permitted use, not a discretionary one, in the C-1 General Commercial and CR-1 Commercial Residential…

Sussex County caps every illuminated sign, including off-premises billboards, at 750 candelas per square meter after dusk under § 115-161B(5)(a), plus a 0.3-footcandle limit above…

Sussex County's only codified exterior-lighting standard sits in the filling-station rules for the B-1 Neighborhood Business District: § 115-69A(11)(i) requires that 'exterior lighting…

Sussex County caps a home occupation's on-site sign at six square feet per side under Zoning Code § 115-159.1. The sign must be nonilluminated and cannot advertise anything beyond the…

Sussex County zones a family day-care home as a home occupation for one to six children, excluding relatives, and requires state licensing through the Department of Services for…

Sussex County zoning lists a home occupation as a permitted accessory use in AR-1, AR-2 and other residential districts, but Section 115-4 caps it tightly: the business must run solely…

Sussex County's Code Official condemns any structure found unsafe or unfit for human occupancy under Chapter 71 of the county's Housing Standards, posting a placard reading "Condemned…

Sussex County caps grass and weeds at 12 inches on improved and unimproved land under § 80-1 of its Property Maintenance Code, reaching vacant lots as well as occupied yards outside…

Sussex County bans on-street parking near fire hydrants, intersections, crosswalks and driveways in county-regulated subdivisions. The rule, set in the subdivision street design…

Sussex County's HR-1 and HR-2 High-Density Residential Districts cap accessory commercial-vehicle parking at one truck of no more than one-ton capacity per dwelling under § 115-54, and…

Sussex County requires commercial buildings to provide dedicated off-street loading berths sized by floor area, from one space at 2,000 square feet up to four or more for large retail…

Sussex County discourages parking within the front-yard setback and subjects it to site plan review under Zoning Code § 115-166C, while separately requiring every off-street parking…

Sussex County allows no more than two inoperable, dismantled or unregistered vehicles or boats on residential property outside an enclosed garage, under Zoning Code § 115-191(B)…

Sussex County property maintenance violations, overgrown weeds, prohibited accumulations and illegally stored vehicles, are reported to the County Constable's Office, which…

New construction in Sussex County must meet the IRC's Section R313 smoke alarm standard, while every existing dwelling unit must already have an approved, UL 217-compliant smoke…

A residential swimming pool counts as a regulated structure in Sussex County, so building it requires a permit from the Building Official before work starts, just like any other…

Every swimming pool in unincorporated Sussex County must be protected by a safety fence or barrier at least 4 feet high, built of chain-link, concrete, stockade-wood or equal material…

In the AR-1 and AR-2 Agricultural Residential Districts, Sussex County's default zoning outside incorporated towns, § 115-25(C) sets a 40-foot front yard (30 feet on numbered…

In Sussex County's AR-1 and AR-2 Agricultural Residential Districts, the base zoning districts covering most of unincorporated Sussex County, buildings are capped at 42 feet under…

Sussex County allows one accessory dwelling unit per single-family lot in the AR-1 and AR-2 Agricultural Residential Districts, but only with administrative approval from the Planning…

A detached accessory building in unincorporated Sussex County, like a shed or workshop, cannot exceed 600 square feet in a rear yard and must sit at least 5 feet from both the side and…

Sussex County only allows a garage or studio apartment to become a single-family dwelling under § 115-29J's emergency-or-hardship process, subject to § 115-20A(14)'s conditions: a…

Sussex County Code § 115-194.7 keeps retail marijuana stores three miles from each other and three miles from any church, school, college or substance abuse treatment facility, layered…

Sussex County Code § 115-194.7 keeps retail marijuana stores well outside its towns: no store may sit within three miles of "any municipal boundary," pushing every location into…

Sussex County won't issue a building permit until the Sussex Conservation District approves a sediment control and stormwater management plan under § 90-5 of Chapter 90, and it won't…

Sussex County caps boathouses at 25 feet tall, 25 feet wide and 50 feet deep, and limits any dock, pier or wharf to no more than 10% of a waterway's width, under Zoning Code § 115-186…

Before issuing a building permit that requires stormwater management, Sussex County makes the applicant sign a recorded inspection and maintenance agreement under § 90-7 of Chapter 90…

Sussex County requires a floodplain development permit before any construction, filling, grading, subdivision or utility work in a FEMA-mapped special flood hazard area. The…

Sussex County requires the lowest floor of new and substantially improved residential structures in a special flood hazard area to sit at or above the base flood elevation, with no…

Sussex County caps outdoor fairs, festivals and similar special events at three per property per calendar year under Section 115-20A(13), and every event, regardless of size, must also…

Dumping solid waste anywhere Delaware or Sussex County regulations prohibit, or on any property without the owner's written consent, is unlawful under § 91-3 of Chapter 91. A violation…

Sussex County requires anyone storing solid waste for collection or transfer, including dumpsters and roll-offs, to use effective measures against odor, nuisance to neighbors and…

Disposing of demolition debris, more than four tires, or large trimmed trees at a Sussex County facility requires an advance permit from the County Engineer's office under § 91-9…

Large-scale commercial development in Sussex County must set dumpsters and trash collection areas back 60 feet from the front lot line, 30 feet from the sides and 30 feet from the…

Sussex County's AR-1 and AR-2 Agricultural Residential Districts exist under Section 115-19 specifically to protect established farming operations from encroachment by 'objectional…

Sussex County only lets food trucks and similar vendor stands operate by right in business districts like B-1, and only from March 15 through November 15, one stand per parcel, under §…

A mobile food truck operating in Sussex County's B-1 Neighborhood Business District needs the Director of Planning and Zoning's approval under § 115-69A(25): a $100 application, proof…

Sussex County doesn't require a permit to cut a tree in your own yard, but § 99-21G bars removing or damaging trees inside a major subdivision's required Perimeter Buffer without…

Sussex County's Housing Code caps weeds and plant growth on residential lots at 12 inches. Section 71-11G requires premises in predominantly residential areas to stay free of noxious…

Sussex County sets no bin, setback or size standard for composting. Code § 115-191.1B(1) instead excludes an orderly compost pile from the definition of prohibited "waste material," so…

Sussex County's Housing Code sets the minimum conditions a residential building and its premises must meet before an owner may occupy it or let it to a tenant. Article II of Chapter 71…

Sussex County's Housing Code makes property owners responsible for exterminating insects, rats and other pests before renting, leasing or selling a structure, and for keeping it…

Sussex County lets accessory solar panels serving an existing home or business go up "in all districts" with no conditional-use review under § 115-194.6A. A freestanding solar farm or…

Off-premises signs facing Sussex County's busiest roads, those with four or more travel lanes, get the county's largest allowance and its steepest separation rule: up to 1,200 square…

Sussex County lets off-premises digital billboards operate only by special use exception in select commercial and industrial districts, with a 10-second minimum hold per message, a…

Sussex County exempts holiday decorations from its sign permit system entirely. § 115-160B(10) lists "special decorative displays used for holidays" among the signs residents may put…

Sussex County charges a 3% lodging tax on every hotel, motel or tourist home room rented in the unincorporated county, stacked on top of Delaware's own state lodging tax. Operators…

Sussex County limits residential fences to 3.5 feet within the required front or side yard depth and 7 feet elsewhere under § 115-185(C). Corner lots must also keep fences under 3 feet…

Every residential fence in unincorporated Sussex County must be approved by the Director of Planning and Zoning before it goes up, under Zoning Code § 115-185(C), the same subsection…