The General Manager of the Department and such other employees as he or she designates shall constitute the Department. The Department shall present its recommendations to County Council, the Planning Board, the Board of Adjustment or the Historic Review Board. The Department shall have the following jurisdiction, authority and duties under this Code:

A.

To hear, consider and decide upon applications for limited uses.

B.

To review, consider and render recommendations for the disposition of applications for special use, zoning and administrative variance permits or approvals as indicated in Table 40.30.110.

C.

To make written interpretations of this Code and to certify zoning or other elements pertaining to this Code.

D.

To review and approve minor subdivision plans, and to make recommendations for variations from the standards of Articles 20, 21, and 22 involving subdivision design or improvement standards.

E.

To maintain the records of the actions of the Department and the administrative boards.

F.

The Department is hereby designated as the Floodplain Administrator under this Code. Its duties shall include, but are not be limited to:

1.

Review of all applications for floodplain development permits to ensure that the sites are reasonably safe from flooding and that the floodplain development permit requirements of this Code have been satisfied;

2.

Review of all applications for floodplain development permits for proposed development to ensure that all necessary permits have been obtained from federal, State or local governmental agencies from which prior approval is required;

3.

Review all subdivision proposals and other proposed new development to determine whether such proposals will be reasonably safe from flooding;

4.

Issue floodplain development permits for all approved applications;

5.

Notify adjacent communities and the State prior to any alteration or relocation of a watercourse, and submit evidence of such notification to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA);

6.

Ensure that maintenance is provided within the altered or relocated portion of any watercourse so that its flood-carrying capacity is not diminished;

7.

Verify and maintain a record of the actual elevation (in relation to mean sea level) of the lowest floor, including basement, of all new or substantially improved structures;

8.

Verify and maintain a record of the actual elevation (in relation to mean sea level) to which the new or substantially improved nonresidential structures have been floodproofed; and

9.

When floodproofing techniques are utilized for a particular nonresidential structure, the General Manager of the Department or his designee shall require certification from a registered professional engineer or architect.

G.

To ensure that adequate public notice is provided for development applications pursuant to this Code.

H.

To initiate requests to the County Attorney to institute proceedings against violators of this Code.

I.

To assist the Planning Board in its current and long-range comprehensive development planning responsibilities.

J.

To review as necessary, but, at a minimum, once every five (5) years, the Comprehensive Development Plan and this Code, and recommend amendments to the Planning Board and County Council. The comprehensive development planning process for the County has been and shall continue to be an ongoing and evolving process conducted by the Department with the participation of County Council, the County Executive, the Planning Board and citizen committees. The components of such process include the following:

1.

Annual profiles.

2.

Comprehensive Development Plan background reports.

3.

Issue papers.

4.

Working drafts.

5.

Testing or infrastructure capacities.

6.

Analysis of appropriate implementation regulations and performance standards.

7.

Enactment of implementing ordinances.

K.

To undertake the day-to-day administration of this Code, including drafting and amending application forms and landscape plant lists.

L.

To inspect buildings, uses, developments, or other activities for compliance with this Code.

M.

An appendix to this Chapter shall be maintained by the Department and shall be amended as deemed necessary by the Department. The Department shall cause notice of the amendments to be published in the Sunday edition of the News Journal and posted on a web page established for legal notices on the County's website and the public shall have twenty (20) days from the date of posting to submit written comments to the Department. The Department of Law shall be required to approve all legal forms and documents which appear in the appendix and shall review and approve all changes.

N.

All other responsibilities and duties pursuant to 9 Del. C. § 1301 (Department of Land Use Functions).

(Ord. No. 97-172, § 3(ch. 13, § 30.410), 12-31-1997; Ord. No. 01-112, § 1(Exh. A), 3-12-2002; Ord. No. 09-066, § 14, 10-13-2009; Ord. No. 10-113, § 1(Exh. A), 1-18-2011; Ord. No. 22-053, § 4, 10-25-2022)