No structure shall be built within 50 feet of a stream bed which carries water on an average of six months of the year or on land which is subject to periodic overflow of a stream.

No persons, firm or corporation shall strip, excavate or otherwise remove topsoil for sale or other use other than on the premises from which taken, except in connection with the construction or alteration of a building on such premises and excavating or grading incidental thereto.

Existing natural features such as trees, brooks, drainage channels and views shall be retained. Whenever such features interfere with the proposed use of the property, the Town Manager may authorize their removal or relocation, provided that there will be, in his opinion, no substantial adverse effect upon other property values in the area and an alternate is not feasible.

No lot shall have erected upon it more than one principal residential building. No yard or other open space provided about any building for the purpose of complying with the provisions of this chapter shall be considered to provide a yard or open space for any other building.

Every principal building shall be built upon a lot with frontage upon a public street improved to meet the Town's requirements or for which such improvements have been insured by the posting of a performance guaranty pursuant to Chapter 196, Subdivision and Land Development, unless relief has been granted by the Board of Adjustment.

At the intersection of two or more streets, no hedge, fence or wall (other than a single post or tree) which is higher than two feet above curb level, nor any obstruction to vision, shall be permitted in the triangular area formed by the intersecting street lines and a line joining each 30 feet distant from said intersection along said street line.

All yards facing on a public street shall be considered front yards and shall conform to the minimum front yard requirement for the zone in which located. Corner lots shall provide the minimum front yard requirements for the respective zone for both intersecting streets, for both principal and accessory buildings.

Where a building lot has frontage on a street which the Comprehensive Plan or the Official Map of the Town indicates is proposed for right-of-way widening, the required front yard area shall be measured from such proposed right-of-way line.

No front yard shall be used for open storage of boats, trailers, vehicles or equipment except for passenger automobile parking on driveways. All open storage areas in other yard areas shall be suitably screened from view from a public street.

Business establishments or uses shall not display goods for sale purposes, nor shall coin-operated vending machines of any type be installed in any location which would infringe upon the required yard areas specified in this chapter.

All yards, open space, off-street parking and required landscaping shall be contained within the zone in which the use is permitted.

No commercial or construction vehicle classified as a "medium- or heavy-duty vehicle," in Appendix A to this Chapter[1] shall be parked between sunset of one day and sunrise of the next day (overnight) in any district other than a "GI" General Industrial District.

A secondary building attached to a primary building shall comply in all respects with the rear requirements of this chapter for the primary building. Detached accessory buildings shall be located to the rear of the front building line of the primary building and shall otherwise conform with all other building line requirements, except that the minimum rear requirement in R-1 and R-2 Districts shall be five feet, and except that all lots which run from street to street in R-1 and R-2 Districts shall maintain a minimum rear requirement of 20 feet.

For the purpose of regulating the locations of accessory buildings on corner lots and on lots extending through between two parallel streets, all portions of a corner lot or a through lot which fronts on a public street shall be subject to the front yard requirements of the zone district in which said corner lot or through lot is located.

When a new lot is formed so as to include within its boundaries any part of a former lot on which there is an existing building or use, the subdivision must be carried out in such a manner as will not infringe upon any of the provisions of this chapter either with respect to any existing structures or use and any proposed structures or use.

Off-street parking facilities shall adhere to the following:

The limitations of signs as set forth for the various zones by this chapter shall not apply to any sign or direction device erected by the federal, state, county or local government or agency thereof.

The limitations of sign area as set forth by this chapter for the business and industrial zones shall not apply to parking lot markers, directional signs, entrances and exit signs and other such signs which are erected on the premises, provided that such signs do not exceed two square feet in area on any one side and do not contain any advertising of the use on the premises.

Except in an R-1 Residential District, fences may be erected, altered or reconstructed to a height not to exceed four feet above ground level when located in the front yard area or to a height of six feet above ground level if located elsewhere on the lot, and they shall not be built to admit less than 50% air and light in the front and side portions of the lot only. All rear yard fences must contain a gate that is a minimum of three feet wide. In an R-1 Residential District, the same restrictions shall apply, except that a fence in the rear and side portions of the lot may admit less than 50% air and light.

Prohibited uses. Any use not specifically permitted in the zoning district established by this chapter is hereby specifically prohibited from that district, and further provided that the following uses and activities shall be specifically prohibited in any zone in the Town of Elsmere:

Decks 10 feet by 12 feet or smaller in size and which do not exceed 20% of the rear yard area shall not be calculated as lot coverage.

Effective February 1, 2008, any newly constructed buildings of 25,000 square feet of gross floor area or more as defined in Chapter 26, Title 9, § 2616, of the Delaware Code, shall be designed, constructed and/or equipped in accordance with the provisions set forth in Chapter 26, Title 9, § 2616, of the Delaware Code.

Exterior building, accessory building or dwelling color.

Surfaces of roads and parking, storage and repair areas.

Purpose. In order to assure the harmonious development of all areas of the Town of Elsmere in accordance with the intended appearance of each neighborhood as established by the Comprehensive Plan, to assure that maximum care is exercised to preserve and enhance existing natural features, to preclude the creation of traffic flow or traffic safety problems, to conserve the general value of property within the Town, to maximize efforts to assure each property owner the right to safe and comfortable enjoyment of his property, to ensure compliance with the Town's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, reduction or treatment of impervious surfaces and to take into account floodplain management programs in effect in the Town and in neighboring areas. A plan for every use, increase in lot coverage or structure proposed within the municipality shall be reviewed by the Planning Commission prior to the issuance of any permit, including but not limited to applications for new or replacement water supply systems and/or sanitary sewage systems and/or on-site waste disposal systems.

The below-listed items need not be reviewed by the Planning Commission prior to the issuance of a zoning certificate or a permit, provided that in the opinion of the Code Enforcement Officer the request meets all other requirements of the Code, decreases or maintains the current total of impervious surfaces or includes a stormwater treatment plan and that no variance or special exception would be needed and in the opinion of the Building Official the request will not have a negative impact on harmonious development within the Town of Elsmere.

Procedure. After application for a zoning permit for the construction of any use of or structure and after determination by the Building Official that no variance or special exception from the terms of this chapter will be required as a prerequisite to issuance of such permit, the owner, builder or his or her agent shalt submit three copies of the site plan for the entire parcel to be developed, architectural drawings and specifications to include all elevations of proposed buildings, the location of all buildings proposed upon the parcel, the location and type of buffering, screening and landscaping proposed, the size, location and arrangement of all off-street parking areas, driveways and loading areas, the size, location and types of signs proposed accessory to the building or use, a review by the New Castle Conservation District for Stormwater and Sediment Control and such other information as may be required to permit consideration of the items listed above. Such plans shall be true and accurate, drawn at an appropriate scale and certified by a registered architect or professional engineer licensed in the State of Delaware; however, this requirement may be waived at the discretion of the Building Official or the Chief Code Enforcement Officer. The Building Official shall refer one copy of such plans to each of the Planning Commissioners for review and recommendations.

Action by Planning Commission.

General off-street parking provisions.

Parking areas in residential districts.

Parking areas in commercial and industrial districts.

Parking requirements. The number of off-street parking spaces to be provided for each use and establishment shall be calculated, in accordance with the standards prescribed by Subsection E, schedule of minimum parking requirements, in accordance with the following rules of application:

Schedule of minimum parking requirements.

Off-street loading and unloading space. On the same premises with every building or part thereof hereafter erected to be occupied for the purpose of manufacturing, storage warehouse, retail store, wholesale store, market, hotel, hospital or other use similarly involving large-volume receipt of or distribution of materials or merchandise by motor vehicle, there shall be provided and maintained adequate space for loading and unloading services, so placed and arranged as not to interfere with public use of the sidewalks, street or alley. There shall be not less than one such loading and unloading space for every 20,000 square feet of building floor area or fraction thereof, in excess of 6,000 square feet, used for any of the above-mentioned purposes. To satisfy the above requirement, a loading and unloading space shall be not less than 10 feet by 60 feet within the property lines and have a height clearance of not less than 14 feet.