Sussex County Unincorporated
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIC
C-3 Heavy Commercial District
§ 115-83.17 Purpose.
This district is generally intended for larger scale auto-oriented retail and service businesses along major arterial roads that serve local and regional residents as well as the travelling public. In addition to most commercial uses found in this zone, automobile, truck, recreational vehicle and boat sales, rental and major repair facilities may also be located in this district.
§ 115-83.18 Permitted uses.
A.
A building or land shall only be used for the following purposes:
(5)
Manufacturing, assembling, processing.
(a)
Winery, brewery or distillery under 7,500 square feet.
(7)
Institutional, residence, care confinement and medical facilities.
(a)
Family child-care center (one to six children).
(b)
Large family child-care homes (seven to 12 children).
(c)
Early care and education and school-age centers (13+ children).
(d)
Residential child-care facilities and day treatment programs.
(e)
Child placing agencies.
(f)
Medical clinic.
(g)
Independent care facility.
(h)
Assisted living facility.
(i)
Extended care facility.
(j)
Intermediate care facility.
(k)
Long-term care facility.
(l)
Surgical center.
(m)
Fitness/wellness center.
(n)
Museums, nonprofit art galleries.
(o)
Community centers.
(11)
Not grouped elsewhere.
(a)
Commercial kennels, provided that no open runs, kennels or cages are located within 200 feet of land that is used or zoned residential and 50 feet from a property line.
(b)
Animal hospital or veterinary clinic.
(c)
Temporary removable vendor stands, including but not limited to food trucks and similar vehicles or trailers, located on the premises between March 15 and November 15 for the sale of food, agricultural products or other food-related goods. Such temporary removable vendor stands must comply with all of the following requirements:
[1]
No temporary removable vendor stand shall be permanently affixed to the premises. All temporary removable vendor stands shall be fully transportable and moveable within 24 hours.
[2]
There shall be no more than one temporary removable vendor stand on a parcel at any one time.
[3]
No temporary removable vendor stand shall be wider than eight feet six inches nor longer than 45 feet.
[4]
No temporary removable vendor stand shall be permanently connected to any utilities, including water, sewer, electric or gas.
[5]
No temporary removable vendor stand shall interfere with vehicular or pedestrian movement on a parcel or adjacent rights-of-way.
[6]
The owner of a proposed temporary removable stand shall present the Director of Planning and Zoning with written approval of the existence and location of the stand by the property owner and a drawing showing the location of the stand upon the property. Upon presentation of this information, the Director may preliminarily approve the stand or require the owner to apply for a special use exception from the Board of Adjustment if there are concerns about the location, the size of the property, the effect(s) upon on-site parking, neighboring properties or roadways, or other good cause.
[7]
If preliminarily approved, the owner of a proposed temporary removable stand shall present the Director of Planning and Zoning with evidence of a current State of Delaware business license.
[8]
Upon approval by the Director, a Sussex County vendor stand sticker shall be issued in a form established by the Director. This sticker shall be visible on the stand at all times.
[9]
The approval of a temporary removable vendor stand shall be valid for one year.
[10]
The application for a temporary removable vendor stand shall be in a form established by the Director. The fee for filing such an application shall be $100.
(d)
Use of a manufactured-home-type structure for any business, commercial or industrial use that is administratively approved by the Director or his or her designee, and subject to the requirements set forth in Article IV, § 115-20A(16).
[Added 10-22-2019 by Ord. No. 2684]
B.
Where, in the judgment of the Commission, a use is not specifically referenced but is similar to those listed as permitted, it may be permitted by approval of the Commission.
§ 115-83.19 Permitted accessory uses.
Permitted accessory uses are as follows:
A.
Residential within-structure commercial or office uses.
B.
Garage, public or commercial parking.
C.
Temporary buildings, including manufactured home type structures, the use of which is incidental to construction operations or sale of lots during development being conducted on the same or adjoining tract or subdivision and which shall be removed upon completion or abandonment of such construction or upon expiration of a period of two years of the time of erection of the temporary building, whichever is sooner. If construction operations or the initial sale of lots remain actively underway, the Director may grant extensions to this time period.
[Added 10-8-2019 by Ord. No. 2683]
§ 115-83.19A Conditional uses.
§ 115-83.20 Special use exceptions.
Special use exceptions may be permitted by the Board of Adjustment and in accordance with the provisions of Article XXVII of this chapter, and may include:
A.
Exceptions to parking and loading requirements, as follows:
(1)
Off-street parking areas, adjacent to or at a reasonable distance from the premises on which parking areas are required by the parking regulations of Article XXII, where practical difficulties, including the acquisition of property, or undue hardships are encountered in locating such parking areas on the premises and where the purpose of these regulations to relieve congestion in the streets would be best served by permitting such parking off the premises.
(2)
Waiver or reduction of the parking and loading requirement in any district whenever the character or use of the building is such as to make unnecessary the full provision of parking or loading facilities.
(3)
Waiver or reduction of loading space requirements where adequate community loading facilities are provided.
(4)
Waiver or reduction of loading space requirements for uses which contain less than 10,000 square feet of floor area where construction of existing buildings, problems of access or size of lot make impractical the provision of required loading space.
B.
Temporary and conditional permits for a period not to exceed five years, such period to be determined by the Board, for the following uses:
[Added 10-22-2019 by Ord. No. 2684]
(1)
Use of a manufactured-home-type structure for any business, commercial or industrial use when not approved administratively by the Director or his or her designee.
§ 115-83.21 Permitted signs.
§ 115-83.22 Height, area and bulk requirements.
A.
Minimum lot sizes. Minimum lot sizes shall be as follows:
Use | Minimum area** | Maximum area** (square feet) | Width* (feet) | Depth (feet) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Other | One acre | — | 75 | 100 |
* | NOTE: A lot fronting on a numbered road shown on the General Highway Map for Sussex County of 1964, as revised, shall have a minimum lot width of 150 feet. |
** | NOTE: Any lot which is not connected to a central sewer system, as defined by § 115-194A, or which is located within a planning area as defined by a sewer planning study approved by the Sussex County Council, shall have a minimum area of 3/4 acre. |
B.
Minimum yard requirements.
(1)
Minimum yard requirements shall be as follows, except that, in addition, the requirements relating to minimum buffers and setbacks contained in § 115-194.1E of this Code shall apply to all uses other than single-family dwellings and multifamily structures:
Use | Depth of Front Yard (feet) | Width of Side Yard (feet) | Depth of Rear Yard (feet) |
|---|---|---|---|
Permitted use | 60 | 5 | 5 |
(2)
There shall be a side yard not less than 20 feet in width on the side of the lot adjoining a residential district and there shall be a rear yard not less than 30 feet in depth on the rear side of a lot adjoining a residential district.
C.
Maximum floor area requirement. Maximum floor area requirements shall be as follows:
Use | Maximum floor area (square feet) |
|---|---|
Permitted use | 150,000 |
D.
Maximum height requirement. Maximum height requirements shall be as follows:
Use | Feet |
|---|---|
Permitted use | 42 |
§ 115-83.23 Reference to additional regulations.
The regulations contained in this article are supplemented or modified by regulations contained in other articles of this chapter, especially the following:
Article XX, Tables
Article XXI, Signs
Article XXII, Off-Street Parking
Article XXIII, Off-Street Loading
Article XXV, Supplementary Regulations
Article XXVII, Board of Adjustment