Sussex County Unincorporated
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VI
GR General Residential District
§ 115-36 Purpose.
[Amended 3-25-1997 by Ord. No. 1131; 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2152]
The purpose of this district is to provide for medium-density residential use, including all manufactured homes. Manufactured homes shall include those which do not meet certain characteristics of manufactured homes permitted in AR Districts, as contained in § 115-20A(1).
§ 115-37 Permitted uses.
[Amended 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2152; 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 2889; 8-27-2024 by Ord. No. 3038]
Permitted uses are as follows:
A.
Any use permitted in the AR Districts.
B.
Detached single-family manufactured homes on individual lots, provided that the manufactured home shall comply in all respects with the requirements of § 115-187.
C.
A Sussex County Rental Program, or SCRP, townhouse or multifamily development governed by, and subject to, Chapter 72, where at least 25% of all dwelling units are SCRP Units pursuant to Chapter 72. The SCRP development must satisfy the following criteria:
(1)
The site must be located within a Town Center, a Developing Area, the Commercial Area or the Coastal Area as described within the Land Use Element and as shown on the Future Land Use Plan of the adopted Sussex County Comprehensive Plan.
(2)
The site shall be located within 2,640 feet of a principal arterial road, minor arterial road or major collector road as classified by the Delaware Department of Transportation. In addition, an applicant should make every effort to coordinate with DART for transit access to and from the site.
(3)
The site must be served by a central sewer system and a central water system.
(4)
The total maximum number of dwelling units (including both SCRP Units and non-SCRP Units) that may be permitted shall be determined by dividing the gross area by 3,630 square feet. "Gross area" shall exclude any area designated as a tidal tributary stream or tidal wetlands by § 115-193.
(5)
There shall be a 100-foot-wide setback around the entire site, which shall incorporate the perimeter buffers and perimeter buffer protection areas set forth in § 99-21.A. This setback may include walking and biking trails.
(6)
The height of any townhouse or multifamily buildings shall not exceed 52 feet or four stories, whichever is greater; provided, however, that if the height does not exceed 42 feet, then the setback described in this subsection shall be reduced from 100 feet to 50 feet.
(7)
There shall be sidewalks on at least one side of all streets, roadways and parking areas, with interconnectivity to adjacent walkway systems wherever possible.
(8)
There must be interconnectivity with any adjacent property that is zoned C-1, CR-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-5, B-1, B-2 or B-3.
(9)
There shall be open space that exceeds 50% of the gross area of the entire site.
(10)
Sussex County shall commence a comprehensive review of the provisions of this SCRP program as set forth herein on or before January 1, 2028.
§ 115-38 Permitted accessory uses.
Permitted accessory uses are as follows:
A.
Any accessory use permitted in the AR Districts.
§ 115-39 Conditional uses.
The following uses may be permitted as conditional uses when approved in accordance with the provisions of Article XXIV of this chapter:
Airports and landing fields or seaplane bases, provided that they shall comply with the recommendations of the Federal Aviation Administration |
Aquariums, commercial |
Beaches, commercial |
Bus terminals |
Camps, day or boarding, private or commercial |
Cemeteries, including a crematorium if located at least 200 feet from the boundaries of the cemetery |
Excavation or backfilling of borrow pits, extraction, processing and removal of sand, gravel or stone, stripping of topsoil (but not including stripping of sod) and other major excavations other than for construction of swimming pools and foundations for buildings and other than those approved in connection with a street, subdivision or planned residential development. See § 115-172B. |
Heliports or helistops |
Hospitals and sanitariums, but not animal hospitals |
Institutions, educational or philanthropic, including museums, art galleries and libraries |
Manufactured home parks [Amended 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2152] |
Marinas or yacht clubs |
Multifamily dwelling structures, subject to the provisions of Articles IV through XX, § 115-219 and Table II (included at the end of this chapter) |
Nursing and similar care facilities [Added 4-16-2019 by Ord. No. 2645] |
Private clubs |
Public or governmental buildings and uses, including schools, parks, parkways, playgrounds and public boat landings |
Public utilities or public service uses, buildings, generating or treatment plants, pumping or regulator stations and substations, but not telephone central offices |
Residential, business, commercial or industrial uses when the purposes of this chapter are more fully met by issuing a conditional use permit. [Added 4-6-2004 by Ord. No. 1677] |
Special events such as circuses or carnival grounds, amusement parks or midways, festivals, concerts, race/walks or any other special event or gathering being held outdoors or within a temporary structure or at a site and for a purpose different from the designated use and usual occupancy of the premises and located on unincorporated lands within Sussex County, permanently or for a temporary time period exceeding three days. Special events not approved by the Director as a permitted use under § 115-37 shall require a conditional use permit. All special events, regardless of duration, shall be subject to the requirements of the Sussex County Special Event Policy. [Amended 5-1-1990 by Ord. No. 680; 11-10-1992 by Ord. No. 863; 8-20-2013 by Ord. No. 2316; 9-18-2018 by Ord. No. 2599] |
Swimming or tennis clubs, private, nonprivate or commercially operated |
§ 115-40 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.
Temporary and conditional permits for a period not to exceed five years, such period to be determined by the Board, for the following uses:
[Amended 11-10-1992 by Ord. No. 863; 10-12-1999 by Ord. No. 1346; 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2152; 10-22-2019 by Ord. No. 2684]
Archery ranges |
Asphalt batching plants or concrete batching plants |
Commercial dog kennels |
Miniature golf courses or driving ranges |
Outdoor display or promotional activities at shopping centers or elsewhere |
Pony rings |
Raising for sale of birds, bees, rabbits and other small animals, fish and other creatures |
Riding academies, public stables or private stables |
Rifle or pistol ranges, trap or skeet shooting |
Sawmills for cutting timber grown on the premises |
Temporary buildings for use as a sales or rental office for an approved real estate development or subdivision |
Tents for special purposes for a period exceeding three days. The Director may, without requiring an application for a special use exception, grant approval for a tent for a special purpose (revival, reception, tent sale as an accessory to a business or commercial use, or other similar activities). If approved by the Director, a tent for special purposes may be utilized on a parcel no more than three times in a calendar year. |
Use of a manufactured home as a single-family dwelling in any district to meet an emergency or hardship situation when not approved administratively by the Director or his or her designee, such permit not to exceed two years. The Director may, without requiring an application for a special use exception, grant an extension for an emergency or hardship situation previously approved by the County Board of Adjustment upon receipt of an affidavit from a doctor stating that the emergency or hardship situation still exists. Such extension may be granted annually as long as the emergency or hardship still exists. |
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 |
B.
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 best be served by permitting such parking off the premises.
(2)
Waiver or reduction of the parking and loading requirements 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.
C.
Other special use exceptions as follows:
[Amended 5-16-1989 by Ord. No. 585; 11-26-1991 by Ord. No. 806; 3-25-1997 by Ord. No. 1131; 4-24-2001 by Ord. No. 1445; 10-12-2010 by Ord. No. 2152; 9-13-2011 by Ord. No. 2213; 3-27-2012 by Ord. No. 2245; 4-16-2019 by Ord. No. 2645; 6-25-2024 by Ord. No. 3027]
Alteration, extension or replacement of a nonconforming manufactured home, subject to the provisions of § 115-196 |
Cemeteries for pets |
Commercial communications towers and antennas |
Commercial greenhouses, wholesale or retail |
Day nurseries or child-care centers |
Farm ponds on less than five acres, subject to § 115-219 |
More than one manufactured home, meeting the requirements of § 115-20A(1), may be permitted on a farm of 10 acres or more pursuant to § 115-21A(5), provided that all manufactured homes or dwellings on the property are the primary place of residence for persons employed on the premises or immediate members of the family owning or operating the farm, and provided that the granting of this exception will not adversely affect the values or uses of adjacent properties. |
Nurseries for growing of plants, trees and shrubs, including a building for sale of products produced on the premises |
Private garages for more than four automobiles and with floor area of more than 900 square feet in a residential district |
Public telephone booths in residential districts |
Telephone central offices, provided that all storage of materials, all repair facilities and all housing of repair crews are within a completely enclosed building |
Tourist homes (also referred to as "bed-and-breakfast inns") |
§ 115-41 Permitted signs.
§ 115-42 Height, area and bulk requirements.
[Amended 11-7-1989 by Ord. No. 632; 10-31-1995 by Ord. No. 1062; 3-25-1997 by Ord. No. 1131]
A.
Minimum lot sizes. Minimum lot sizes shall be as follows:
Area** (square feet) | Width* (feet) | Depth (feet) |
|---|---|---|
10,000 | 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. [Added 11-7-1989 by Ord. No. 632] | |
**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. [Added 7-15-1997 by Ord. No. 1157] |
B.
Minimum yard requirements. Minimum yard requirements shall be as follows:
Depth of Front Yard (feet) | Width of Side Yard (feet) | Depth of Rear Yard (feet) |
|---|---|---|
40 (30)** | 10 | 10 |
**NOTE: See also the table of district regulations at the end of this chapter. |
C.
Maximum height requirements. Maximum height requirements shall be as follows: 42 feet.
D.
Sussex County Rental Unit development permitted by § 115-37C. The minimum lot size, lot area per dwelling unit, open space, height and setback requirements for a Sussex County Rental Unit development permitted by § 115-37C shall be governed by the dimensional requirements set forth in that section.
[Added 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 2889]
§ 115-43 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: