Sussex County Unincorporated
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE VII
HR-1 and HR-2 High-Density Residential Districts
§ 115-44 Purpose.
The purpose of these districts is to permit variety in housing types and provide for residential densities appropriate for areas which are or will be served by public sanitary sewer and water systems and which are well-located with respect to major thoroughfares, shopping facilities and centers of employment.
§ 115-45 Permitted uses.
[Amended 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 2889; 8-27-2024 by Ord. No. 3038]
Permitted uses are as follows:
D.
Rooming, boarding- and lodging houses.
E.
Hotels, motels or motor lodges.
F.
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.
§ 115-46 Permitted accessory uses.
Permitted accessory uses are as follows:
B.
An office located in a main building for administration of a group of dwelling units.
C.
A laundry room for use of occupants of a building or group of buildings.
D.
A newsstand or sundries counter or shop within and operated primarily for the convenience of the occupants of a building or group of buildings containing 20 or more dwelling units.
E.
Parking lots accessory to a permitted commercial use in the same district or an adjacent district.
F.
Public telephones.
G.
Coin-operated vending machines for candy, tobacco, ice, soft drinks and sundries inside a building or, if outside, then located at least 20 feet from any property line.
H.
A dining room within and operated primarily for the convenience of the occupants of a building containing 20 or more dwelling units.
I.
Retail and service facilities within a building containing 40 or more dwelling units or guest rooms. Such facilities may include barbershops, beauty shops, dining rooms, massage service, newsstands, restaurants, cocktail lounges, valet service, travel service, automobile rental office and retail stores for wearing apparel, beach supplies, books, cosmetics, gifts, flowers, beverages, packaged fruits, tobacco, drugs and sundries.
§ 115-47 Conditional uses.
The following uses may be permitted as conditional uses when approved in accordance with the provisions of Article XXIV of this chapter:
Beaches, commercial |
Bus terminals |
Marinas or yacht clubs |
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, substations and transmission lines utilizing multilegged structures, but not telephone central offices |
Recreation facilities, privately or commercially operated, such as a fishing or boating lake, picnic grounds or dude ranch, and accessory facilities, including sale of food, beverages, bait, incidentals, supplies and equipment |
Swimming or tennis clubs, private, nonprofit or commercially operated |
§ 115-48 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 3-5-1991 by Ord. No. 750; 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 | |
Commercial dog kennels | |
Miniature golf courses or driving ranges | |
Outdoor display or promotional activities at shopping centers or elsewhere | |
Riding academies | |
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 provisions 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 4-24-2001 by Ord. No. 1445; 10-22-2019 by Ord. No. 2684; 6-25-2024 by Ord. No. 3027]
Cemeteries for pets | |
Commercial communications towers and antennas | |
Commercial greenhouses, wholesale or retail, and nurseries for growing of plants, trees and shrubs, including a building for sale of products produced on the premises | |
Day nurseries or child-care centers | |
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 |
§ 115-49 Permitted signs.
§ 115-50 Height, area and bulk requirements.
[Amended 5-10-1988 by Ord. No. 506]
A.
The minimum single-family lot size for parcels created after the adoption of this chapter shall be as follows:
Area** (square feet) | Width* (feet) | Depth (feet) |
|---|---|---|
7,500 | 60 | 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.
The minimum area requirement for a multifamily dwelling unit in the HR-1 and HR-2 Districts shall be 3,630 square feet.
C.
The minimum lot size for multifamily use shall be two acres.
D.
Minimum yard requirements shall be as follows:
Use | Depth of Front Yard (feet) | Width of Side Yard (feet) | Depth of Rear Yard (feet) |
|---|---|---|---|
Single-family dwelling | 40 (30)* | 10 | 10 |
Multifamily dwelling | 40 (30)** | 10 | 10 |
NOTES: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
* See Table I, included at the end of this chapter, for additional information on detached single-family dwellings. | |||
** See Subsection F(5) of this section. |
E.
Maximum height requirements.
[Amended 10-31-1995 by Ord. No. 1062]
Use | Feet |
|---|---|
Single-family dwelling | 52 |
Multifamily dwelling | 52 |
F.
Height, area and bulk requirements for multifamily structures shall be as follows:
(2)
No rear or side yard shall be required for that rear or side of a lot which adjoins a waterway, if approved by the Commission.
(4)
For buildings located on lots adjacent to waterways, golf courses and similar special situations, the front of such lots may be determined by the Commission. In the event that a Commission ruling makes a rear yard adjacent to the street line, an additional depth of rear yard may be required by the Commission, and an additional setback of accessory buildings from the street line may be required.
(5)
A lot fronting on a numbered road shown on the General Highway Map for Sussex County, as revised January 1979, shall have a front setback of not less than 40 feet, measured from the front property line.
(6)
See also the table of district regulations at the end of this chapter.
G.
Sussex County Rental Unit development permitted by § 115-45F. The minimum lot size, lot area per dwelling unit, open space, height and setback requirements for a Sussex County Rental Unit development permitted by § 115-45F shall be governed by the dimensional requirements set forth in that section.
[Added 10-18-2022 by Ord. No. 2889]
§ 115-51 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: