Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Town of Selbyville, Delaware

Town of Selbyville’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent

  Land inside Selbyville town limits; the Town adopts and administers its own zoning ordinance (Chapter 200, Zoning)

  • The Chapter 200 index page lists a zoning amendment adopted 2026-07-13; that amendment was not opened, so the district figures below should be checked against current text.

  “§ 200-25 reference to additional regulations. the regulations contained in the article are supplemented or modified by regulations contained in other articles of this chapter, especially the following”

• Minimum lot sizeDistrict specific (with conditions)

  R-1 Residential District, single-family lots inside Selbyville town limits

  • Dimensional limits for R-1 only; other districts not verified.
  • Ordinance text amended 8-6-2007 and 2-4-2008 is shown in the R-1 article.

  minimum lot area: 7500 square feet · minimum lot width: 75 feet · minimum lot depth: 100 feet

  “minimum lot sizes shall be as follows: use area (square feet) width (feet) depth (feet) unit/acre single-family 7,500 75 100 5.8”

• SetbacksDistrict specific (with conditions)

  R-1 Residential District, single-family dwellings inside Selbyville town limits

  • Front-yard exception: when 25% or more of the street frontage within 400 feet of the property is improved with buildings, no buildings shall be constructed or altered to project beyond the average front yard so established.
  • Unenclosed porches, decks, patios or terraces, not covered by a roof or canopy and not extending above the height of the first floor, may extend a maximum of six feet into the front yard.
  • Side-yard minimum is 7 feet with an aggregate of at least 15 feet.

  front yard depth: 30 feet · side yard width: 7 feet (minimum aggregate of 15 feet for both sides) · rear yard depth: 10 feet

  “minimum yard requirements shall be as follows: [amended 8-6-2007; 2-4-2008] use depth of front yard (feet) width of side yard (feet) depth of rear yard (feet) single-family 30 7 minimum aggregate of 15 10”

• Building heightDistrict specific (with conditions)

  R-1 Residential District, single-family dwellings inside Selbyville town limits

  • Height limit applies to the R-1 district; other districts not verified.

  maximum height: 35 feet · maximum stories: 3 stories

  “maximum height requirements shall be as follows: use feet stories single-family 35 3”

• Off-grid sanitationLimited

  Areas inside Selbyville town served by public sewer

  • Applies only where public sewers are provided; private privies, vaults, septic tanks and cesspools are unlawful there.
  • Rules for areas without public sewer were not verified.

  “where public sewers are provided in an area served by the town, it shall be unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool or other facility intended or used for disposal of sewage.”

• Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

  Houses and buildings for human occupancy in Selbyville town that abut a street, alley, easement or right-of-way with a public town sanitary sewer

  • Connection must be made within 30 days after date of official notice to do so.
  • When a public sewer becomes available to a property served by a private system, a direct connection is required and septic tanks, cesspools and similar facilities must be abandoned and filled.
  • Exception: subsections a and b do not apply to houses and buildings the mayor and council determine are subject to Farmers Home Administration restrictions prohibiting sewer connections within areas designated as "one-hundred-year-flood zones."
  • Building sewer connections require a permit under § 146-8.
  • Water connection requirement was not verified (Chapter 195 Water not opened).

  connection deadline after official notice: 30 days

  “are hereby required, at their expense, to install suitable toilet facilities therein and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of this part 1 within 30 days after date of official notice to do so”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Land division inside Selbyville town limits

  • Existence of Chapter 160 is shown in the table of contents only; subdivision standards were not read.

  “chapter 160 subdivision of land (§ 160-1 – § 160-16)”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Town of Selbyville or Sussex County directly.

• Building permit — New construction inside Selbyville town limits
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder construction inside Selbyville town limits
• Building code adopted — Building construction inside Selbyville town limits
• Inspections — Inspections for construction inside Selbyville town limits
• Certificate of occupancy — Occupancy certificates for new homes inside Selbyville town limits

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.

Off-grid gear

Going off-grid in Town of Selbyville means bringing your own water and power. The kit we’d start with:

• Water Crystal Quest Filter any source — well, rain, or creek — to drinking-clean.
• Power Bluetti Solar generators and home battery backup for living off the grid.
• Septic Soil percolation test kit Run your own perc test before paying an engineer — the first thing a septic office asks about.
• Water Well water test kit Bacteria, nitrates, hardness — know what the well on a parcel is really pumping.

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