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

Town of Camden’s own rules

• Building permitRequired

  Construction, alteration, moving, conversion, extension or enlargement of buildings inside Camden town limits

  • A building permit is issued by the town administrator under Camden ordinance #78; permit issuance requires a certificate of zoning compliance first.
  • Construction may proceed only after the permit is issued.

  “no building shall be erected, constructed, altered, moved, converted, extended or enlarged without the owner first obtaining a building permit from the town administrator as outlined in camden ordinance #78.”

• Building code adoptedAdopted (with conditions)

  Construction inside Camden town limits: the town has adopted International codes by its own ordinances

  • The code book index lists ordinance #89 (2006 and 2018 International Building Code), ordinance #90 (International Residential Code) and ordinance #91 (fire code) as town ordinances; the ordinance texts were not opened, so the exact editions in force should be confirmed with the town.
  • Ordinance #55 (International Residential Code for one and two family dwellings) and ordinance #56 (International Building Code) also appear in the index, so older editions may be superseded.

  “ordinance #89 – 2006 int’l building code amendment to ordinance #89-2018 int’l building code”

• Certificate of occupancyRequired

  Occupancy or change in use of buildings and premises inside Camden town limits. This is a zoning certificate of compliance, not a separate building certificate of occupancy.

  • Applies to zoning compliance; a separate building-code certificate of occupancy was not found in the opened text.

  “no premises shall be used, no excavation for any buildings shall occur, and no building erected or structurally altered hereafter shall be used, occupied or changed in use until a certificate of zoning compliance has been issued by the administrator”

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Camden town limits: the Town of Camden administers its own zoning ordinance (Chapter 240 of the town code).

  • Applies within town limits only; unincorporated Kent County land is not covered by this ordinance.
  • Section 240-06 provides that land annexed into town limits is zoned per the comprehensive plan future land use map when the town council recognizes it as within town limits.

  “any land hereafter within the town limits of camden, whether by annexation or otherwise, shall automatically be zoned in accordance with the comprehensive plan’s future land use map”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Zoning districts inside Camden town limits

  • Districts listed in Article II include residential R-1 through R-4, historic overlay, commercial C-1 and C-2 and others, with a zoning district map under Section 240-10.

  “residential r-4 manufactured home park and trailer park to accommodate manufactured housing units meeting the hud standard and well-designed mobile home communities in appropriate locations throughout the town.”

• SetbacksSpecified

  Principal residential structures in the R-1 town residential district (first district column of Table 240-6), inside Camden town limits

  • Values are in feet and come from Table 240-6 (area and bulk regulations for residential districts); the flattened PDF text was read by column order, so verify the column mapping against the printed table.
  • Infill development in R-1 and R-2 is governed by section 240-12d, which was not reviewed.

  front yard setback: 15 feet (see section 240-12d for infill in R-1 and R-2) · side yard setback (one side): 8 feet · side yard setback (sum of both sides): 20 feet · rear yard setback: 30 feet

  “setbacks (feet) front yard** 15 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 side yard one 8 15 15 5 10 5 10 20 sum of both 20 40 40 16 n/a 10 25 45 rear yard 30 40 40 30”

• Lot coverageSpecified

  Principal residential structures in the R-1 town residential district (first district column of Table 240-6), inside Camden town limits

  • Table 240-6 shows building coverage and total impervious coverage as a ratio of lot area (bldg/total); the first value is the building-coverage limit.
  • Column mapping inferred from flattened PDF text; verify against the printed table.

  maximum building coverage: <= 33 percent of lot · maximum total impervious coverage: <= 60 percent of lot

  “maximum impervious coverage 33/60 25/50 25/50 25/50 45/65 33/65 60/80 25/75 bldg/total (% of lot)”

• Building heightSpecified

  Principal residential structures in the R-1 town residential district (first district column of Table 240-6), inside Camden town limits

  • Height is in feet and stories per Table 240-6; column mapping taken from the flattened PDF text, so verify against the printed table.
  • Accessory structure heights are governed by Table 240-7 and were not reviewed.

  maximum building height: <= 35 feet · maximum stories: <= 2.5 stories

  “stories 2½ 2½ 2½ 2½ 2½ 3 3 6 feet 35 35 35 35 35 35 35 70”

• Manufactured homesLimited

  Placing a mobile or manufactured home for occupancy inside Camden town limits

  • A placement permit from the town administrator is required, and it is not issued until a certificate of zoning compliance is obtained.
  • Separate permits are not required for each unit in an approved mobile home park, as stated in Section 240-47(b).
  • Manufactured homes are a permitted use in the R-4 manufactured home park district per the zoning district list.

  “no mobile home shall be placed for occupancy without the owner or owners first having obtained a placement permit from the town administrator.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Land subdivision inside Camden town limits

  • The code book index lists a land use and subdivision regulations ordinance (#82) and an amendment; the ordinance text was not opened, so its requirements are unknown.

  “ordinance #82 – land use & subdivision regulations amendment to ordinance #82”

• Permit processPartial

  Building permits for construction inside Camden town limits; the town issues its own permits rather than Kent County

  • Kent County says no county permits are required for the listed towns, including Camden, which require their own permits.
  • Application steps, fees and inspection sequence were not located on the opened pages; contact Town Hall at 302-697-2299.

  “towns which require their own permits no permits are required from kent county, delaware: town/city corporation code contact information camden 2 302-697-2299”

Still unanswered

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

• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builder permit exemption inside Camden town limits
• Inspections — Building inspections inside Camden town limits
• Minimum dwelling size — Minimum dwelling size in R-1 inside Camden town limits
• Minimum lot size — Minimum lot area in R-1 inside Camden town limits
• Living in an RV — Long-term RV occupancy on private land inside Camden 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.