The following general rules of word meaning
and usage shall apply to this chapter:
A.Â
The singular number includes the plural, and the plural
the singular, unless the context clearly indicates the contrary.
B.Â
Words used in the present tense include the past and
future tenses, and the future the present.
C.Â
The word "shall" is always mandatory. The word "may"
is permissive.
D.Â
The word "public" means "open to common use," whether
or not public ownership is involved.
E.Â
Words and terms not defined herein shall be interpreted
in accord with their normal dictionary meaning and customary usage.
For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms
and words are hereby defined:
Recreational uses, areas, and activities oriented toward
potential competition and/or involving special equipment. Playgrounds,
sports fields and courts, swimming pools, and golf courses are examples
of active recreation uses.
A narrow public or private thoroughfare, not exceeding 16
feet in width, which provides a secondary means of vehicular access
to abutting properties and is not intended for general circulation.
Any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
estate, trust or any other group or combination, acting as a unit,
dividing or proposing to divide land so as to constitute a subdivision
as defined herein, and including any agent of the applicant.
A street or road which serves or is intended to serve as
the principal trafficway between separated areas of the region and
is designated as a "limited-access highway," "major thoroughfare,"
"parkway," or other equivalent term to identify those streets that
comprise the basic structure of the regional traffic plan.
A line within a lot, so designated on a plat of subdivision,
between which line and the street line of any abutting street no building
or structure may be erected.
The minimum distance that a building must be set back from a street or lot line as required by a building setback line so designated on a plat of subdivision. The building setback may be more but shall not be less than required in Chapter 205, Zoning.
An outside diameter measurement of the trunk of a tree measured
at a vertical distance of six inches above grade. This dimension pertains
to measurements for new tree plantings.
See "roadway."
Wastewater collection treatment and disposal by means of
one of the following:
County sewer service as part of Kent County
Sewage Disposal District No. 1;
Municipal sewer service through one of the municipal contract users as defined in Kent County Code Chapter 128; or
Community sewer system as defined in DNREC's
Regulations Governing the Design, Installation and Operation of On-site
Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Systems.
The removal of trees from an area of 5,000 square feet or
greater, whether by cutting or other means. Clearing shall not include
the removal of trees for landscaping purposes by individual lot owners.
A street which is intended to collect traffic from the minor
streets within a neighborhood, or a portion thereof, and to distribute
such traffic to major thoroughfares.
The Kent County Regional Planning Commission.
The staff of the Department of Planning Services.
All improvements and construction, including but not limited
to all recreation amenities, walkways, stormwater facilities, ponds,
landscaping, and sanitary sewer and other utilities not owned by Kent
County, within a subdivision or land development located on open space
owned jointly among all property owners.
[Added 1-22-2013 by Ord. No. 13-01]
Land area, owned jointly among all property owners within
a subdivision or land development, to be left undeveloped as part
of a natural resource preservation, recreation, bufferyards, or other
open space provisions of this chapter. Open space excludes areas in
lots, street rights-of-way, and parking.
[Added 1-22-2013 by Ord. No. 13-01]
Internal subdivision streets which are circuitous rather
than dead ends or cul-de-sacs.
Kent County, Delaware.
The person appointed by Kent County Levy Court to serve as
the Chief Administrative Officer for Kent County, Delaware.
[Added 9-24-2019 by Ord.
No. 19-17]
A public way intended for pedestrian use and excluding motor
vehicles which cuts across a block in order to furnish improved access
to adjacent streets or properties.
A minor street having but one end open for vehicular traffic
and with the other end permanently terminated by a turnaround for
vehicles.
The transfer of property to public or common ownership for
a public purpose. The transfer may be in fee simple interest, or less
than fee simple interest, including easements. Dedication requires
the acceptance of the interest to be complete.
The Delaware Department of Transportation.
The Department of Planning Services.
A committee comprising the staff of the Commission, Kent
County Public Works Director, City Engineer of Dover, representatives
of the Delaware Department of Transportation, Delaware Department
of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Kent Conservation
District, State Fire Marshal, Kent County Parks and Recreation Commission,
and such other professional and technical representatives as may be
deemed necessary by the Commission. The Committee shall function as
an advisory body to the Commission with regard to design requirements,
improvement specifications and other applicable standards relating
to the design and construction of subdivisions and land developments.
An outside diameter measurement of the trunk of a tree measured
at a vertical distance of 4.5 feet above grade. This dimension pertains
to measurements for existing tree plantings and/or woodland trees.
The Director of the Department of Planning Services.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental
Control.
A line on the ground established by a vertical plane extending
from a tree's outermost branch tips to the ground; i.e., the line
enclosing the area directly beneath the tree's crown from which rainfall
would drip.
A strip of land for which the owner grants a right of use
to someone else for one or more designated purposes, which purposes
are consistent with the general property rights of the owners.
An individual technically qualified and legally qualified
in the State of Delaware to practice the profession of civil engineering
and who is registered to do so in the State of Delaware.
Any land area susceptible to being inundated by water from
the base flood. As used in this chapter, the term refers to that area
designated as subject to flooding from the base flood (one-hundred-year
flood) on the Flood Boundary and Floodway Map prepared by the United
States Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Flood Insurance
Rate Maps prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, copies
of which are kept on file in the Department of Planning Services,
Division of Planning.
A map produced by the Delaware Department of Transportation
identifying and classifying all state-maintained roadways.
A body of persons legally responsible for the maintenance
of private open spaces and/or common facilities; also known as "maintenance
corporation."
The sum of parking lots, roads, buildings, sidewalks, or
other created surfaces through which rainwater cannot pass or infiltrate
the soil.
An individual registered by the State of Delaware to practice
the profession of landscape architecture.
A plan associated with a subdivision or land development
plan indicating the placement of trees, shrubs, ground cover, and
affiliated structures and improvements, including specifications,
species, quantities, and installation as prepared by a Delaware registered
landscape architect.
The design and installation of plant material such as lawns,
ground cover, trees, bushes, etc., in formal, informal, or natural
arrangements.
The governing body of Kent County, Delaware.
See "minor street."
A portion of a subdivision or other parcel of land intended
for the transfer of ownership and/or for building development, whether
immediate or future.
The total horizontal area within the lot lines of the lot.
The average horizontal distance between the front and rear
lot lines.
The boundary line of the lot.
The shortest horizontal distance between the side lot lines
measured along the required building setback line.
See "homeowners' association."
A deposit or fund held in trust or as a security until specified
conditions are met as described in this chapter and then transferred
to a homeowners' association for the purpose of caring for common
open spaces and facilities.
[Added 1-22-2013 by Ord. No. 13-01]
A street other than a major thoroughfare or collector street
and intended primarily for providing access to abutting individual
residential properties.
Routine maintenance or repair work such as landscaping, snow
removal, or building upkeep performed on individual, privately owned
lots or dwelling units. Such services and associated fees are separate
from fees required for maintenance of commonly owned open spaces or
facilities.
[Added 1-22-2013 by Ord. No. 13-01]
Land area to be left undeveloped as part of a natural resource
preservation, recreation, bufferyards, or other open space provisions
of this chapter. Open space excludes areas in lots, street rights-of-way,
and parking.
Recreational uses, areas, or activities oriented to noncompetitive
activities which either require no special equipment or are natural
areas.
A publicly or privately owned right-of-way or easement for
pedestrian or bicycle use.
A plan of subdivision or land development, including all
required supplementary data, showing the approximate proposed street
and site layout as a basis for consideration by the Department and
the Development Advisory Committee prior to preparation of the record
plan.
An informal plan indicating salient existing features of
a tract and its surroundings, including the general layout of a proposed
subdivision or land development.
A complete subdivision or land development plan, including
all required supplementary data which defines property lines, proposed
streets and other improvements, and easements.
Dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage,
garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials,
radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock,
sand, cellar dirt, hydrocarbons, oil and product chemicals, and industrial,
municipal, and agricultural waste discarded into water.
Recharge is the process that allows water to replenish an
aquifer. This process occurs naturally when rainfall filters down
through the soil or rock into an aquifer. The land area where recharge
occurs is called the "recharge area" or "recharge zone."
The Recorder of Deeds of Kent County, Delaware.
The whole body of regulations, text, charts, diagrams, notations
and references contained or referred to in this chapter.
A street that serves as a frontage street to abutting properties
and which conducts low volumes of traffic between local streets and
major collector and/or arterial roadways.
The area adjacent to streams, ponds, lakes, bays, wetlands,
or other water bodies. It includes both wetlands and adjacent uplands.
The portion of a street or highway available for and intended
for use by motor vehicle traffic.
A sanitary sewage collection system in which wastewater is
carried from individual lots, by a system of pipes, to a central treatment
facility with pressurized disposal system of treated wastewater, serving
a larger regional area designed, permitted, and constructed in accordance
with regulatory standards set forth by the Delaware Department of
Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
[Amended 7-18-2006 by Ord. No. 06-24[1]]
A system in which sanitary sewage and wastewater is collected
from a single use or dwelling unit, by a system of pipes, and carried
to a septic tank and tile disposal field located within the boundaries
of an individual lot and designed, permitted, and constructed in accordance
with regulatory standards set forth by the Delaware Department of
Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
A system in which sanitary sewage and wastewater is collected
from multiple uses or dwelling units, by a system of pipes, and carried
to a central disposal facility, generally serving a region.
A sanitary sewage collection system in which sewage and wastewater
is carried from individual lots, by a system of pipes, to a central
treatment plant which discharges treated wastewater onto a vegetated
open land area by means of a system of spray jets, and designed, permitted,
and constructed in accordance with regulatory standards set forth
by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental
Control.
[Added 7-18-2006 by Ord. No. 06-24[2]]
A minor street which is parallel to and adjacent to a major
thoroughfare and which provides access to abutting properties and
restricts access to the major thoroughfare.
A public or private thoroughfare which affords the principal
means of access to abutting properties and whether designated as a
freeway, expressway, highway, road, avenue, boulevard, lane, place,
circle or however otherwise designated. See also the definitions of
specific street types.
A dividing line separating a lot, tract or parcel of land
and a contiguous street and also referred to as a "right-of-way line."
A division of any part, parcel or area of land by the owner
or his agent into lots or parcels two or more in number for the purpose
of conveyance, transfer, improvement or sale, with or without appurtenant
roads, streets, lanes, driveways and ways dedicated or intended to
be dedicated to public use or the use of purchasers or owners of lots
fronting thereon. A subdivision includes:
Any division of a parcel of land having frontage
on an existing improved street into two or more lots, one or more
of which have frontage on the existing street;
Any development of a parcel of land which involves
installation of streets and driveways, whether or not dedicated and
whether or not the parcel is divided for the purpose of immediate
conveyance, transfer or sale; and
Any resubdivision and, as appropriate, shall
refer to the process of subdividing land or the land so subdivided.
Any subdivision of land that creates five or fewer, or no,
parcels of land and, if a parcel of land is created, either said created
parcel is not on a new road or said created parcel(s) is (are) on
a private road approved pursuant to regulations adopted by the County
and shall apply only to the creation of up to a five-parcel minor
subdivision and shall not apply to the creation of parcels in excess
of a total of five off of the original tract of land from which minor
subdivision is sought. "Original tract" shall be deemed to be all
tracts separately in existence after October 11, 1994.
A linear depression in the land's surface in which sheet
runoff will collect and form a temporary watercourse.
The maximum amount of a pollutant that can be assimilated
by a water body and still meet water quality standards established
by the State of Delaware or the United States Environmental Protection
Agency.
Any self-supporting woody perennial plant, usually having
a mainstem or trunk and many branches and at maturity normally attaining
a trunk diameter greater than three inches at any point and a height
of over 10 feet.
Any portion of a site wherein are located existing trees
which are proposed to be retained in order to comply with the requirements
of this chapter. The tree protection area shall include no less than
the total area beneath the tree canopy as defined by the dripline
of the tree or group of trees collectively.
Those areas of land which fall within the definition of wetlands
currently used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or those adopted
by the State of Delaware in accordance with the Army Corps of Engineers.
An area of contiguous wooded vegetation of at least 10,000
square feet in area where trees exist at a density of at least one
tree with a diameter breast height of six inches or greater per 400
square feet of land and where the tree branches form a contiguous
canopy. Active tree nurseries and orchards shall not be considered
woodland for purposes of this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance shall be effective upon the date of adoption; provided, however, that this ordinance shall not apply to any parcel of land for which a land use application pursuant to Chapter 187 or Chapter 205 of the Kent County Code has been received by the Kent County Department of Planning Services, prior to the effective date of this ordinance; the Kent County Department of Planning Services has conducted a preapplication meeting pursuant to Chapter 187 or Chapter 205 of the Kent County Code, prior to the effective date of this ordinance, and said preapplication has not expired pursuant to § 187-17 (Preliminary Conference, Subsection D); or § 187-35 (Preliminary Conference, Subsection D) or a complete application pursuant to §  180-21 (Sanitary Sewer District Creation Extension, or Modification Requests) has been approved by the Kent County Sewer Advisory Board, prior to the effective date of this ordinance.
[2]
Editor's Note: This ordinance shall be effective upon the date of adoption; provided, however, that this ordinance shall not apply to any parcel of land for which a land use application pursuant to Chapter 187 or Chapter 205 of the Kent County Code has been received by the Kent County Department of Planning Services, prior to the effective date of this ordinance; the Kent County Department of Planning Services has conducted a preapplication meeting pursuant to Chapter 187 or Chapter 205 of the Kent County Code, prior to the effective date of this ordinance, and said preapplication has not expired pursuant to § 187-17 (Preliminary Conference, Subsection D) or § 187-35 (Preliminary Conference, Subsection D); or a complete application pursuant to §  180-21 (Sanitary Sewer District Creation Extension, or Modification Requests) has been approved by the Kent County Sewer Advisory Board, prior to the effective date of this ordinance.
