C-1 · General Commercial District (closed)
C-1 zoning in Sussex County, Delaware
C-1 is the General Commercial District for retail and services serving a community-wide area along major roads. The code treats it as closed, so it cannot be applied to new land. Lots need 10,000 square feet, 75 feet of width and 100 feet of depth, and buildings may reach 42 feet.
Closed district: the code no longer applies it to new land.
Purpose
The district is for retail shopping, personal services and a range of commercial and service uses, typically on major arterial roads. It excludes heavy warehousing, frequent heavy trucking, open storage and manufacturing nuisances. § 115-76
Permitted uses
Any AR or B-1 use is allowed, plus animal hospitals and kennels, auto and truck sales and repair, car washes, boat and trailer sales, light service and repair shops, farm and garden equipment, studios, nurseries, hotels and motels, indoor amusements, building supply stores, manufactured home sales, multifamily and mixed-use buildings, nursing facilities, printing, trade schools, cannabis facilities, vendor stands and enclosed warehousing. Buildings must be under 75,000 square feet; larger regional uses follow section 115-77.1. §§ 115-77, 115-77.1
Conditional or special uses
Conditional uses need Article XXIV approval and include airports, aquariums, bus terminals, cemeteries, drive-in theaters, fairgrounds, heliports, hospitals, institutions, outdoor amusements, public and utility uses, racetracks, recreation facilities, arenas and swimming or tennis clubs. The Board of Adjustment grants special use exceptions for temporary uses and parking relief. §§ 115-79, 115-80
Lot and building rules
| Rule | Requirement | Code section |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum lot area | 10,000 sq ft (single-family and other uses) | § 115-82A |
| Minimum lot width | 75 ft; 150 ft where the lot fronts a numbered road on the 1964 General Highway Map, as revised | § 115-82A |
| Minimum lot depth | 100 ft | § 115-82A |
| Minimum lot area without central sewer | 3/4 acre where the lot is not on central sewer or lies in a sewer planning area approved by County Council | § 115-82A |
| Yards, single-family | Front 40 ft (the code prints this as 40 (30)), side 10 ft, rear 10 ft | § 115-82B |
| Yards, other uses | Front 60 ft, side 5 ft, rear 5 ft; buffers in § 115-194.1E also apply | § 115-82B |
| Maximum height | 42 ft (single-family and other uses) | § 115-82C |
| Maximum building size | Under 75,000 sq ft gross for any building or group | § 115-77B |
| Large-scale uses (75,000 sq ft or more): lot | 3 acres, 150 ft wide, 100 ft deep | § 115-77.1B(1) |
| Large-scale uses: yards and height | Front 60 ft, side 20 ft, rear 30 ft; height 42 ft | § 115-77.1B(2), § 115-77.1B(3) |
| Status | Closed district; cannot be applied to new land | § 115-83B |
Each value links to the Article XI page on eCode360. Where the code shows a front yard as 40 (30), this page reports the code's own notation. The explanatory district table (Table I, § 115-156A) is a PDF attachment that this summary did not read, so ask Planning and Zoning what the 30 figure means for your lot. Lot-size figures assume the standard option unless a row says otherwise.
What this means for a parcel owner
If your parcel is already zoned C-1, existing rights continue, but the county no longer rezones land into C-1. Non-residential buildings need a 60 foot front yard and buffers from neighbors. Anything of 75,000 square feet or more falls under the large-scale rules.
Official text
Read the district's own article: Article XI, §§ 115-76 to 115-83, Sussex County Code Chapter 115 on eCode360. The county zoning map shows which district a parcel is in: Sussex County online map.
Summary as of 2026-10-24; the code controls.