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Delaware 22 Del. C. Chapter 3 — Municipal Zoning Enabling Act (DE)

Tracked preemption from the Delaware overlay bundle.

Overview

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Effective
1953-01-01
Sunset
—
Authority
state
Scope
state:DE
Other Delaware preemptions
Delaware 25 Del. C. Chapter 70 — Manufactured Housing Act (Tenure, Not Siting)Delaware Coastal Zone Act — Heavy Industry ProhibitionDelaware 9 Del. C. Chapter 49 — Sussex County ZoningDelaware 9 Del. C. Chapter 69 — Kent County ZoningDelaware 9 Del. C. Chapter 26 — New Castle County ZoningDelaware 22 Del. C. Chapter 8 — Municipal Home Rule Act (Wilmington)

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

AND
  • city.jurisdiction_type == municipality
  • NOT
    • city.charter_type == home_rule

Preempted fields

4 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
zoning_authority_sourceoverride22_del_c_ch3_plus_municipal_charterCharter towns may zone only as their private charters + Title 22 Ch. 3 allow — no inherent constitutional home rule
procedural_requirements.public_hearingoverrideTruePublic hearing + published notice required (§304)
procedural_requirements.zoning_commission_recommendationoverrideTrueZoning commission recommendation step required (§305)
procedural_requirements.board_of_adjustmentoverrideTrueBoard of Adjustment for variances and administrative appeals (§§321–328)

Citation

Authority source
22 Del. C. §301 et seq. (Standard State Zoning Enabling Act lineage)
§ 22 Del. C. Ch. 3 §§301–328
https://delcode.delaware.gov/title22/c003/index.html

Research notes

Pure enabling statute — a ceiling on WHO may zone (only municipalities per their charters), not a FLOOR on what must be allowed. Does not mandate any density floor, does not preempt municipal STR/ADU/IZ decisions, does not contain a builder's remedy. Wilmington (home-rule under Ch. 8) and Dover/Newark (special legislative charters) operate under broader authority but the Ch. 3 procedural minima still apply to charter towns.