Pole barns and barndominiums in Bethany Beach, Delaware.
Building in Bethany Beach.
Bethany Beach was laid out around 1900 as a Disciples of Christ meeting place on the Atlantic and incorporated in 1909. Today it is one of Delaware’s Quiet Resorts, known as a family beach, with its boardwalk and bandstand, Delaware Seashore State Park to the north and the Indian River Life Saving Service Station up DE 1.
Count on roughly 87 minutes for the 56-mile drive from our Dover office to Bethany Beach. Building here means planning around flood zones, DNREC review on the oceanfront and the Town’s construction hours, so we work out the schedule and the drawings together before anything is filed. Then our crews build, and your project manager keeps you posted.
- County
- Sussex County, Delaware
- Population
- 954 (2020 Census)
- ZIP code
- 19930
- From our office
- About 1 hr 27 min (56 miles) by car
- Permits
- Town of Bethany Beach Building Department
- Main roads
- DE 1 (Coastal Highway), DE 26 (Garfield Parkway)
Permits and rules in Bethany Beach.
The Town of Bethany Beach Building Department, 214 Garfield Parkway, (302) 539-8780 or (302) 539-8011, reviews plans for code compliance, issues building permits, answers zoning questions and inspects new construction and remodeling under the 2021 IBC and IRC. The Town’s application warns that a County permit may be required, and Sussex County’s own rule is that its permit is required for all construction, in a municipality or not, even though Bethany Beach does its own inspections.
About 80% of the town is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, with VE zones on the oceanfront plus AE and AO zones. All new work in the floodplain needs a town building permit first and must meet NFIP flood-proofing standards, and oceanfront properties may also need DNREC review and approval. Construction hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays, with Saturday hours from October 1 to May 15, and the code bars construction, site preparation, lot clearing and earth moving with powered equipment on Saturdays, Sundays and town holidays.
Who issues the permit
Town of Bethany Beach Building Department
- Address
- 214 Garfield Parkway (P.O. Box 109), Bethany Beach, DE 19930
- Phone
- (302) 539-8780 / (302) 539-8011
- Website
- Permit information(opens in a new tab)
Where this comes from
- townofbethanybeach.com (opens in a new tab)
- g3mtx8smp2.execute-api.us-east-2.amazonaws.com (opens in a new tab)
- townofbethanybeach.com (opens in a new tab)
- townofbethanybeach.com (opens in a new tab)
Permit details checked October 2026. Rules change, so we confirm the current requirements for your parcel before anything is drawn.
What people build around Bethany Beach.
A family beach town needs places to put the summer: a detached garage with room for bikes and beach carts, a storage building for chairs, umbrellas and boards, or a pool house. A third-party copy of the zoning code shows accessory buildings limited to the rear yard and 15 feet in height, with three per lot including a garage, so we confirm current limits with the Building Department before drawing.
Bethany Beach questions.
Have a question about your property? Call 302-399-4420 and we’ll look it up.
Is a County permit really required in Bethany Beach?
Yes. The Town’s application says a County permit may be required, and Sussex County’s position is that its building permit is required for all construction, whether the property is in a town or in the unincorporated county. Bethany Beach still does its own plan review and inspections.
Does my Bethany Beach lot need DNREC approval?
If it is oceanfront, it may. The Town notes that oceanfront properties may also need DNREC review and approval, and state law requires a DNREC permit or letter of approval for any structure on a beach seaward of the state building line. We check before the drawings are final.
How far is Bethany Beach from your Dover office?
About 56 miles, a drive of roughly 87 minutes from our office at 575 N Dupont Hwy in Dover. Bethany Beach is part of our service area for design, permits and construction.
Let’s plan your building in Bethany Beach.
Tell us what you’d like to build and where, and we’ll come back with drawings and a free quote.
- info@pbuincde.com
- Office
- 575 N Dupont Hwy, Dover, DE 19901 (opens Google Maps in a new tab)
- Hours
- Mon to Fri, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
- We build in
- Bethany Beach and all of Sussex County