Pole barns and barndominiums in Bowers Beach, Delaware.
Building in Bowers Beach.
Bowers Beach (officially the Town of Bowers) was long a major Delaware Bay fishing town, once averaging 300 boats at its docks. Today the town has 278 residents (2020) on the bayfront between the two rivers, and the offshore Fourteen Foot Bank Light and Saxton United Methodist Church are on the National Register. Bowers Beach Road leads in, and DE 1 has an interchange at Little Heaven.
Building here starts with the flood rules, because the whole town lies in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area and takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program. From our office it is a 25-minute drive. Our designers work those requirements into the drawings from the start, we get the town’s zoning sign-off and the Kent County permit, and our crews build.
- County
- Kent County, Delaware
- Population
- 278 (2020 Census)
- ZIP code
- 19946
- From our office
- About 25 minutes (15 miles) by car
- Permits
- Town of Bowers, Zoning Compliance Officer
- Main roads
- Bowers Beach Road, DE 1 (interchange at Little Heaven)
Permits and rules in Bowers Beach.
The town enforces its own zoning, and Kent County issues the building permit after the town signs off, then handles plan review and inspections. For new construction, substantial improvements, garages, sheds, decks and fences, the town’s contact is its Zoning Compliance Officer (Town of Bowers, 3357 Main Street, Frederica; 302-335-1039; town line 302-572-9000), and the town Code Compliance Officer enforces the Zoning Ordinance. The town’s website says it is being updated, so we confirm details with the town directly.
Flood rules shape almost every project. The town’s ordinance, amended June 12, 2014, puts a home’s lowest floor at least 1 ft above the base flood elevation. Small accessory structures get one break: with a footprint of 200 sq ft or less, a building used just for parking or limited storage can skip elevation or floodproofing if it is anchored, built of flood-resistant materials, has flood openings and keeps its utilities 1 ft or more above the base flood elevation.
Who issues the permit
Town of Bowers, Zoning Compliance Officer
- Address
- 3357 Main Street, Frederica, DE 19946
- Phone
- (302) 335-1039 (Zoning Compliance Officer); town (302) 572-9000
- Website
- Permit information(opens in a new tab)
Where this comes from
- bowersbeach.delaware.gov (opens in a new tab)
- bowersbeach.delaware.gov (opens in a new tab)
- bowersbeach.delaware.gov (opens in a new tab)
- bowersbeach.delaware.gov (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 Bowers Beach.
Zoning allows two accessory buildings per lot, a detached garage included, each at least 5 ft from property lines and 10 ft from a county or state road and covering no more than 30% of the yard it sits in. In the R-1 to R-3 districts, accessory buildings are limited to 12 ft in height, except private garages, which may reach 20 ft. In a town built on fishing, that suits a garage for the truck and the boat, or covered storage for gear.
Bowers Beach questions.
Have a question about your property? Call 302-399-4420 and we’ll look it up.
Can a small storage building skip the flood rules?
Only if its footprint is 200 sq ft or less and it is used solely for parking or limited storage. It still has to be anchored, built with flood-resistant materials and fitted with flood openings, with utilities at least 1 ft above the base flood elevation. A larger garage or pole barn must meet the full elevation or floodproofing standard.
How far is Bowers Beach from your office?
About 15 miles, or 25 minutes, from our office at 575 N Dupont Hwy in Dover. We can meet you at the property to look at the lot, the yard you want to build in and the flood map together.
Can an accessory building go in my front yard?
Usually it belongs in the rear or side yard. The exception is a lot with at least 50 ft of frontage on the Delaware Bay, the St. Jones River or the Murderkill River, where the front yard is allowed. The 5 ft property-line and 10 ft road setbacks still apply.
Let’s plan your building in Bowers 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
- Bowers Beach and all of Kent County