Pole barns and barndominiums in Harrington, Delaware.
Building in Harrington.
The railroad made Harrington. The city developed at a junction on the Delaware Railroad and became a rural trading center, and a preserved Pennsylvania Railroad tower and caboose still stand at the depot. The city had 3,774 residents in 2020, US 13 and DE 14 run through it, and the Delaware State Fairgrounds and Harrington Raceway & Casino are among its landmarks.
Harrington is a 27-minute drive south of our office. In a rural trading town, the useful buildings are working ones: equipment and hay storage, horse barns, shops and garages. Our designers draw the building, we submit the plans to the City electronically, our crews build, and you make the final payment only after the City’s final inspection.
- County
- Kent County, Delaware
- Population
- 3,774 (2020 Census)
- ZIP code
- 19952
- From our office
- About 27 minutes (19 miles) by car
- Permits
- City of Harrington Planning & Inspections Department (City Hall)
- Main roads
- US 13, DE 14
Permits and rules in Harrington.
Harrington issues its own permits, and Kent County lists it among the towns that require their own. The City of Harrington Planning & Inspections Department at City Hall, 106 Dorman St. (302-398-3530), issues building permits, and the City says no county permit is needed. A City permit is required whenever a building or structure in any zone is erected or structurally altered, sheds and fences included. Site and building plans go in electronically to the City Building Code Official, and the work is inspected by the City’s Code Enforcement Officer or a City consultant.
Contractors must be licensed with the City of Harrington before a permit is approved and issued. The City’s shed setback sheet, part of its Accessory Structure Permit Application, calls for 5 ft from side and rear property lines and 10 ft from the main house, and sheds and pools may go only in back and side yards. In the Special Flood Hazard Area, new construction must meet Chapter 212, the City’s floodplain regulations.
Who issues the permit
City of Harrington Planning & Inspections Department (City Hall)
- Address
- 106 Dorman St., Harrington, DE 19952
- Phone
- (302) 398-3530
- Website
- Permit information(opens in a new tab)
Where this comes from
- harringtondelaware.gov (opens in a new tab)
- harringtondelaware.gov (opens in a new tab)
- harringtondelaware.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 Harrington.
Harrington’s role as a rural trading center, with the Delaware State Fairgrounds in town, points to working buildings. On farmland outside the city, that means machinery storage, hay barns, lean-tos and horse barns. On a city lot, a detached garage or workshop has to respect the setback sheet and the side-and-back-yard rule. For a business on US 13 or DE 14, a post-frame commercial building or addition is another good fit.
Harrington questions.
Have a question about your property? Call 302-399-4420 and we’ll look it up.
Do I need a Kent County permit in Harrington?
Not inside city limits. The City of Harrington says no county permit is needed: its Planning & Inspections Department issues the permit and the City inspects the work. Outside city limits, Kent County’s Inspections & Enforcement Division handles the permit instead, and we file with whichever office covers your land.
How far is Harrington from your office?
It is a 27-minute drive, about 19 miles, south from our office on North Dupont Highway in Dover. For farm parcels outside the city, the Kent County permit office is in Dover too, at 555 Bay Road.
Do accessory buildings need tie-downs in Harrington?
The City’s accessory structure application says they must be secured with tie-downs at each corner, plus two mid-span anchors when the structure is 20 ft or longer. For a post-frame building, we confirm with the City how that anchoring rule applies to the design before the plans go in.
Let’s plan your building in Harrington.
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
- Harrington and all of Kent County