Pole barns and barndominiums in Long Neck, Delaware.
Building in Long Neck.
Long Neck lies between Rehoboth Bay and Indian River Bay and has grown from summer mobile-home communities into year-round neighborhoods such as Baywood Greens. DE 23, Long Neck Road, runs to the Massey’s Landing boat ramp at its southern end and is part of a primary hurricane evacuation route, and DE 24 and DE 5 also serve the area. Poplar Thicket is on the National Register.
The drive to Long Neck from our Dover office runs about 74 minutes, roughly 50 miles. With water on both sides, the flood zone is the first question, because it decides how high the floor goes, what can go below it and which certificates the County needs at the end. Then we draw, file and build.
- County
- Sussex County, Delaware
- Population
- 3,017 (2020 Census)
- ZIP code
- 19966
- From our office
- About 1 hr 14 min (50 miles) by car
- Permits
- Sussex County Building Permit Office
- Main roads
- DE 23 (Long Neck Road), DE 24 (John J. Williams Highway), DE 5
Permits and rules in Long Neck.
Long Neck is a census-designated place, not a town, so Sussex County is the permit authority: the Sussex County Building Permit Office, (302) 855-7720, issues the permit, the Building Code Office reviews plans and inspects, and Planning & Zoning, (302) 855-7878, reviews zoning and property-line setbacks. For anything near the water, including boat docks and bulkheads, the County says to contact DNREC (Wetlands and Beach Preservation) and the Army Corps of Engineers before getting a building permit, and a flood zone means a flood review before the permit is issued.
FEMA’s maps put AE zones (base flood elevation 6 to 7 feet NAVD88), VE coastal high-hazard zones (8 to 10 feet) and an AO zone (2-foot depth) inside Long Neck, alongside X zones. The County’s flood ordinance, Ord. 2384 of 2015, requires residential lowest floors in A and AE zones at or above the base flood elevation and the lowest horizontal structural member at or above it in V zones; accessory structures of 200 square feet or less may be wet-floodproofed instead. That is the ordinance minimum, and we confirm current requirements with the County before drawing.
Who issues the permit
Sussex County Building Permit Office
- Address
- 2 The Circle, P.O. Box 589, Georgetown, DE 19947
- Phone
- (302) 855-7720
- Website
- Permit information(opens in a new tab)
Where this comes from
- sussexcountyde.gov (opens in a new tab)
- hazards.fema.gov (opens in a new tab)
- sussexcountyde.gov (opens in a new tab)
- sussexcountyde.gov (opens in a new tab)
- sussexcountyde.gov (opens in a new tab)
- sussexcountyde.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 Long Neck.
With the Massey’s Landing boat ramp at the end of DE 23, a garage or pole barn deep enough for a boat, or a covered spot for a camper, fits Long Neck well. In a manufactured home park, the County’s guide lets accessory structures sit 5 feet from lot lines but keeps them 20 feet from other dwellings and accessory structures; elsewhere, the 600-square-foot rule sets the side and rear setbacks.
Long Neck questions.
Have a question about your property? Call 302-399-4420 and we’ll look it up.
What will the County need at the end of a Long Neck job in a flood zone?
Before the final inspection, the County asks, as applicable, for the final elevation certificate, flood-vent certification, a FEMA V-zone certificate and breakaway-wall certification by a Delaware engineer. In a Special Flood Hazard Area, you also sign a non-conversion agreement, keeping enclosed space below the lowest floor for parking, limited storage or access, as a condition of the certificate of occupancy.
Will the County enforce my neighborhood’s covenants?
No. Sussex County’s permit information sheet says it does not enforce private deed restrictions or covenants, so any neighborhood rules are between you and the community. We read them with you before drawing, and the County permit then covers code and zoning.
How far is Long Neck from your office?
Roughly 50 miles, or about 74 minutes from our office at 575 N Dupont Hwy in Dover. Long Neck, with its Millsboro mailing addresses, is within the area we serve.
Let’s plan your building in Long Neck.
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
- Long Neck and all of Sussex County