Pole barns and barndominiums in Marydel, Delaware.
Building in Marydel.
Marydel, also called Halltown, is an unincorporated community on Delaware Route 8 (Halltown Road) where it reaches the Maryland line west of Dover. The road continues into Marydel, Maryland as MD 454, and the two share the 19964 ZIP code, with the post office on the Maryland side. Mason-Dixon line Crownstone #45 is the local landmark, a reminder of how close the boundary runs.
Getting to Marydel from our office takes about 18 minutes. Because the Delaware side is unincorporated, there is no town step: Kent County handles both zoning and the building permit, and we file with the county for you. Our crews build once the permit is issued, a project manager keeps you posted, and final payment comes after the county’s final inspection.
- County
- Kent County and Caroline County, Delaware
- ZIP code
- 19964
- From our office
- About 18 minutes (14 miles) by car
- Permits
- Kent County Levy Court, Department of Planning Services, Inspections & Enforcement Division
- Main roads
- DE 8 (Halltown Road), MD 454 (continuation into Marydel, Maryland)
Permits and rules in Marydel.
On the Delaware side, every approval runs through Kent County. Ask Kent County Planning Services (302-744-2471) about zoning and setbacks; the permit itself, and the inspections that follow, come from the Kent County Levy Court, Department of Planning Services, Inspections & Enforcement Division (555 Bay Road, Dover, 302-744-2451), which takes applications online through MyGovernmentOnline. Any pole building, detached garage, carport, pool house or animal shelter needs that permit regardless of size. Pole buildings have their own construction-drawing requirements, and the State, not the county, issues electrical and plumbing permits.
For a garage or barn beside a house, the county sets a size cap and a height cap: the building can’t be bigger than the home, and its average roof height, halfway between eave and peak, has to stay at or under 20 feet. Clearances are 5 ft from side and rear lines and from the house, and 10 ft from a septic tank or drain field. The building stays behind the front wall of the house unless it sits 100 ft or more from the front property line.
On the Maryland side, Marydel is an incorporated town in Caroline County, and it has not published a permit or zoning process of its own. Caroline County’s building code reaches inside an incorporated town only by written agreement with the County Commissioners (County Code § 88-3), and no such agreement for Marydel has been found. So the first call is to the Town of Marydel (Town Commission) at (410) 482-2394 to ask who issues permits. If the town points you to the county, that is the Caroline County Department of Planning & Codes in Denton, 410-479-8100. State maps show no Critical Area or FEMA flood zone in town.
Who issues the permit
Kent County Levy Court, Department of Planning Services, Inspections & Enforcement Division
- Address
- 555 Bay Rd, Dover, DE 19901
- Phone
- (302) 744-2451
- Website
- Permit information(opens in a new tab)
Where this comes from
Permit details checked October 2026. Rules change, so we confirm the current requirements for your parcel before anything is drawn.
What people build around Marydel.
With no town layer, the county’s rules are the whole story, and they still leave plenty of room: a multi-bay garage or workshop sized so it is not larger than the house, a horse barn, an animal shelter, or covered storage for equipment, hay or a camper. On land that suits a home and a shop together, a barndominium is the house itself rather than an accessory building, and in our experience homes usually take 3 to 5 months to permit, depending on the county.
Marydel questions.
Have a question about your property? Call 302-399-4420 and we’ll look it up.
What if my property is on the Maryland side?
Then Kent County’s rules do not apply. The Maryland side is in Caroline County, where the incorporated Town of Marydel sits, and building there follows Caroline County rules, which we confirm separately. This page covers the Delaware side, and we verify which state and county a parcel is in before any drawing starts.
How far is Marydel from your office?
About 14 miles, or 18 minutes, from 575 N Dupont Hwy in Dover. Kent County’s permit office is on Bay Road in Dover too, so the whole Delaware-side permit path runs through offices near ours.
Is a farm building in Marydel exempt from the building code?
It can be. Kent County exempts farm buildings other than dwellings that are used only for farming on a parcel of at least five acres with a reasonable expectation of at least $2,500 in gross annual farm income. You still need a plot plan showing the building’s location and an agricultural building use permit.
Let’s plan your building in Marydel.
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
- Marydel and all of Kent County