Pole barns and barndominiums in Slaughter Beach, Delaware.
Building in Slaughter Beach.
Slaughter Beach sits on the Delaware Bay, and its beach is an officially designated horseshoe crab sanctuary; the town has adopted the horseshoe crab as its symbol. The Milford Neck Wildlife Area is nearby, the Cedar Creek drawbridge on DE 36, Cedar Beach Road, marks the town’s edge, and mail goes through Milford’s 19963 ZIP code.
On a lot near the bay, the work starts with maps: the flood zone, the DNREC Coastal Building Line and the bayfront setback line. Once we know where a building can go, we draw it, file with the Town and the County, and build. From our Dover office, it is a 42-minute trip of around 28 miles.
- County
- Sussex County, Delaware
- Population
- 218 (2020 Census)
- ZIP code
- 19963
- From our office
- About 42 minutes (28 miles) by car
- Permits
- Town of Slaughter Beach Building Official & Flood Zone Manager
- Main roads
- DE 36 (Cedar Beach Road), Bay Avenue, DE 1 (reached via DE 36 at Milford)
Permits and rules in Slaughter Beach.
Your Town permit comes from the Town of Slaughter Beach Building Official & Flood Zone Manager, 357 Bay Ave. (Building Inspector 302-270-0687; Town office (302) 424-7659). Nearly every project that needs a Town permit also needs a Sussex County permit, and the County reviews the plans and performs all construction inspections here; Sussex County Planning & Zoning administers the Town’s flood ordinance. Even fences need a County permit.
Under the 2015 zoning ordinance posted on the Town site, buildings are limited to 36 feet in every district, and a private garage in the R-1, R-2 or RC district may be no taller than 18 feet and may not be used as a dwelling. A lot may have two accessory buildings, counting a detached garage, set at least 15 feet from a street line and 10 feet from the rear line (5 feet on lots with less than 50 feet of frontage), and nothing may cross the bayfront building setback line or, without DNREC’s permission, the Coastal Building Line.
Who issues the permit
Town of Slaughter Beach Building Official & Flood Zone Manager
- Address
- Town of Slaughter Beach, 357 Bay Ave., Slaughter Beach, DE 19963
- Phone
- 302-270-0687 (Building Inspector); Town office (302) 424-7659
- Website
- Permit information(opens in a new tab)
Where this comes from
- slaughterbeach.delaware.gov (opens in a new tab)
- slaughterbeach.delaware.gov (opens in a new tab)
- slaughterbeach.delaware.gov (opens in a new tab)
- slaughterbeach.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 Slaughter Beach.
Near the bay, a garage within the 18-foot limit or a storage building for beach and bay gear fits the zoning. Small ones help in a flood zone: under the 2015 flood ordinance, an accessory structure of 200 square feet or less may be wet-floodproofed instead of raised. In the Conservation-Agriculture district, barns, livestock sheds, stables and buildings for feed, tools and farm equipment are permitted accessory structures.
Slaughter Beach questions.
Have a question about your property? Call 302-399-4420 and we’ll look it up.
How high does a home have to sit in a Slaughter Beach flood zone?
Under the Town’s 2015 Flood Damage Reduction Ordinance, a residential lowest floor must be at or above the base flood elevation plus one foot; in AO zones, the FIRM depth number plus one foot above grade, or at least 3 feet; and in V zones, the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member goes at BFE plus one foot. We check for later amendments with the Town.
Do I need DNREC approval to build at the beach?
Yes. The Town says DNREC approval is required for all construction of structures, additions and septic systems in the beach area, and for outside work such as fences, landscaping retaining walls, patios, sand or fill and driveway materials. Contact DNREC before any construction at the beach; we build that step into the schedule.
How long does it take you to reach Slaughter Beach?
Not long. Slaughter Beach is around 42 minutes from 575 N Dupont Hwy in Dover, roughly 28 miles, and the town is within the area we serve, bayfront lots included.
Let’s plan your building in Slaughter 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
- Slaughter Beach and all of Sussex County