(a) No person shall construct or commence the construction of a building without first filing with the Department of Finance an application in writing for such construction and obtaining a permit therefor. Such application shall be made on forms prescribed by the Department of Finance and shall contain such information as the Department of Finance shall prescribe.
(b) Permits shall be issued only to contractors, the owner of any building necessary to the operation of farm lands, the owner of property located in any incorporated city or town in Sussex County, or any owner of property desiring to do his or her own work or labor about his or her own building.
(c) Except in instances in which the Department of Transportation has indicated authorization for temporary use of land set aside for future right-of-way needs, as provided in § 145 of Title 17, no permit shall be issued for the erection of any building or for the construction of any improvement or structure on any part of any land which lies or is located within the lines of any land designated and set aside for future highway right-of-way needs as appears on the Department’s Future Right-of-Way Map — Final except as hereafter provided in subsection (d) of this section.
(d) A building permit, otherwise issuable except for subsection (c) of this section, shall be issued notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of this section unless the Department of Transportation, after being given written notice thereof by the Commission shall:
(1) Within 60 days of receipt of such notice, file with the County a declaration that:
a. The issuance of said permit will be detrimental to future highway planning and construction; and
b. The land described in said permit application is needed for future highway purposes; and
(2) Within 180 days of the giving of such notice, institute condemnation proceedings under Chapter 61 of Title 10, to acquire all of the land described in said building permit application as may be located within said future highway right-of-way.
(e) A building permit shall be required for the construction, erection, placement or alteration of any smokestack, tree, silo, flagpole, elevated tank, power line, radio or television tower, antenna, building, structure or other improvement to real property which:
(1) Is greater than 200 feet in height above ground level;
(2) Is greater in height than an imaginary surface extending outward and upward at a slope of 100:1 for a horizontal distance of 20,000 feet from the nearest point of the nearest runway of each public use airport in the State;
(3) Is located within 3,000 feet of the nearest point of the nearest runway of each public use airport in the State; or
(4) Otherwise acts as an obstruction to the operation of aircraft as those terms are defined in Chapter 6 of Title 2 or by Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part 77 [14 C.F.R. Part 77].
(f) Such building permit for each such object or structure will not be issued until such time as the Department through the Office of Aeronautics has approved the application.
(g) No such permit shall be issued to a nonresident person engaging in business as a contractor, as defined in Chapter 25 of Title 30, in Sussex County until the Department of Finance is satisfied that § 2502(b) of Title 30 has been complied with to the extent applicable.
