What are the rules on junk, derelict cars, and unsightly property?
In the Town of Bridgeville, Delaware, standards: Building deemed vacant if no person conducts a lawfully licensed business or lawfully resides in it; owner of building vacant 60+ consecutive days must file a notarized vacant property registration statement; enforcement: Registration required with fee ($100 first year, $300/year years 2-5, $500/year after 5 years); unpaid fees constitute a debt due the Town collectible by civil action; standards: Vacant building registration applicability changed so that it applies to owners of buildings vacant for more than one hundred and eighty (180) consecutive days; standards: Unsanitary disposal of trash/garbage/debris/construction waste/compost; unburied dead animals; standing water breeding vectors; rodent/insect infestation; wrecked/inoperable vehicles; accumulations deleterious to public health/safety/comfort. Source: Ordinance 17-1 - Vacant Building Registration; Ordinance 20-4 - Vacant Building Registration Amendment; Ordinance 23-06 - Nuisance Properties; Ordinance 24-06 - International Property Maintenance Code; Ordinance A04-3 - Abandoned or Inoperable Vehicles; Ordinance A04-8 - Brush, Grass and Weeds, verified 2026-06-05.
| standards | Building deemed vacant if no person conducts a lawfully licensed business or lawfully resides in it; owner of building vacant 60+ consecutive days must file a notarized vacant property registration statement | Section 3 |
| enforcement | Registration required with fee ($100 first year, $300/year years 2-5, $500/year after 5 years); unpaid fees constitute a debt due the Town collectible by civil action | Section 5 |
Requires registration of vacant buildings.
| standards | Vacant building registration applicability changed so that it applies to owners of buildings vacant for more than one hundred and eighty (180) consecutive days | §217-3 |
Amends vacant building registration requirements.
| standards | Unsanitary disposal of trash/garbage/debris/construction waste/compost; unburied dead animals; standing water breeding vectors; rodent/insect infestation; wrecked/inoperable vehicles; accumulations deleterious to public health/safety/comfort | §92-1 |
| enforcement | Building Official notifies owner to remove nuisance; on failure within 10 days Town may correct and charge owner actual cost plus $100 administrative fee ($500 for second/additional times), collectible as real estate taxes | § 92-4 |
New chapter relating to nuisance properties.
| standards | Adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, 2021 Edition (and subsequent editions) as the Property Maintenance Code of the Town | §69-1 |
Adopts International Property Maintenance Code.
| standards | No wrecked, dismantled or inoperable vehicle parked/stored/left on private property in excess of 15 days (declared a public nuisance) | § 201-5 |
| enforcement | Order for removal; if not removed, Police Department may remove/impound vehicle; town may recover costs from owner or add to tax bill | § 201-8 |
Regulates abandoned and inoperable vehicles.
| standards | No hedges, bushes, shrubs, trees or other vegetation permitted to grow so as to inhibit free passage of or endanger pedestrians on any street, alley, sidewalk or walkway; no weeds/grass/vegetation clippings placed on street, alley, sidewalk or walkway | Section 90-3 |
| enforcement | Town issues written notice ordering compliance; if not remedied within 10 days, Town corrects violation and bills owner the cost plus $250.00 administrative cost | Section 90-7 |
Regulates brush, grass, and weed maintenance.