Why Should Delaware Care?
Big Stone Beach is the only place in the state where homes are this close to the Delaware Bay. The beach is isolated from much of Kent County and offers a unique glimpse into the past.
Community-Powered Journalism
This story was developed following discussions at a Spotlight Delaware Pop-Up Newsroom stop. Find out more about the tour by clicking here.
A couple miles north of the Sussex County line, homes on stilts sit just a few feet from the tideline. During high tide, waves crash on the 15-foot piles keeping the homes above the Delaware Bay.
Nearly 10 miles away from the nearest town, Big Stone Beach is a bastion of reclusion. And unlike other homes along Delaware’s coast looking to offer a beachfront experience, none take it quite as seriously as Big Stone Beach.
The stilted subdivision has homes much closer to the tide than others along the bay, and the community offers a glimpse into a unique part of the state.
What’s different about Big Stone Beach?
Big Stone Beach is at the southeast corner of Kent County, buried east of the Milford Neck Preserve. Overlooking the quiet beach community is an old watchtower, built between the first and second World Wars.
Its rusted sheet metal exterior and overgrown vines are only a few hundred feet from the tide. Even closer are the nearly dozen homes propped on stilts.
Much of Big Stone Beach is seaward of a state line designed to keep structures closer to the shore. The “Delaware Beach Building Line” was drawn back in 1979 by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC). .
An examination of the DNREC building line maps shows multiple stretches of land along the bay with homes seaward of the line. But upon looking at satellite images of Delaware on Google Earth, most of those homes don’t exist anymore.
Looking at archived photos from 1970, many of the homes at Big Stone Beach used to be much further up the shore. But today, the water has encroached much closer to the homes.
Additionally, homes on the beach’s northside aren’t there anymore.
According to a blog post from Delmarva Back Roads, those homes were burned down in the early 21st century, leaving visible stumps where cottages used to be. Now, all of the land surrounding residential properties is owned by different nature conservancy groups in Delaware.
Melanie Svitich owns a home right on the tideline, with it being in her family since the 1980s. Though a massive storm put the home’s future into question.
The 1992 nor’easter storm, which pummeled much of the East Coast, demolished the home, according to Svitich. Windows were smashed, roofing caved in and the home had all but collapsed.
There were two options for the home, repair it or leave it, Svitich said. In the end, the home was repaired, a decision she said is the reason it’s still standing today.
By modernizing its construction, the home became better equipped for future storms. Now the home has 15-foot piles keeping it off the ground. Svitich said that during storms or at high tide, waters still reach beneath her home.
Should storms come through now, it’s a gamble whether sand dunes between the homes and the road will wash out. In the case of some extreme storms, Svitich said residents will evacuate the beach.
She doesn’t live in the house full-time, and will split time between Big Stone Beach and Felton. But despite the risks, Svitich said she enjoys living in the small community.
Who controls permitting?
For homes seaward of the line, getting permits to build is arduous. First, a development has to get approval from DNREC and meet requirements like not exceeding the average square footage of other homes on the lot or encroaching on the build line further than average of other properties in the area.
Big Stone Beach and other low-tide communities in Delaware, have parcels that were subdivided before the establishment of the building line, allowing the property owners to apply for seaward construction permits, according to a DNREC spokesman.
“DNREC can accept applications for construction seaward of the DNREC Building Line for parcels of real property that existed prior to the establishment of the building line,” spokesman Michael Globetti said. “An application would then be reviewed by the DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship for compliance with the regulations and would go through the public permitting process.”
Should it get approval from the state, building permits from the county would be next. In the case of Big Stone Beach, homes seaward of the line need to meet Kent County requirements for homes within a floodplain.
Both DNREC and Kent County approved a new home in 2024, next to Svitich’s home. The home isn’t as close to the shore as Svitich’s, but it is propped up further with deeper piles.
The post How these Delaware homes got so close to the tide appeared first on Spotlight Delaware.