DelawareHB 450153rd General Assembly (2024–2026)HouseWALLET

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 9, TITLE 17, TITLE 22, AND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LAND USE.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

8 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 6 mixed.

More housing types in growth areas

Local governments must set a minimum residential density of at least 4 homes per acre in designated growth areas. These are comprehensive-plan areas marked investment level 1 or 2, or a successor designation. Local rules must allow townhomes, apartments, and stacked flats, with building-size and placement rules that reasonably permit them. Delaware’s housing authority can raise the minimum by regulation without further local approval. Local rules must also encourage fewer vehicle trips, more walking, and transit-friendly or mixed-use development consistent with transportation department guidance.

New transportation fees for developers

By January 1, 2027, Delaware’s transportation department must establish county-based fees for new development that creates new vehicle trips. Developers must pay before getting building permits; exceptions cover state housing authority financing and certain Capital Transportation Program projects requiring developer contributions. The public fee formula must tie charges to development impacts and each county’s share of costs to meet state transportation standards. The department must review the formula every five years, and fee increases cannot exceed consumer inflation (CPI-U) plus 2%. Revenue funds planning, design, engineering, construction, pedestrian and intersection upgrades, land rights, and administration; county collections stay in that county unless required local traffic-study or density rules are not adopted.

State expands road and traffic monitoring

Delaware’s transportation department must deploy, run, and maintain technology that automatically monitors, analyzes, and manages roads and traffic. It must continue operating the Delaware Public Crash Database. Systems can include road sensors, cameras, intelligent transportation systems, and artificial-intelligence tools. The department can also use continuous data collection, remote sensing, imaging, and computer analysis in engineering studies and traffic investigations. These tools support road-safety reviews, traffic operations, infrastructure planning, traffic studies, and fee administration.

Fee relief for qualifying housing developments

The transportation secretary must waive or lower transportation impact fees for residential projects financed partly or fully by Delaware’s housing authority. For developments with state-highway access that require traffic studies, required off-site improvements also earn fee credits. The improvement’s cost or value counts against the transportation impact fee. The law does not set a dollar amount for housing-project fee relief.

Developer surcharge funds conservation and paths

Developers owing transportation impact fees also pay a surcharge equal to 1% of the fee. The money supports farmland preservation, the Open Space Program, coastal restoration and resilience, and sidewalk-to-bicycle-pathway programs. The transportation department deposits the surcharge with the state budget office every quarter. The budget office distributes it at the Governor’s direction, in consultation with the specified officials.

Developers fund required road improvements

Developers remain responsible for site entrances, required auxiliary lanes, and entrance or frontage changes needed for safety. When traffic studies require further off-site work, developers pay the design, construction, land-rights, and study costs above their transportation impact fee. The department must acquire necessary land rights for site-access work and can acquire them for additional developer-funded improvements. Additional local improvements must be in state-approved development areas and cannot impair federal air-quality compliance. Rules must offer developer-led construction under department quality controls or department-managed work; eligible fee-paying applicants can also use a regular department project.

Local development reviews gain state oversight

Counties and towns must make transportation department agreements for traffic reviews of rezoning and access proposals. Agreements must use compatible traffic-service standards and consider existing traffic and expected growth. County reviews must also be able to identify new state costs or infrastructure needs that conflict with state spending strategies. Local governments must adopt required traffic-study and growth-area density rules by June 1, 2027. If they miss that deadline, the transportation department can implement those requirements and use collected fees for improvements it selects.

New traffic-study limits for development

State and local traffic-study thresholds must use peak-hour trips, not daily vehicle trips. The minimum threshold is 500 peak-hour trips for residential development. For other development, the minimum is 500 peak-hour trips, excluding trips from drivers already passing the site. Projects in legally defined Downtown Development Districts or Downtown Development Corridors are exempt from traffic impact studies. These rules cover local reviews and state-highway access proposals, including new access for existing land uses.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

William Bush
Democratic • House

Cosponsors

Stephanie L. Hansen
Democratic • Senate
Jeff Hilovsky
Republican • House
Kyra L. Hoffner
Democratic • Senate
Kendra Johnson
Democratic • House
Michael F. Smith
Republican • House
Eric Morrison
Democratic • House
DeShanna U Neal
Democratic • House
Edward S. Osienski
Democratic • House
Nicole Poore
Democratic • Senate
Claire Snyder-Hall
Democratic • House
John "Jack" Walsh
Democratic • Senate
Madinah Wilson-Anton
Democratic • House

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

Actions Timeline

HS 1 for HB 450 - Signed by Governor
7/13/2026Governor
HS 1 for HB 450 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
6/30/2026Senate
HS 1 for HB 450 - Reported Out of Committee (Finance) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits
6/25/2026Senate
HS 1 for HB 450 - Assigned to Finance Committee in Senate
6/24/2026Senate
HS 1 for HB 450 - Reported Out of Committee (Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 5 On Its Merits
6/24/2026Senate
HS 1 for HB 450 - Assigned to Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee in Senate
6/18/2026Senate
HS 1 for HB 450 - Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 1 NO 1 ABSENT
6/18/2026House
HS 1 for HB 450 - Reported Out of Committee (Appropriations) in House with 6 On Its Merits
6/16/2026House
HS 1 for HB 450 - Assigned to Appropriations Committee in House
6/10/2026House
Substituted in House by HS 1 for HB 450
6/10/2026House
Reported Out of Committee (Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce) in House with 3 Favorable, 5 On Its Merits
6/9/2026House
Introduced and Assigned to Economic Development/Banking/Insurance & Commerce Committee in House
5/21/2026House

Bill Text

Current
5/21/2026
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