Civic guide · Checked October 21, 2026
Town Council meeting record for Bethel, Sussex County, DE.
Indexing approved by the owner on 2026-10-22
The canonical public.municipality ID remains pending.
Latest meeting
recording only
Minutes status: unknown.
Governing body: Town Council.
Latest evidence is a Zoom recording dated 9/1/26 listed on the official recordings page. Any October meeting is UNCONFIRMED. Held minutes text only to 2019/2022.
Checked October 21, 2026 · Meeting source
Checked October 21, 2026 · Governing body source
Minutes on file
Meeting date: unknown.
Minutes status: unknown.
Checked October 21, 2026 · Minutes source
Next meeting
Checked October 21, 2026 · Next meeting source
Recent actions
No current minutes text held (held Bethel minutes end 2019/Feb 2022); none quoted.
Checked October 21, 2026 · Public source link: not yet available
Sourced answers
Each answer cites the official government record it came from. Answers that relied on encyclopedias, tourism sites or commercial news were left out.
Bethel is an incorporated municipality, not a census-designated place. The U.S. Census Bureau lists it as Bethel town, Delaware, and Sussex County lists it among its cities and towns.
Checked October 24, 2026 · data.census.gov — Bethel_town,_Delaware · sussexcountyde.gov — cities-and-towns
The 2020 Census counted 239 residents in Bethel (U.S. Census Bureau).
Checked October 24, 2026 · data.census.gov — Bethel_town,_Delaware
Sussex County issues building permits countywide, including inside municipalities, per the county building permits page. Check with the town as well for any town requirements.
Checked October 24, 2026 · sussexcountyde.gov — building-permits-and-licenses · bethel.delaware.gov
Bethel was incorporated in 1907 as the Commissioners of the Town of Bethel, and it was re-incorporated as the Town of Bethel in 1947 and again in 1978. The community was earlier called Lewisville.
Checked October 24, 2026 · archives.delaware.gov — town-of-bethel
The Bethel Farmers Market meets on the first and third Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon, May 2 to September 19 in 2026.
Checked October 24, 2026 · agriculture.delaware.gov — farmers-markets
The town's 2025 calendar listed a town-wide yard sale in April. No festivals or parades were listed.
Checked October 24, 2026 · bethel.delaware.gov
Council meets on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m.; the town calendar lists May 6, June 3 and July 1, 2025 at 7:00 PM, and a February 3, 2026 agenda.
Checked October 24, 2026 · bethel.delaware.gov · bethel.delaware.gov — 2-3-26BTCA.docx
Council agendas carry standing items for building permits and an Ordinance Committee. The February 3, 2026 agenda included repealing Ordinances 12, 13 and 14 of the Town Code. The town site does not state a separate planning commission.
Checked October 24, 2026 · bethel.delaware.gov — 2-3-26BTCA.docx
The February 3, 2026 agenda included a dock update, an item on the Hopkins House, and the Ordinance Committee proposal to repeal three town ordinances.
Checked October 24, 2026 · bethel.delaware.gov — 2-3-26BTCA.docx
Part of Bethel may sit in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, and the answer depends on the address, so we do not give a town-wide yes or no. The USGS elevation at the town's Census center point is about 23 feet. Look up a specific property in the FEMA Flood Map Service Center and the DNREC Delaware Flood Planning Tool.
Checked October 24, 2026 · msc.fema.gov — home · floodplanning.dnrec.delaware.gov · epqs.nationalmap.gov — json
Delaware labels hurricane evacuation zones A, B, C and D, and describes them as low-lying areas susceptible to flooding and storm surge. The state page does not list communities by zone, so we cannot say which zone Bethel or a given address falls in. Use the Know Your Zone lookup tool or interactive map to check an address.
Checked October 24, 2026 · preparede.org — know-your-zone · dema.delaware.gov
Bethel is on Broad Creek. The Delaware Public Archives describes the town as a 19th-century trading and shipbuilding community along Broad Creek.
Checked October 24, 2026 · archives.delaware.gov — town-of-bethel
The 2020 Census Gazetteer lists Bethel at 0.44 square miles of land and 0 square miles of water. Elevation at the Census center point is about 23 feet above sea level (USGS 3DEP), and ground height varies across town.
Checked October 24, 2026 · www2.census.gov — 2020_gaz_place_10.txt · epqs.nationalmap.gov — json
The National Weather Service (Mount Holly office) places Bethel in forecast zone DEZ003, Inland Sussex, Delaware. This was read from the NWS point forecast page for the town's Census center point.
Checked October 24, 2026 · forecast.weather.gov — MapClick.php
Bethel uses ZIP code 19931.
Checked October 24, 2026 · bethel.delaware.gov — town-charter
Trap Pond State Park is in Laurel, in western Sussex County. It has a campground of more than 142 sites, canoe, kayak and pedalboat rentals, the Baldcypress Nature Center, and the northernmost naturally occurring stand of baldcypress in the U.S.
Checked October 24, 2026 · www.destateparks.com — trap-pond
Land use
Counts of Sussex County planning, zoning and Board of Adjustment docket items from January 2025 through the October 24, 2026 data date whose county record lists the area as Bethel. The area is a place name in the county record, not proof the land is inside town limits. Counts of 1 to 4 are shown as fewer than 5. No case numbers or applicant names are shown.
No items in the compiled county docket record list the area Bethel.
Official record: Sussex County public docket · Data: SussexCounty.ai planning docket statistics (CC BY 4.0) · How to read the docket
SussexCounty.ai is a data product of The Conscient Group LLC, the Ledger's parent company.
Data
Data: SussexCounty.ai town page · Parcels by jurisdiction (SussexCounty.ai)
SussexCounty.ai is a data product of The Conscient Group LLC, the Ledger's parent company.
Limits of this check
The live listing was blocked on this check.
Checked October 21, 2026 · Public source link: not yet available
Audit trail
Each fact above names the record it came from and the date that record was checked. Checked October 21, 2026.