ARTICLE 070.080
Mobile Homes and
070.080.010 Applicability
070.080.020 Definitions
070.080.030 Requirements for Design and Operation of a Mobile Home Park
070.080.040 Inspection of Mobile Home Parks
070.080.050 Notice to Correct Defects
070.080.060 Right to Hearing
070.080.070 Notices, Hearing and Orders
070.080.080 Authority to Promulgate Regulations
(a) No mobile home shall be occupied or otherwise used for dwelling, cooking or sleeping purposes within the City except while located in a mobile home park constructed and used in accordance with provisions of this Article. No person shall own, operate, create or occupy a mobile home park unless it is approved as required by this Article.
(b) No mobile home shall be maintained upon any private property in the City when the same is used for living purposes except in compliance with the provisions of this Article, nor shall any mobile home be stored in any front or side yard.
(c) Establishment of a mobile home park shall require a development permit as provided in Article 070.020. Any mobile home park in existence and use on the effective date of this Article may continue to operate and shall be considered a nonconforming use. If any such mobile home park is enlarged in area or by addition of one (1) or more mobile home spaces, such mobile home park shall require a development permit.
For the purpose of this Article, certain terms are defined as follows unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning was intended by the City Council:
Access road means that area privately owned and maintained and set aside within a mobile home park for an interior road system providing principal means of ingress to individual mobile home spaces and egress to streets.
Dependent mobile home means a mobile home that has no toilet, bathtub or shower facilities.
Independent mobile home means a mobile home that has a toilet and a bathtub or shower.
Mobile home space means a plot of ground within a mobile home park designated for the accommodation of one (1) mobile home.
Patio means a paved area adjacent to the mobile home parking space and accessible from the main entrance to the parked mobile home.
070.080.030 Requirements for Design and Operation of a Mobile Home Park.
(a) Size of mobile home park. The area of a mobile home park shall be large enough to accommodate:
(l) The designated number of mobile home spaces;
(2) Necessary streets and roadways; and
(3) Parking areas for motor vehicles.
(b) Size and placement of mobile home spaces. Each mobile home space shall meet the following minimum requirements:
(1) Each independent mobile home space shall contain a minimum area of two thousand five hundred (2,500) square feet and shall be at least forty (40) feet wide.
(2) Each dependent mobile home space shall contain a minimum area of one thousand (1,000) square feet and shall be at least twenty-five (25) feet wide.
(3) Where angular or modular spaces are provided in a mobile home park, each such space shall contain a minimum area of three thousand (3,000) square feet and shall be at least forty-five (45) feet wide.
(4) Every mobile home space shall abut on a driveway or other access with unobstructed access to a street.
(5) Every mobile home shall be placed upon a space in the mobile home park so that:
a. It is completely within the mobile home space;
b. There is a minimum of fifteen (15) feet between mobile homes;
c. It is not located within ten (10) feet of an exterior boundary of the mobile home park;
d. It is not located within twenty-five (25) feet of a street or highway;
e. It does not obstruct any roadway or walkway or easement in the mobile home park;
f. It is not located within five (5) feet from any roadway in the mobile home park; and
g. No independent mobile home is located on a dependent mobile home space.
(c) Access. Access roads within the mobile home park shall be provided for each mobile home space. Each access road shall provide for continuous forward movement, shall connect with a street or highway and shall have a minimum width of twenty-five (25) feet when mobile home spaces are on one (1) side only. When mobile home spaces are on both sides of the access road, it shall have a minimum width of forty (40) feet.
(d) Parking. Off-street parking shall be provided in accordance with Article 070.050.
(e) Drainage. Every mobile home park shall be located on a well-drained site and shall be so located that its drainage will not endanger any water supply. All mobile home parks shall be free from marshes, swamps or other potential breeding places for insects or rodents.
(f) Water supply.
(1) All mobile home parks shall be connected to the City's water distribution system.
(2) Where drinking fountains are provided for public use, they shall be of a type and in locations approved by the Building Official.
(3) Individual water service connections which are provided for use by mobile homes shall be so constructed that they will not be damaged by the placement and removal of such mobile homes.
(4) The mobile home park water system shall be adequate to provide twenty (20) pounds per square inch of pressure at all mobile home connections.
(g) Plumbing.
(1) All plumbing in the mobile home park, including that in individual mobile homes, shall comply with state and City plumbing laws and regulations.
(2) Each independent mobile home space shall be provided with at least a three-inch wastewater connection. The wastewater connection shall be provided with a suitable fitting so that a watertight connection can be made between the mobile home drain and the wastewater connection. Such individual mobile home wastewater connections shall be so constructed that they can be closed when not linked to a mobile home and shall be capped so as to prevent any escape of odors.
(3) Wastewater lines within the mobile home park shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the City Engineer and in accordance with the recommendations of the City Engineer. All wastewater lines shall be adequately vented and shall be laid with sufficient earth cover to prevent breakage from traffic and weather.
(4) All wastewater lines of the mobile home park shall be connected to the City wastewater system.
(h) Refuse.
(1) Refuse in the mobile home park shall be managed so as to create no health hazard, rodent harborage, insect breeding areas, accident or fire hazards or air pollution.
(2) Racks or holders shall be provided for all refuse containers at such places as the City may require. Such container racks or holders shall be designed so as to prevent containers from being tipped, to ease emptying, to minimize spillage, to minimize container deterioration and to facilitate cleaning around them.
(3) All refuse shall be stored, collected and disposed of as prescribed by Title 100.
(i) Insect and rodent control. Insect and rodent control measures, as required by the City to safeguard public health, shall be applied in the mobile home park. Effective larvicidal solutions may be required by the City for fly or mosquito breeding areas. The Health Officer may require the mobile home park owner or operator to take suitable measures to control other insects or obnoxious weeds. Accumulations of debris which may provide harborage for rodents shall not be permitted in the mobile home park.
(j) Electricity, exterior lighting. All electrical installations and power requirements in the mobile home park, including those in the individual mobile homes, shall comply with state and City electrical codes, laws and regulations. Public streets, driveways and walkways in the mobile home park shall be lighted at night with a minimum illumination of at least 0.01 foot-candle.
(k) Fuel regulations. All piping to mobile homes from outside fuel storage tanks or cylinders shall be copper or other acceptable metallic tubing and shall be permanently installed and securely fastened in place. All fuel storage or cylinders shall be securely fastened in place and shall not be located inside or beneath the mobile home or within five (5) feet of any mobile home exit. All installations for the provision of any and all fuel to the mobile home park, including each mobile home space, shall comply with state and City laws and regulations.
(l) Fire protection. Mobile home parks shall be kept free of litter, rubbish and other flammable materials. Portable fire extinguishers of a type approved by the Fire Chief shall be kept in a service building and at all other locations designated by the Fire Chief, and shall be maintained in good operating condition. Fire hydrants shall be located at such places as the City may require. Where the water system within the mobile home park does not provide at least a six-inch water main, there shall be provided a two-inch frost protection water riser within three hundred (300) feet of each mobile home or building. (A 26-99 §2)
(m) Clothes drying. Outside drying spaces or other clothes drying facilities shall be provided.
(n) Supervision of park. The person, or his/her authorized attorney or agent to whom approval for a mobile home park is issued shall operate the park at all times in compliance with this Article and the regulations issued thereunder and shall provide adequate supervision to maintain the park, its facilities and its equipment in good repair and in a clean and sanitary condition at all times.
(o) Additional requirements for mobile home parks which include dependent mobile homes.
(1) Service buildings. Each mobile home park accommodating dependent mobile homes shall be provided with at least one (1) service building adequately equipped with flush-type toilet fixtures and the sanitary facilities as required by this Article. No service building shall contain less than one (1) toilet for females, one (1) toilet for males, one (1) lavatory and shower or bathtub for each sex and one (1) laundry tray. Dependent mobile home spaces shall be not more than two hundred (200) feet from a service building. All sanitary facilities required by this Subsection shall be located in a service building. In addition, all service buildings shall:
a. Be located fifteen (15) feet or more from any mobile home space.
b. Be of permanent construction and be adequately lighted as required by state and City laws and regulations.
c. Be of moisture-resistant material to permit frequent washing and cleaning.
d. Be provided with adequate heating facilities to maintain a temperature of sixty-five (65) degrees Fahrenheit during cold weather and to supply adequate hot water during time of peak demands.
e. Have all rooms well ventilated with all openings effectively screened.
f. Provide separate compartments for each bathtub or shower and water closet and a sound-resistant wall to separate men's and women's toilet facilities.
(2) Sanitary facilities. Minimum sanitary requirements for a mobile home park with dependent mobile homes shall be:
a. For a mobile home park with not more than ten (10) dependent mobile homes:
1. One (1) laundry tray;
2. Two (2) water closets, one (1) lavatory and one (1) shower or bathtub for females;
3. One (1) water closet, one (1) urinal, one (1) lavatory and one (1) shower or bathtub for males; and
4. One (1) slop water closet, consisting of at least one (1) flush type toilet bowl receptacle for emptying containers of human excreta and an adequate supply of hot and cold water for cleansing such containers.
b. For a mobile home park with more than ten (10) dependent mobile homes, the following additional fixtures shall be provided for each additional ten (10) dependent mobile homes or fraction thereof, except as provided in Subparagraph 3 of this Subparagraph:
1. One (1) lavatory and one (1) shower or bathtub for each sex;
2. One (1) water closet for females; and
3. One (1) water closet for males for every fifteen (15) dependent mobile homes or fraction thereof, provided that urinals may be substituted for not more than one-third (⅓) of the water closets required under this Subparagraph.
(3) Laundry facilities. Laundry facilities shall be provided in the ratio of one (1) laundry unit to every thirty (30) dependent mobile home spaces or fraction thereof and shall be in a separate soundproof room of a service building or in a separate building. A laundry unit shall consist of not less than one (1) laundry tray and one (1) clothes washing machine.
(A 26-99 §2)
070.080.040 Inspection of mobile home parks.
(a) The Building Official or Health Officer is hereby authorized and directed to make inspections to determine the condition of mobile home parks located within the City in order that he/she may perform his/her duty of safeguarding the health and safety of occupants of mobile home parks and of the general public.
(b) These officials shall have the power to enter upon any private or public property at reasonable times for the purpose of inspection and investigating conditions relating to the enforcement of this Article or of regulations promulgated hereunder.
(c) These officials shall have the power to inspect the mobile home park register containing a record of all mobile homes and occupants using the mobile home park.
070.080.050 Notice to Correct Defects.
Whenever the Building Official or Health Officer finds that conditions or practices exist which are in violation of any provision of this Article or of any regulations adopted pursuant thereto, he/she shall give notice to the person to whom the mobile home park approval was issued that, unless such conditions or practices are corrected within thirty (30) days, the mobile home park approval will be suspended. Such notice shall be in writing in accordance with Section 070.080.070. At the end of such period, the Building Official or Health Officer shall re-inspect such mobile home park and, if such conditions or practices have not been corrected, he/she shall suspend the mobile home park approval and deliver notice in writing of such suspension to the person to whom the mobile home park designation is issued. Upon receipt of the notice of suspension, such person shall cease operation of such mobile home park except as provided in Section 070.080.070. In addition to the foregoing, if a mobile home is located within the City but not in a mobile home park, the Building Official shall issue a written notice to the owner or occupant of the mobile home directing that such mobile home be removed from the site or be brought into compliance with this Code within thirty (30) days.
Any person whose mobile home park approval has been suspended or who has been delivered a notice from the Building Official or Health Officer that his/her mobile home park approval will be suspended unless certain conditions or practices at the mobile home park are corrected, or who receives a notice which requires the removal of a mobile home from a site in the City, may request and shall be granted a hearing on the matter before the City Council pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 070.080.070. If no petition for such hearing has been filed within ten (10) days following the day on which the notice was served, such mobile home park approval shall be deemed to have been automatically revoked at the expiration of such ten-day period; and, if a person whose notice requires removal of a mobile home from a site within the City fails to petition for a hearing within said ten-day period, he/she will be deemed to have waived his/her right to a hearing and shall remove his/her mobile home immediately.
070.080.070 Notices, Hearing and Orders.
(a) Contents of notice. Whenever the Building Official or Health Officer gives notice of a violation of the provisions of this Article in accordance with Section 070.080.050, the following requirements must be met:
(1) Contents. Such notice shall:
a. Be in writing;
b. Include a statement of the reasons for its issuance;
c. Be served upon the owner or his/her agent and the occupant of the mobile home as the case may require; and
d. Contain an outline of remedial action which, if taken, will effect compliance with the provisions of this Article and with regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
(2) Service. Such notice or order shall be deemed to have been properly served upon such owner, agent or occupant when a copy thereof has been sent by registered or certified mail to his/her last known address or when he/she has been served with such notice personally; or, for an occupant, it is posted in a conspicuous place on the main entrance to the mobile home.
(b) Request for hearing. Any person affected by any notice which has been issued in connection with the enforcement of any provision of this Article may request a hearing within ten (10) days after the notice was served by filing a written petition in the office of the City Clerk requesting such hearing and setting forth a brief statement of the grounds therefor. The filing of the request for a hearing shall operate as a stay of the notice, the suspension of the operation of the mobile home park or the removal of the mobile home except in the case of an order issued under Subsection (e) below. Upon receipt of such petition, the City Clerk shall set a time for such hearing before the City Council at its next regular meeting and shall give the petitioner and the Building Official or Health Officer written notice thereof. At such hearing, the petitioner shall be given an opportunity to be heard and to prove why such notice should be modified or withdrawn.
(c) Continuance of hearing. Upon application of the petitioner, the City Council may postpone the date of the hearing for a reasonable time when, in its judgment, the petitioner has submitted good and sufficient reasons for such postponement.
(d) Findings of hearing. After such hearing, the City Council shall make findings as to compliance with or violations of the provisions of this Article and shall issue an order, in writing, sustaining, modifying or withdrawing the notice, which findings and order shall be served as provided in Paragraph (a)(2) above. Upon failure to comply with any order sustaining or modifying a notice, the approval of the mobile home park affected by the order shall be revoked. The proceedings at such hearing shall include the findings and order of the City Council. The proceedings need not be transcribed unless the petitioner so requests and pays for the transcript. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the City Council may seek relief therefrom in court as provided by the laws of the State.
(e) Emergency powers. Whenever the Building Official or Health Officer finds that an emergency exists which requires immediate action to protect the public health, the City Council may, without notice or hearing, issue an order reciting the existence of such an emergency and requiring that such action as it deems necessary to meet the emergency be taken, including the suspension of the mobile home park approval or the removal of a mobile home. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, such order shall be effective immediately. Any person to whom such an order is directed shall comply therewith. Upon petition to the City Council, he/she shall be afforded a hearing as soon as possible, and in any event within five (5) days. The provisions of Subsections (c) and (d) above shall be applicable to such hearing and the order issued thereafter.
070.080.080 Authority to Promulgate Regulations.
The City Council, on the recommendation of the Planning Commission, may from time to time promulgate regulations concerning mobile homes and mobile home parks.