Township of Nether Providence, PA Article VIII Design Standards for Mobile Home Parks

§ 289-34 General considerations.

A. All mobile home parks, where permitted, shall conform to the following standards as well as other applicable standards in the Subdivision Regulations.

B. The site for such a use shall be no less than five gross acres and shall have no less than 50% of the proposed mobile home spaces available at first occupancy.

C. All mobile home parks shall be planned as a unit, and the site shall be in single ownership or under unified control. The lot and lot lines mentioned hereinafter in regard to mobile homes do not imply individual ownership of property.

D. All mobile home parks shall be laid out with due consideration to slopes and other natural features. Natural drainageways will in no way be impaired by development. Streets will run, where possible, with the contours of the land. Efforts will be made to lay out the park in other than grid patterns so that long sight distances may be avoided.

E. Access to mobile home parks shall be designed to minimize congestion and hazards at the entrance and exit and to allow free movement of traffic on adjacent public roads. At least two points of egress shall be provided to each mobile home park. Where existing roads permit, these points of egress will be no closer to each other than 100 feet.

F. In computing the maximum number of mobile home lots that may be created, any lands located within a floodplain area subject to periodic flooding or a seasonal high water table, occupied by public utility easements, having a slope in excess of 15% or having, in the judgment of the Township Commissioners, other physical features which severely limit development possibility shall not be counted as part of the total gross area.

§ 289-35 Lot and pad design.

A. All lots within the mobile home park shall be clearly laid out in conformance with the standards set out herein:

(1) Each lot shall contain at least 7,000 square feet.

(2) The minimum lot width at the building setback line shall be 70 feet.

(3) A minimum aggregate of two side yards of 35 feet shall be required, but in no case shall either side yard be less than 15 feet. For purposes of figuring side yards, expandable sections of mobile homes or enclosed patios are regarded as portions of the mobile home, and the side yard and setback is to be figured from the furthermost point of such extensions.

(4) A minimum front yard of 25 feet from the pavement line is required.

(5) A minimum rear yard of 25 feet from rear lot lines is required.

B. Each lot will be provided with a concrete pad wide enough to accommodate the mobile home. All blocking needed for the individual mobile home shall be located on the pad.

C. A concrete or flagstone patio shall be provided adjacent to the mobile home pad on each lot. The minimum dimensions of such a patio shall be eight feet by 20 feet, and each such patio shall contain an electrical outlet into which the electrical system of the mobile home can be connected. Awnings of a type that are wind- and hurricane-proof may be installed above the patio space.

D. Up to two paved parking spaces may be provided on the mobile home lot, and such parking spaces may be located in the front yard area.

E. In areas where wind is a hazard, hooks for tie-downs for the mobile home shall be placed in the concrete mobile home pad. Metal skirting shall be required for each mobile home. Storage beneath the mobile home is prohibited.

F. No accessory rooms or additions, except an expandable section of a mobile home or an enclosure of a patio, are permitted, except that an accessory shed of a size no larger than eight by ten (8 x 10) feet may be required by the mobile home park management as a place for storage of garbage cans, tools and lawn mowers.

§ 289-36 Street design and parking standards.

A. All mobile home parks shall be provided with safe and convenient paved and curbed driveways to and from each and every mobile home lot. Alignment and gradient shall be properly adapted to topography.

B. Street widths shall conform to the standards established herein, except that local and collector streets within the mobile home park will not be required to provide parking lanes where two or more off-street parking spaces per mobile home unit are provided.

C. Where off-street parking areas are provided in mobile home parks for the use of park occupants and guests, such areas shall be furnished at the rate of at least two vehicular parking spaces for each mobile home lot. Each off-street parking space shall contain at least 200 square feet, not including access and driveway areas.

D. Major concentrations of activity, such as open space, recreation areas, community rooms and laundry facilities, shall be connected to mobile homes by paved walkways no less than 48 inches in width. Such walkways should have a minimum of contact with roadways. Similar walkways shall also be constructed between mobile homes and roadways and/or parking lots.

§ 289-37 Natural features preservation.

A. The portions of the site not covered by mobile home pads, patios, walkways, parking spaces and accessory sheds shall be planted in a suitable ground cover. The park developer may be required to plant or preserve on the site at the time of construction one tree on each mobile home lot. Such a tree should be of a type and size agreed upon by the Township Engineers and should be located so as not to interfere with the placement of the home on its site or the free access by emergency equipment and utilities.

B. A minimum of 25% of the total site shall be used for open space. Up to one-half (1/2) of this requirement (12.5% of the total site) may be met in areas of floodplains, steep slopes, required setbacks, buffer areas or other undevelopable areas. The remaining one-half (1/2) (12.5% of the total site) must be developed in usable open space, exclusive of required buffers, and may include swimming facilities, community buildings, tot-lots and other recreational uses as needed. All open space shall be free of traffic hazards and located so as to be easily accessible to most residents of the park. It shall be maintained without extra charge by the park management.

C. All mobile homes shall be set back at least 50 feet, measured from the right-of-way line, from any street or highway and at least 30 feet from all other property lines. The areas so reserved as buffers may be used to meet total space requirements but may not be included when figuring individual mobile home lot sizes. A landscape buffer of 10 feet shall be located along all boundary lines of the mobile home park.

§ 289-38 Required services.

A. At least one public telephone or fire alarm box shall be provided for each mobile home park. Fire extinguishers on wheels shall also be provided and located so that no mobile home is more than 150 feet distant.

B. Provision shall be made by the park operator to have garbage and rubbish collected as frequently as necessary to ensure that receptacles shall not overflow. If collection from individual lots is not provided, at least one waste collection station shall be provided for every 20 mobile home lots. All stations shall be properly screened by a hedge or lattice fence and shall be located at least 200 feet from the nearest dwelling unit. Receptacles shall be tightly covered and shall be of adequate number to permit the disposal of all garbage and rubbish.

C. The park management shall be required to plow snow and otherwise maintain in a safe and usable condition all streets and common parking areas within the mobile home park.

D. Lighting of sufficient candlepower to adequately illuminate the roadways, driveways and waterways within the mobile home park shall be provided by the park owner between the hours of sunset and sunrise, but such lighting shall not be of an intensity as to impair traffic or create a nuisance in or near the site.

E. If outdoor drying is permitted, it shall be located in an area approved by the Township Commissioners. All outdoor drying facilities shall be screened to six feet above the ground. A laundry building, if provided, shall be a permanent structure complying with all applicable ordinances, regulations and codes.

F. Appropriate street direction signs, speed limit signs, street name signs and other informational signs shall be posted at each point of egress from the park, the cost of which shall be borne by the park owner.

G. Only one nonflashing, indirectly illuminated sign no greater in area than 24 square feet nor extending more than 10 feet above ground level is permitted. This sign and other structures, such as an office building, shall be located at least 20 feet from any property line or street right-of-way line.

§ 289-39 Records.

It shall be the duty of the management to maintain a register containing a record of all mobile homes and occupants located within the park. The record shall contain the name of each occupant. In addition, the management shall furnish to the Board of Commissioners and the appropriate fire company a numbered site map showing each mobile home and the date of arrival and departure of each mobile home.