Borough of Honesdale, PA Article IV Mobile Home Parks

§ 183-32 Design standards and other requirements.

A. Minimum park area. A mobile home park shall have a gross area of at least five contiguous acres of land under unified control.

B. Site location. Mobile home parks shall not be located in any area subject to any hazard or nuisance, such as excessive noise, vibration, smoke, toxic matter, radiation, heat, odor or glare; nor shall they be located on any soils classified by the Soil Conservation Service as having a seasonal high-water table within 24 inches of the surface or any slope of 15% or greater.

C. Site drainage requirement. The ground surface in all parts of every park shall be graded and equipped to drain all surface water in a safe, efficient manner. All stormwater facilities shall be designed as required in § 183-27 of this chapter. Stormwater management plans for achieving the objective shall be approved in a manner discussed in Chapter 177, Stormwater Management.

D. Soil and ground cover requirements. All exposed ground surfaces shall be protected with a vegetative growth that is capable of preventing soil erosion and the emanation of dust during dry weather. The owner shall, within a reasonable period of time, ensure that the above requirements have been satisfied.

E. Park areas for nonresidential uses.

(1) Mobile home parks shall be restricted to residential uses, except those uses that are required for the direct servicing and well-being of park residents and for the management and maintenance of the park.

(2) Nothing contained in this section shall be deemed as prohibiting the sale of a mobile home located on a mobile home lot and connected to utilities.

(3) In all parks designed to accommodate 10 or more mobile homes, there shall be one or more recreation areas that are easily accessible to all park residents. The size of such recreation areas shall not be less than 10% of the total area of the mobile home park. Recreation areas shall be located so as to be free of traffic hazards and should, where the topography permits, be centrally located.

F. Required setbacks, buffer strips and screening.

(1) All mobile homes shall be located at least 75 feet from the right-of-way line of any public street or highway and at least 50 feet from any other park property boundary lines.

(2) There shall be a minimum distance of 30 feet between an individual mobile home and the adjoining pavement of a park street, common parking area or other common areas and structures.

(3) All mobile home parks shall be required to provide screening, such as fencing or natural growth, along the property boundary line separating the park from adjacent uses. A planting or screening plan shall be approved by the Borough Council.

(4) Accessory structures, including toolsheds, trash receptacles, patios, porches, garages and bike racks, may be erected within required setback and buffer areas, provided that a fire lane of at least 10 feet in width is maintained, clear of all obstacles, on each side of each mobile home. No structures of any kind may be erected within 10 feet of the mobile home lot line.

G. Erection and placement of mobile homes.

(1) Mobile homes shall be separated from each other and from other buildings and structures by at least 30 feet.

(2) An enclosure shall be erected around the entire base of each mobile home. Enclosures shall be placed within six months of occupancy of the mobile home.

H. Park street system.

(1) A safe and convenient vehicular access shall be provided from abutting public streets or roads.

(2) The entrance road connecting the park with a public street or highway shall have a pavement width of no less than 22 feet and a right-of-way of no less than 50 feet, and no parking shall be allowed on either side of the street. All mobile home lots shall be served by the entrance road or internal streets connected thereto, and none shall be served directly from the public street or highway.

(3) Surfaced roadways shall be of adequate width to accommodate anticipated traffic. The minimum pavement width shall be 18 feet. Dead-end (cul-de-sac) streets shall be provided with a paved turnaround having an outside diameter of no less than 80 feet and shall not exceed 1,000 feet in length. All streets shall have a right-of-way of no less than 50 feet. Rumble strips or other pavement warnings may be required at intersections.

(4) All park streets shall adhere to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Guidelines for Design of Local Roads and Streets. For purposes of evaluation under these guidelines, park streets shall be considered local access urban highways.

(5) There shall generally be at least two points of ingress and/or egress in each mobile home park but no more than two accesses to a mobile home park from any one public right-of-way (emergency accesses excepted), and all driveways to individual units along a public right-of-way shall front on an interior access drive. Accesses shall be separated by at least 150 feet where they intersect with a public street.

I. Walks.

(1) General requirements. All parks containing 25 or more mobile homes shall be provided with safe, convenient, all-weather surfaced pedestrian walkways between individual mobile homes, park streets and all community facilities provided for park residents.

(2) Common walk system. A common walk system shall be provided and maintained between locations where pedestrian traffic is concentrated. Such common walks shall have a minimum width of 31/2 feet .

(3) Individual walks. All mobile home stands shall be connected to common walks, to paved streets or to paved driveways or parking spaces connecting to a paved street. Such individual walks shall have a minimum width of two feet.

J. Mobile home site. The area of the mobile home site shall be improved to provide a permanent foundation for the placement and tiedown of the mobile home, thereby securing the structure against uplift, sliding, rotation and overturning. Mobile homes shall not be considered placed on a permanent foundation unless wheels have been removed and the home is resting on concrete piers to the frost level, a foundation of poured concrete, block construction or a concrete slab.

(1) The mobile home site shall not heave, shift or settle unevenly under the weight of the mobile home, due to frost action, inadequate drainage, vibration or other forces acting on the superstructure.

(2) The mobile home site shall be provided with anchors and tiedowns, such as cast-in-place concrete deadmen, eyelets imbedded in concrete foundations or runways, screw augers, arrowhead anchors or other devices securing the stability of the mobile home.

(3) Anchors and tiedowns shall be placed at least at each corner of the mobile home site, and each shall be able to sustain a minimum tensile strength of 2,800 pounds.

K. Mobile home lots.

(1) Mobile home lots with an off-site water supply, and having an approved sewage treatment system whereby the sewage is treated away from the individual lot, shall have a minimum lot area of 5,000 square feet and shall not be less than 50 feet wide at the setback line. Density within the park as a whole shall not exceed seven mobile homes per acre.

(2) All square feet areas and density calculations shall be measured or taken exclusive of any rights-of-way. For the purpose of administration, "public rights-of-way" mean all easements or other rights-of-way that are open for free and easy use by other lot occupants and/or the general public. Recreation areas and lands unusable for mobile homes according to Subsection B shall also be excluded.

L. Water supply. An adequate off-site supply of water shall be provided for mobile homes, service buildings and other accessory facilities, as required by this chapter. The water supply shall be capable of supplying a minimum of 75 gallons of water per capita per day (GPCD) and/or 250 gallons per day (GPD) for each mobile home, and the water distribution system shall be designed and maintained so as to provide a pressure of not less than 35 pounds per square inch under normal operating conditions, at service buildings and other locations requiring potable water supply. Any other applicable requirements of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection with respect to water supply shall also be met.

M. Sewage disposal. An adequate and safe sewage system shall be provided in all parks, for conveying and disposing of sewage from mobile homes, service buildings and other accessory facilities. Such system shall be designed, constructed and maintained, in accordance with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection or local health regulations.

N. Required off-street parking. Off-street parking areas shall be provided in all mobile home parks for the use of park occupants and guests. No less than two vehicular parking spaces of at least 200 square feet each in size shall be provided for each mobile home lot. Common parking areas shall not be located further than 300 feet from the mobile home lots that they are intended to serve. Any common parking areas shall be all-weather surfaced.

O. Utilities.

(1) Electrical distribution. All mobile home parks shall have an underground electrical distribution system which shall be installed and maintained in accordance with the local electrical power company's specifications regulating such systems. All connections from the meter box to the mobile home shall be installed by a qualified electrician, and each mobile home shall have its own meter box.

(2) Natural gas system. Natural gas piping systems, when installed in mobile home parks, shall be maintained in conformity with accepted engineering practices. Each mobile home provided with piped gas shall have an approved shutoff valve installed upstream of the gas outlet. The outlet shall be equipped with an approved cap to prevent accidental discharges of gas when the outlet is not in use.

(3) Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) systems. Liquefied petroleum gas systems, when provided in mobile home parks, shall be provided with safety devices to relieve excessive pressures with discharges terminating at a safe location. Systems shall have at least one accessible means for shutting off gas located outside the mobile home, which shall be maintained in effective operating condition. All LPG piping outside of the mobile home shall be well supported and protected against mechanical injury. Undiluted liquefied petroleum gas in liquid form shall not be conveyed through piping equipment and systems in mobile homes. Vessels of more than 12 and less than 60 United States gallons gross capacity shall be secured to prevent accidental overturning. No LPG vessel shall be stored or located inside or beneath any storage cabinet, carport, mobile home or any other structure.

(4) Fuel oil supply systems. All fuel oil supply systems, when provided in mobile home parks, shall be installed and maintained in conformity with the following regulations:

(a) All piping from outside fuel storage tanks or cylinders to mobile homes shall be securely fastened in place.

(b) All fuel oil supply systems shall have shutoff valves located within five inches of storage tanks.

(c) All fuel storage tanks or cylinders shall be securely placed and shall not be located closer than five feet from any mobile home parking area or exit.

(d) Storage tanks located in areas subject to traffic shall be protected against physical damage.

P. Application to existing parks. Extensions or enlargements of existing mobile home parks by addition of land areas or increase in the number of available lots shall fully comply with the provisions of this article and applicable provisions of the Honesdale Borough Zoning Ordinance,[1] except to the extent which they would be notified by restrictive covenants approved by the borough for an existing contiguous portion of the park.

[1] Editor's Note: See Ch. 210, Zoning.

Q. Special conditions. There shall be provided in each mobile home park such other improvements as the Commission and the Borough Council may require whereby such requirements shall at times be in the best interests of the public's health, safety and general welfare and may include, but shall not be limited to, garbage and trash collection, adequate park lighting systems, fire hydrants and maintenance of all areas.