Borough of Dalton, PA Mobile Home Parks

Floodplain. A mobile home park shall not be located within a one-hundred-year floodplain area as defined by the Federal Flood Insurance Program.

Nuisances. The site of any proposed mobile home park shall be free from adverse influence by swamps, marshes, garbage or rubbish disposal areas or other potential breeding places for insects or rodents, and shall not be subject to any hazard or nuisance, such as excessive noise, vibration, smoke, toxic matter, radiation, heat, odor or glare.

Slopes. Mobile home sites shall not be located where the average natural slope of the area of the site intended for development exceeds 12%.

Mobile home sites. Each mobile home lot shall be improved to provide a permanent foundation for the placement and tie-down 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 with a foundation of poured concrete, block construction or a concrete slab.

Stability. 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.

Anchors. The mobile home site shall be provided with anchors and tie-downs, 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. Anchors and tie-downs shall be placed at least at each corner of the mobile home, and each shall be able to sustain a minimum tensile strength of 2,800 pounds.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

Skirting. All mobile homes shall be enclosed from the bottom of the mobile home to the ground or paving using industry-approved fire-resistant skirting material.

Soil and ground cover. All areas of a mobile home park disturbed during the development process and not covered by improvements shall be stabilized and protected with such vegetative growth as necessary to prevent soil erosion and the emanation of dust during dry weather. Such vegetation shall be maintained by the park owner in such condition as to provide continued soil protection. The requirements of § 300-43 of this chapter shall apply to all mobile home parks.

Stormwater/drainage. Mobile home parks shall be designed to ensure that all surface water is drained in a safe and efficient manner away from mobile home sites. The requirements of § 300-42 of this chapter shall apply to all mobile home parks.

Setbacks, buffer strips and screening.

Overall property line setbacks. All mobile homes shall be located not less than 75 feet from any existing public road right-of-way and not less than 50 feet from other park property lines.

Interior setbacks. All mobile homes shall be located not less than 25 feet from the right-of-way of any park street, common parking area or other common area or structure; 15 feet from any side or rear lot line; and 50 feet from the normal high-water mark of any lake, stream or other body of water.

Accessory structures. Accessory structures, including tool sheds, trash receptacles, patios, porches, garages and bike racks, may be erected within required setback areas, provided that no part of any accessory structure shall be located less than 10 feet from any side lot line and front and rear setbacks are maintained as required for the mobile home.

(4)

Buffers and screening. All mobile home parks shall be required to provide screening such as fences or plant materials along the property boundary line separating the park and any adjacent use. Plantings shall provide an effective screen to a height of five feet at the time of planting and an effective screen to a height of eight feet within five years. These buffer strips shall be properly maintained at all times.

Streets, parking and access.

Streets. Mobile home park streets shall be provided, designed and constructed in accord with § 300-40 and other applicable standards of this chapter. The Borough shall not accept any mobile home park street for dedication.

Parking. To provide for emergency vehicle access, parking shall not be permitted on roads or drives within the mobile home park, but shall be restricted to designated parking areas either at each mobile home site or at a common location. Off-street parking for two motor vehicles shall be provided at each mobile home lot and off-street common parking areas for additional vehicles of park occupants and guests shall be provided at a rate not less than one space per five mobile home lots. These spaces shall be improved to a grade not greater than 8% and shall be paved with a minimum six inches' depth of select material approved by the Borough Engineer.

Access. There shall generally be at least two points of ingress and/or egress in each 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.

(4)

Lot frontage. Mobile home sites and parking spaces shall have direct access to and frontage on the interior park street system. Mobile home sites and parking spaces shall not front or have access directly to public roads or streets or to private roads or streets passing through the mobile home park and providing access to other parcels or developments.

(5)

Illumination. All mobile home parks shall be furnished with lighting units so spaced and equipped with luminaries placed at such mounting heights as will provide adequate levels of illumination for the safe movement of pedestrians and vehicles at night.

Utilities.

Water supply and sewage disposal. Mobile home parks shall be served by a central water supply and a central sewage disposal system as required by § 300-44 of this chapter, and connections shall be made to each mobile home lot and any other wastewater-producing facilities in the mobile home park. No well or sewage disposal system shall be located on an individual mobile home lot.

Electric, telephone and cable TV. All mobile home lots in proposed mobile home parks shall be provided with underground electric, telephone and TV cable (if available) service. These service systems shall be installed and maintained in accordance with local service company specifications regulating such systems.

Central fuel system. Any central fuel supply systems and/or central fuel storage facilities shall be installed in accord with generally accepted design and construction practice and in accord with all applicable state and federal regulations.

Refuse disposal. The storage, collection and disposal of refuse in the mobile home park shall be so managed as to create no health hazards or air pollution. All refuse shall be stored in flytight, watertight, rodentproof containers, which shall be located not more than 150 feet away from any mobile home space. Containers shall be provided in sufficient number and capacity to properly store all refuse as required by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Rubbish shall be collected and disposed of at a facility approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as frequently as may be necessary to ensure that the containers shall not overflow.

Recreation area. A common recreational area of land, consisting of not less than 10% of the total area of the park, shall be maintained within the park for the common use of park residents only. This area shall generally be suitable for active recreation and shall be of suitable configuration, with less than ten-percent slope and free of hazards, to permit recreational use. Fifty percent of this area shall be designed, equipped and properly maintained for active recreational use in the mobile home park. Plans for development of the recreational area and facilities shall be submitted by the applicant for approval by the Planning Commission.

§ 300-58 Nonresidential uses.

No part of any park shall be used for nonresidential purposes, except such uses that are required for the direct servicing and well-being of park residents and for the management and maintenance of the park.

§ 300-59 Individual mobile homes.

The installation of individual mobile homes not located in a mobile home park shall not require a mobile home park permit. However, a building permit shall be required for the installation of such homes, in accord with applicable Borough ordinances and regulations. Individual mobile homes shall comply with all other applicable Borough ordinances and regulations that govern single-family homes.

§ 300-60 Administration.

Permits and license.

Initial permit. No mobile home park shall be constructed, opened, altered or expanded without the approval of the Borough pursuant to the procedures and standards of this chapter.

License. In addition to the initial approval, an annual license shall be required for all mobile home parks. Upon approval of the entire final plan and payment of the required fees, the Planning Commission shall issue a mobile home park license to the owner which shall be valid for a period of one year thereafter. Fees for the annual license shall be established by resolution of the Planning Commission.

Posting of license. There shall be a building at every mobile home park in which the office of the person in charge of the park is located. It shall be the responsibility of the permittee to maintain in such office a copy of the license for the park, the mobile home park register, and one set of the plans for the park, all of which shall be on display to the public.

(4)

Renewal of license. A mobile home park license shall be valid for a one-year period and may be renewed on an annual basis following an inspection by the Planning Commission or its designee to determine continued compliance with this chapter and any conditions of approval.

(5)

Revocation of license. Any mobile home park license is subject to revocation for the violation of any provision of this chapter, any condition of license approval, any other ordinance of the Borough, or of any laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. If the Borough determines a violation exists, the Borough shall notify the license holder of said violation, and the license holder shall thereafter correct the said violation as directed by the Planning Commission. If the license holder fails to correct the violation as required by the Borough, the Borough shall take action in accord with the enforcement provisions of this chapter.

Responsibilities of license holder. It is the duty of the license holder and of the individual in charge of any mobile home park to:

Keep a register of the names and addresses of all occupants, which shall be open at all times to inspection by officers of the Borough.

Maintain the mobile home park in a clean, orderly and sanitary condition at all times.

See that the provisions of this chapter are complied with and report promptly to the proper authorities any violations of this chapter or of any other law that may come to their attention.

Compliance of existing mobile home park.

Application. The regulations of this chapter shall apply to all extensions or enlargements of existing mobile home parks, including cases where the number of mobile home lots is increased even though the total land of the park is not increased. These regulations shall apply in addition to any state requirements.

Location. All new and replacement homes shall at a minimum comply with § 300-57B and E.