The Mobile Home Code, as established by the Mobile Home Commission and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Rules under the authority of 1987 P.A. 96, as amended, regulates development of mobile home parks. All mobile home parks must be constructed according to the standards of the Code. In addition to the rules and standards of the State of Michigan, the City of Howell imposes the following conditions:
(a) Mobile home parks shall be constructed, licensed, operated, and managed in accordance with the provisions of the Mobile Home Commission Act, 1987 P.A. 96, as amendment, and subsequently adopted rules and regulations governing mobile home parks.
(b) Mobile home parks shall not be permitted on parcels less than ten (10) acres in size.
(c) Individual mobile home sites within a mobile home park shall have a minimum lot size of 5,500 square feet per mobile home being served. This 5,500 square foot minimum may be reduced by twenty (20) percent, provided that the individual site shall be equal to at least 4,400 square feet. For each square foot of land gained through this reduction of the site below 5,500 square feet, an equal amount of land shall be dedicated as open space. In no case shall the open space requirements be less than that required under R125.1946, Rule 946 of the Michigan Administrative Code.
(d) The on-site storage of boat trailers, boats, camping units, horse trailers and similar recreational equipment shall be prohibited on mobile home sites and in designated open space areas. The mobile home park may provide, within the confines of the park, a common outdoor storage area for the storage of the above mentioned equipment.
(e) The minimum setback for mobile home parks shall be fifty (50) feet from a public right-of-way. Mobile home parks shall be landscaped as follows:
(1) If the mobile home park abuts an existing residential development, the park shall be required to provide screening along the park boundary abutting the residential development.
(2) If the park abuts a non-residential development, the park need not provide screening.
(3) In all cases, however, a park shall provide screening along the park boundary abutting a public right-of-way.
(f) The landscaping shall consist of evergreen trees or shrubs of minimum three (3) feet in height that is spaced so they provide a continuous screen at maturity. Alternative screening devices may be utilized if they conceal the mobile home park as effectively as the required landscaping described above.
(g) Mobile home parks shall be subject to preliminary plan review requirements in accordance with 1987 P.A. 96, as amended.
(h) A permit shall not be required for the construction or erection of canopies or awnings that are open on three (3) sides. A building permit shall be required, however, before the construction of erection of any screened, glassed-in, or otherwise enclosed awning or canopy.