(A) A mobile home park constructed prior to the effective date of this chapter but not licensed by the city shall not require a construction permit. A written application for an original license shall be submitted to the city, and shall include all of the necessary information on the application except for the actual construction information.
(B) Any person seeking to establish, maintain, conduct, or operate a mobile home park after the effective date of this chapter shall first obtain a license from the City Clerk. All plans shall be submitted to the City Clerk for approval prior to the granting of a license.
(C) A license does not relieve the applicant from complying with this chapter or any other applicable ordinance or code provision.
(D) Upon completion of the proposed construction of a mobile home park or a proposed alteration of an existing mobile home park, the applicant shall notify the City Clerk in order that an inspection of the complete facilities can be made. Notification to the City Clerk shall be in writing and addressed to the Clerk’s office at City Hall. Inspection shall be made by persons designated by the Mayor.
(E) The City Clerk shall review each application and all plan documents submitted. When the application and plan documents are found to be in compliance with this chapter and the Rules and Regulations for Mobile Home Parks, as promulgated by the State Department of Public Health, the City Clerk may issue a license to conduct or operate a mobile home park to the applicant. The City Clerk shall not issue a license until the Council shall have issued a certificate of occupancy certifying compliance with the provisions of this chapter. Licenses shall be nontransferable and shall expire on the May 1 subsequent to the date of issuance of the license.
(F) Any license granted hereunder shall be subject to revocation or suspension by the City Council. However, the City Council shall first serve or cause to be served upon the licensee a written notice in which shall be specified the way or ways in which the licensee has failed to comply with the statutes or this chapter, or any rules or regulations promulgated by the state or city pertaining thereto. The notice shall require the licensee to remove or abate the nuisances, or unsanitary or objectionable conditions, specified in the notice, within 5 days or within a longer period of time as may be allowed by the City Council. If the licensee fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the notice within the time specified or the extended period of time, the City Council may revoke or suspend the license. Service may be had either by personal service or by mail to the licensee or agent named in and to the address listed in the most recent annual license application.
(G) In order to obtain a license to construct or alter, or an original license to operate a mobile home park, the applicant shall file with the City Clerk a written application and plan documents. Two copies of the plan document shall accompany the application filed with the city to obtain a license to construct or alter a mobile home park or an original license to operate a mobile home park not previously licensed by the city. These plans shall include, but not be limited to, the design and construction criteria set forth herein.
(H) The application shall be completed by the applicant or an engineer or architect and shall include:
(1) The full name and address of the applicant or applicants, or names and addresses of the partners if the applicant is a partnership, or the names and addresses of the officers if the applicant is a corporation, and the present or last occupation of the applicant at the time of the filing of the application. If the applicant is a corporation, the name and address of the corporation’s registered agent shall be provided;
(2) The address, location, and legal description of the tract of land upon which it is proposed to construct, operate, and maintain a mobile home park;
(3) The name of the mobile home park;
(4) Detailed plans and specifications which include a general plot plan of the mobile home park with all sites and structures shown, building plans and specifications for existing buildings and facilities, and the plans and specifications for new buildings and facilities or the proposed alterations in existing facilities, the water supply system, the sewage disposal system, the electrical system, the fuel supply system, the lighting system, the method of disposal of solid waste, all streets and sidewalks, swimming and bathing facilities, fire hydrants, and details of all auxiliary structures;
(5) An affidavit of the applicant as to the truth of the matters contained in the application shall be attached; and
(6) A nonrefundable application fee of $200 for a license to construct or a nonrefundable application fee of $50 for a license to alter or to change the size of the park.
(I) Sites selected for mobile home development shall be well drained and free from topographical or geological hindrances and from other conditions unfavorable to a proper residential environment. The mobile home development shall not be located near swamps, marshes, or other breeding places of insects, rats, and mice. When good, natural drainage is not available, storm drainage shall be provided, and this drainage shall not endanger any water supply or surface watercourse.
(J) All streets in mobile parks with fewer than 50 units shall have a minimum road width of 28 feet. If a mobile home park has more than 50 units, then a 40-foot road width shall be required. When sidewalks and walkways are constructed abutting a street in a mobile home park, they shall be a minimum of 4 feet in width; provided, however, there shall be no minimum width requirement for sidewalks for each individual site. No portion of a mobile home shall block, in any way, the pedestrian traffic on the walkways.
(K) Size, area, width, and yard requirements include the following:
(1) Minimum area. Each mobile home site rented or used in a mobile home park shall contain a contiguous area of at least 3,000 square feet per mobile home;
(2) Front yard. The minimum distance between the mobile home and the pavement edge of the street serving the mobile home site shall be 15 feet;
(3) Side yard. The minimum distance between mobile homes shall be 20 feet, excluding hitches and steps. Bay windows or other projections of a mobile home shall be considered the outer wall of a mobile home when considering the side and rear requirements;
(4) Rear yard. There shall be a rear yard provided for each mobile home, of at least 10 feet. The rear yard is the yard farthest from the street; and
(5) Mobile home stand. A mobile home stand shall be provided for each mobile home site, of sufficient size to accommodate the mobile home to be located thereon. A mobile home stand shall be solid, continuous concrete slab constructed so as not to shift or settle unevenly under the weight of the mobile home or other forces due to frost, vibration, wind, or water. The mobile home shall be secured to the ground with an approved tie-down or anchoring device, as required by state statutes.
(L) Miscellaneous restrictions include:
(1) Not more than 1 mobile home shall be parked in 1 space;
(2) No travel trailer or camper shall be permitted in any mobile home park, except for periods of 6 months or less during any calendar year;
(3) All mobile home spaces shall be located in a licensed mobile home park except those mobile homes totally in place on the effective date of this chapter or replaced pursuant to § 157.03 of this code;
(4) All mobile home spaces shall have individual utilities; and
(5) Each mobile home lot shall be required to provide 2 off-street parking spaces.
(M) The annual license fee per mobile home park shall be $25, and shall be due and payable on or before May 1 of each year. The annual license fee shall be nonrefundable.
(1969 Code, § 15.5-6) (Ord. 1994-12, passed 4-11-1994) Penalty, see § 157.99