Part 6
Mobile Home Parks and Campgrounds
§22-601 Mobile Home Parks.
The general requirements of this Chapter may be modified in the design and development of mobile home parks to the extent of and in accordance with the following minimum standards.
A. General Requirements.
(1) Mobile home parks may only be located in those zoning districts of the Township as specified in the district regulations of the Wolf Township Zoning Ordinance [Chapter 27], adopted March 13, 1995, or as may hereafter be amended.
(2) All mobile home park development plans shall be prepared in accordance with the plan requirements contained in §22-205 of this Chapter and shall comply with the applicable design and construction standards outlined Part 4. Plans for mobile home park developments shall be submitted to the Township for review and action pursuant to the procedure set forth in §22-304 of this Chapter.
B. Design Standards. All applicable site planning requirements contained in §22-502 of this Chapter shall be applied in the design of mobile home park developments, and in addition, the following standards shall be met.
(1) Minimum Park Area. Each mobile home park shall have a minimum gross area of 5 contiguous acres of land suitable for development.
(2) Mobile Home Park Lot Area Requirements.
(a) Gross Density. The maximum number of mobile home lots within every mobile home park shall be no more than four lots per acre of gross area of the mobile home park.
(b) Minimum Lot Sizes. Each mobile home lot shall contain no less than 8,750 square feet. The minimum width of any mobile home lot, measured at the building setback line, shall be not less than 70 feet, exclusive of easements or rights-of-way, and the minimum depth shall be not less than 125 feet.
(c) Mobile Home Lot Access. All mobile home lots shall abut and have frontage on a street of the mobile home park internal street system.
(d) See also §22-601.B(8) below for internal street system requirements.
(3) Mobile Home Lot Stand or Pad Requirements. All mobile home lots within the mobile home park shall be improved to provide an adequate foundation for the placement of the mobile home, thereby securing the superstructure against uplift, sliding or rotation, and rendering the lot useable. At a minimum, the following standards shall be met.
(a) The pad or stand shall be equal to the length and width of the mobile home proposed to use the lot and shall be constructed of 4 inches of reinforced concrete.
(b) The pad or stand 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 structure and shall be designed to uniformly support the mobile home in a level position.
(c) The pad or stand shall be provided with anchors and tie-downs, such as "deadman" eyelets embedded in the concrete, or run-ways, screw augers, arrowhead anchors, or other devices designed to secure the stability of the mobile home. The type, number and location of the tiedowns or anchors shall be as specified by the manufacturer of the mobile home, or where such information is not available, shall be of a type consistent with mobile home industry standards. At a minimum, there shall be no less than one tie-down on each corner of the home, with intermediate tie-downs placed at intervals of, no more than 15 feet. Final determination of the adequacy of the proposed anchoring system shall be made by the Township Engineer.
(d) Each mobile home pad shall be equipped with properly designed and approved water and sewer connections. Each pad shall also be provided with an approved electrical disconnecting device and overcurrent protective equipment. The minimum service per outlet shall be 120/240 volts AC, 100 amperes.
(4) Setbacks, Buffer Yards and Screening Requirements.
(a) Setbacks from Public or Private Streets. All mobile homes and auxiliary park buildings shall be located at least 35 feet from the right-of-way line of any abutting public street and 25 feet from the edge of the right-of-way of any internal park street.
(b) Mobile Home Lot Setbacks. Each mobile home (including any attached patio, deck or carport) shall be located at least 15 feet from the side and rear lines of the mobile home lot.
(c) Minimum Distance Between Structures Within the Mobile Home Park. All mobile homes shall be located at least 50 feet from any auxiliary park buildings and repair, maintenance, or storage areas or buildings.
(d) Park Perimeter Buffer Yards. All mobile homes, auxiliary park buildings and other park structures shall be located at least 50 feet from the mobile home park boundary lines. If a suitable, attractive screening, either man-made or of natural plantings, is provided along the perimeter, this minimum buffer yard may be reduced to 25 feet. (See also §22-601.B(4)(e) below.)
(e) Park Perimeter Screening Requirements. Each mobile home park shall be provided with screening, either man-made (i.e., fences) or of natural plantings, along all property and street lines separating the park from adjoining uses.
(f) Screening Requirements Within the Mobile Home Park. Repair, maintenance, and storage areas or buildings shall be effectively and attractively screened from the mobile home lots, park streets and public roads or streets by man-made screenings or natural plant materials.
(5) Grading and Ground Cover Requirements Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plans. The ground surface in the park shall be graded and equipped to drain all surface water in a safe, efficient manner. Where any excavating or grading is proposed or where any existing trees, shrubs or other vegetative cover will be removed, plans shall be presented showing what steps will be taken to avoid soil erosion. Exposed ground surfaces in the park shall be paved, stabilized with stone screenings, or otherwise protected with a vegetative cover capable of preventing soil erosion.
(6) Open Space Requirements. A minimum of 10% of the gross park area shall be reserved by the developer as common open space for the use of all residents of the park. Such space shall be located so as to be free of traffic hazards and to be easily accessible to all mobile homes. Such area shall be maintained free of vegetation and potentially harmful growths. Applications for mobile home parks shall include a proposal regarding the ultimate ownership and maintenance responsibilities for such open space areas. (See also §22-404 of this Chapter.)
(7) Off-Street Parking Requirements. A minimum of two stabilized off-street parking spaces shall be provided for each mobile home lot within the mobile home park. These parking spaces shall be located on the mobile home lot which they are intended to serve. One additional parking space shall be provided for every three mobile home lots within the mobile home park to provide for visitor parking. Such spaces shall be provided in parking lots situated throughout the park. All off-street parking spaces shall be designed in accordance with the standards set forth in §27-1101 and Table 1 of the Township Zoning Ordinance [Chapter 27].
(8) Mobile Home Park Internal Street and Drainage System Requirements. Streets and drainage control systems shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the standards for local streets outlined in §22-403 of this Chapter, except that street widths shall be as follows:
(a) A minimum cartway width of 24 feet shall be required for all streets being provided in mobile home parks.
(b) Where parking is permitted along either or both sides of a street in a mobile home park, a minimum road cartway width of 36 feet shall be required.
(c) Each mobile home park shall be provided with two points of ingress and egress. (A minimum distance of 150 feet shall be main-tained between center lines of such access points.) All accesses shall be designed to minimize congestion and hazards at the entrance and exit of the facility and shall allow free movement of traffic on adjacent streets. At both the entrance and exit of the mobile home park, a cartway with a width of 50 feet shall be provided for a distance of 100 feet measured from the centerline of the intersecting street to accommodate the safe movement of vehicles or units into and out of the facility.
(9) Park Lighting. Each mobile home park shall be furnished by the developer with lighting designed to adequately illuminate driveways, walkways, streets, intersections and to provide for the safe movement of vehicles and pedestrians throughout the park at night.
(10) Directory. Each mobile home park shall be provided with a directory at its entrance showing the location and identification number of each lot in the park. In addition, to facilitate emergency identification, it shall be the responsibility of the developer to see that all lots in the park are numbered in such a fashion that the numbers are readily visible from the park's internal street system.
C. Utilities and Park Facilities.
(1) Water Supply System. An adequate, safe and potable supply of water shall be provided by the developer for mobile homes, service buildings and other accessory facilities. Where a public water supply system of satisfactory quantity, quality and pressure is available, connection shall be made to it and its supply shall be used exclusively. Where a satisfactory public water supply system is not available, the developer shall design, install, and maintain a private water supply system according to the standards of and with the approval of the Pennsylvania DEP and the requirements of §22-406 of this Chapter.
(2) Sewage System. An adequate and safe sewage system shall be provided by the developer in all mobile home parks for conveying and disposing of sewage from mobile homes, service buildings and other accessory facilities. Mobile home parks shall be connected to public sanitary sewer systems, where possible. Where a satisfactory public sanitary sewer system is not available, the developer shall design, install and maintain an approved private, community sewerage system according to the standards of the Pennsylvania DEP and the requirements of §22-405 of this Chapter.
(3) Other Utility Systems. Telephone, electric, television cable, natural or bottled gas, fuel oil or other utilities shall be provided by the developer in accordance with plans submitted to and approved by the Township and the appropriate utility company. Underground installation of the utility distribution lines shall be required.
(4) Solid Waste Collection, Storage and Disposal. Arrangements for the collection, storage and disposal of solid waste generated by residents of the mobile home park shall be made by the developer and submitted to the Township for approval as part of the development plan submission process.
(5) Service and Other Auxiliary Park Buildings. Service, maintenance and management buildings, and recreation or community buildings required for the management, servicing and maintenance of the park and for the well-being of park residents shall be allowed within the mobile home park boundaries. The entire area of these buildings, however, shall be used for the management, servicing and maintenance requirements of the park and park residents. No part of a mobile home park shall be used for nonresidential purposes other than those described in this Section. Nothing contained herein shall however be deemed to prohibit the sale of an individual mobile home located on a lot in the mobile home park.
(6) Park Management. Each mobile home park owner shall designate a resident manager who shall be responsible for maintaining the park in accordance with the requirements of this Chapter and the terms and conditions of the park's approval. In addition, such manager shall notify the Township Zoning Officer when mobile homes move into or out of the park.
D. Rules and Regulations of the Park. The developer shall submit a copy of the proposed rules and regulations to be followed by tenants of the mobile home park to the Township for approval as part of the development plan submission process. At a minimum, such regulations shall include the following provisions.
(1) Each mobile home shall be skirted. (Skirting shall include materials which have been prefabricated for this specific purpose or similar materials, but shall not include bales of hay, straw, interior plywood, or like materials.) Skirting shall be installed around the entire perimeter of the base of the mobile home.
(2) Garbage and trash shall be placed in appropriate receptacles.
(3) An enclosed or unenclosed patio, deck, or carport may be constructed by an individual tenant of the mobile home park and attached to his mobile home unit, provided that such attachment does not exceed 12 feet by 30 feet, conforms to all setback requirements established in §22-601.B(4)(b) above, and is approved by the resident manager. A building/zoning permit shall also be required prior to the initiation of any such construction.
(4) One storage building or accessory structure containing a maximum of 100 square feet, provided by the individual tenant, may also be situated on each lot in the mobile home park. The placement of such building shall meet all setback requirements established in §22-601.B(4)(b) above, and shall be approved by the resident manager. A building/zoning permit shall also be required prior to the placement of any such storage building or accessory structure.
(Ord. 96-01-02, 1/2/1996, Article 6, §600)
§22-602 Campgrounds.
In addition to the general requirements set forth in §22-506 of this Chapter for recreational land developments, the following standards shall be applied to all proposals for a campground.
A. General Requirements.
(1) Campgrounds may be located only in those zoning districts of the Township as specified in the district regulations of the Wolf Township Zoning Ordinance [Chapter 27], adopted March 13, 1995, or as may hereafter be amended. Such facilities may be open to either tents or recreational vehicles. (See also §22-602.D below regarding campgrounds in flood prone areas.)
(2) All campground development plans shall be prepared in accordance with the plan requirements contained in §22-205 of this Chapter and shall comply with the applicable design and construction standards outlined Part 4. Plans for campground developments shall be submitted to the Township for review and action pursuant to the procedure set forth in §22-304 of this Chapter.
B. Design Standards. All applicable site planning requirements contained in §22-502 above shall be applied in the design of campground developments, and in addition, the following standards shall be met.
(1) Minimum Campground Area. Each campground shall have a minimum gross area of 2 contiguous acres of land suitable for development.
(2) Camping Space Requirements.
(a) Gross Density. The maximum number of camping spaces within each campground shall be no more than 15 per acre of gross area of the campground.
(b) Minimum Camping Space Size. Each camping space shall contain a minimum of 1,500 square feet. The minimum width shall be not less than 30 feet and the minimum depth not less than 50 feet.
(c) Camping Space Access. All camping spaces shall abut and have frontage on a street of the campground internal street system. (See also §22-602.B(8) below for internal street system requirements.)
(d) Camping Units. No more than one camping unit (RV, travel trailer, or other similar unit) shall be located on each camping space. Tents shall not be governed by this limitation.
(e) Accessory Structures. No permanent accessory structures, including sheds, storage buildings, porches, privies, portable toilets, etc. shall be placed on camping spaces located in floodplain areas.
(3) Setbacks, Buffer Yards and Screening Requirements.
(a) Setbacks from Public or Private Streets. All camping units and auxiliary campground buildings shall be located at least 50 feet from the right-of-way line of any public street and 15 feet from the right-of-way of any internal campground street.
(b) Minimum Distance Between Camping Units. Individual camping units, excluding tents, shall be separated by a minimum of 15 feet.
(c) Minimum Distance Between Structures and Camping Spaces. All camping spaces shall be located at least 25 feet from any auxiliary campground building.
(d) Campground Perimeter Buffer Yards. All camping units and auxiliary campground structures shall be located at least 50 feet from the campground boundary lines. If a suitable, attractive screening of natural plantings is provided along the perimeter, this minimum buffer yard may be reduced to 25 feet.
(4) Overflow/Visiting Area Requirements. At the discretion of the Township, an overflow/visiting area may be required to be provided in a campground to accommodate additional camping units for short periods of time or during high frequency use occasions, i.e., weekends or holidays. Such area shall be designed, sized and located as may be appropriate for each campground. Campground facilities and utilities must be designed to be able to accommodate this additional, periodic use. Camping units placed in such areas must be removed when not in use.
(5) Grading and Ground Cover Requirements (Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plans). Where any excavating or grading is proposed or where any existing trees, shrubs, or other vegetative cover will be removed, plans shall be presented showing what steps will be taken to avoid soil erosion. Exposed ground surfaces shall be stabilized or otherwise protected with a vegetative cover capable of preventing soil erosion.
(6) Open Space Requirements. A minimum of 20% of the gross campground area shall be reserved by the developer as common open space for the use of all campers. Such space shall be located so as to be free of traffic hazards and be easily accessible to all camping spaces. Such areas shall be maintained free of vegetation and potentially harmful growths. Applications for campgrounds shall include a proposal regarding the ultimate ownership and maintenance responsibilities for such open space areas. (See also §22-404 of this Chapter.)
(7) Off-Street Parking Requirements. A minimum of two stabilized off-street parking space shall be located on each camping space. One additional parking space for every five camping spaces in the campground shall be provided in parking lots located throughout the campground to provide for visitor parking. (Parking for commercial buildings within the campground shall be provided in accordance with the off-street parking requirements contained in §27-1101 and Table 1 of the Township Zoning Ordinance [Chapter 27].) All off-street parking spaces shall be designed in accordance with the standards set forth in §27-1101 and Table 1 of the Township Zoning Ordinance [Chapter 27].
(8) Campground Internal Street and Drainage System Requirements. The internal street and drainage system shall consist of private streets designed and constructed as follows:
(a) Design Standards.
1) Such streets shall have a right-of-way not less than 50 feet in width and a cartway not less than 20 feet in width, and shall not exceed a maximum grade of 12%.
2) Each campground shall be provided with at least two points of ingress and egress. (A minimum distance of 150 feet shall be maintained between centerlines of such access points.) All accesses shall be designed to minimize congestion and hazards at the entrance and exit of the facility and shall allow free movement of traffic on adjacent streets. At both the entrance and exit of the campground, a cartway with a width of 50 feet shall be provided for a distance of 100 feet measured from the centerline of the intersecting street to accommodate the safe movement of vehicles or units into and out of the facility.
(b) Construction Standards. Such streets shall be constructed with a minimum 4 inches compacted stone base or, in the alternate, a 6-inch compacted shale base.
(c) Drainage. Campground internal street proposals shall also include the method(s) to be used to control drainage or stormwater runoff from the site. (See also §22-403(8) of this Chapter.)
C. Utilities and Park Facilities.
(1) Water Supply and Sewage Systems. The standards established by the Pennsylvania DEP for the provision of water and sewage facilities in campgrounds shall be met. Documents and approvals indicating that these standards have been met along with notations on the campground plan showing the location of water sources and restrooms shall be presented to the Township by the developer. (No campground permit shall be issued by the Township until the water supply and sewage systems have been approved by the Pennsylvania DEP.) If individual sewage hook-ups are not to be provided for each campsite, a DEP-approved and permitted dump station must be provided by the developer within the campground. (See also §§22-405 and 22-406 of this Chapter.)
(2) Other Utility Systems. Where electric or other utilities are to be provided, plans shall be submitted by the developer and approved by the Township and the applicable utility company.
(3) Solid Waste Collection, Storage and Disposal. Arrangements for the collection, storage and disposal of solid waste generated from the campground shall be made by the developer and submitted to the Township for approval as part of the development plan submission process.
(4) Service and Other Campground Buildings. Service, maintenance and management buildings required for the management, servicing and maintenance of the campground may be allowed provided that such buildings are used exclusively for said purposes. No structures may be located within a Floodway District, but may be located within a Flood Fringe District as long as they are adequately floodproofed. (See Part 9 of the Township Zoning Ordinance [Chapter 27] for floodproofing standards.)
(5) Campground Management. During times of operation, each campground owner shall designate a resident manager who shall be responsible for maintaining the facility in accordance with the requirements of this Chapter and the terms and conditions of the campground's approval.
D. Campgrounds in Floodprone Areas.
(1) Where campgrounds are located within any designated floodplain area, building/zoning permits will only be valid from April 15 through October 15 of each year, or as may otherwise be established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. All camping units and associated accessory structures or facilities must be removed from the floodplain during the remainder of the year.
(2) Where campgrounds are located within any designated floodplain area, a workable evacuation plan must be submitted to the Township by the developer as a part of his application for a building/zoning permit. Said plan must insure that all units will be removed from the floodplain during flood events and at the conclusion of the camping season.
(3) Anchoring may be required for units being placed permanently in campgrounds located outside of designated floodplain areas. However, units being placed in campgrounds located within a designated floodplain must remain on wheels and must be capable of being towed or transported from the site at all times. Such units may not be placed on blocks or similar supports.
(Ord. 96-01-02, 1/2/1996, Article 6, §601)