ORDINANCE NO. 1209
AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A COMPREHENSIVE CODE FOR THE REGULATION OF MOBILE HOME PARKS; ESTABLISHING STANDARDS FOR MOBILE HOME SPACES, LOCATION OF SERVICE BUILDINGS, WATER SUPPLY, SEWAGE AND REFUSE DISPOSAL, AND PROVIDING FOR REGISTRATION OF OCCUPANTS, AND PROVIDING FOR COLLECTION OF MOBILE HOME PARK LICENSE FEES, AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF.
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Grand Junction, Colorado, desires to establish a comprehensive code for the regulation of mobile home parks and to establish standards for mobile home spaces, location of service buildings, water supply, sewage and refuse disposal, and to provide for registration of occupants, and to provide for collection of mobile home park inspection fees, and to provide penalties for violations thereof:
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GRAND JUNCTION, COLORADO, THAT:
Section 1. DEFINITIONS. For the purposes of this title and section the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
a. MOBILE HOME shall mean any vehicle used, or so constructed as to permit its being used as a conveyance upon the public streets or highways and duly licensable as such and constructed in such a manner as will permit occupancy thereof as a dwelling or sleeping place for one or more persons.
h. MOBILE HOME SPACE shall mean a plot of ground within a mobile home park designated for the accommodation of one mobile home.
c. MOBILE HOME PARK shall mean any plot of property upon which sanitary facilities and individual utility connections are available for two or more mobile homes.
d. INDEPENDENT MOBILE HOME shall mean a mobile home that has a toilet and a bathtub or shower.
e. DEPENDENT MOBILE HOME shall mean a mobile home that has no toilet or bathtub or shower facilities.
f. PATIO shall mean a paved area adjacent to the mobile home parking space, and accessible from the main entrance to the parked mobile home.
g. PERMIT shall mean a written permit issued by the City of Grand Junction Building Inspector to construct or alter the mobile home park under these rules and regulations.
h. PERMANENT ADDITION shall mean any structural extension from any portion of a mobile home, not including temporary canvas awning.
i. INSPECTOR shall mean the Building Inspector of the City of Grand Junction or his authorized representative.
j. STREET OR HIGHWAY shall mean a public thoroughfare which affords principal means of access to abutting property.
k. ACCESS ROAD shall mean that area privately owned and maintained and set aside within a mobile home park for an interior road system, providing principal means of ingress to individual mobile home spaces and egress to street.
Section 2. PERMITS. No person shall alter, install or remove any improvement in any mobile home park without first securing a building permit from the inspector, authorizing such alterations, installation or removal.
APPLICATION. An application for a permit authorizing any alteration, installation or removal in a mobile home park, shall set forth the following information, insofar as the same is applicable and is known or can be ascertained by the applicant through the exercise of due diligence:
a. The area and dimensions of the tract of land occupied by the park.
b. The number, location and size of all mobile home spaces.
c. The location and width of roadways.
d. The location of service buildings and any other proposed structures.
e. The location, size and type of water and sewer lines; and traps, vents and risers for water and sewer.
f. Plans and specifications of all buildings and other improvements constructed or to be constructed within the mobile home park.
Section 3. INSPECTION OF MOBILE HOME PARKS. The Inspector shall make such inspections as he deems necessary of all mobile home parks located within the City and shall enforce compliance with the provisions of this ordinance.
a. AUTHORITY. The Inspector shall have the authority to make inspections of mobile home parks, at reasonable times, for the purpose of determining whether this ordinance is being complied with and shall have authority to inspect the register of occupants, required herein.
b. ACCESS. It shall be unlawful for any person to refuse access to a mobile home park to the Inspector for the purposes of inspection.
Section 4. LOCATION, SPACE AND GENERAL LAYOUT. The mobile home park shall be located on a well drained site and shall be so located hat its drainage will not endanger any water supply. All such mobile home parks shall be in areas free from swamps or other potential breeding places for insects or rodents. It shall not be located in any area subject to flooding.
a. AREA. The area of the mobile home park shall be large enough to accommodate:
(1) The designated number of mobile home spaces.
(2) Necessary streets md roadways.
(3) Parking areas for motor vehicles; and
(4) Service areas.
b. MOBILE HOME SPACE. Each mobile home space shall abut on a driveway or other clear area with unobstructed access to a public street. Such spaces shall be clearly defined, and mobile homes shall be parked in such spaces so that there will be a minimum of fifteen (15) feet between mobile homes at all points except where ends of mobile homes abut, in which case the minimum shall be ten (10) feet, and so that no mobile home will be less than five (5) feet from the side boundary of the mobile home space, and no mobile home shall be less than ten (10) feet from the exterior boundary of the mobile home park.
No mobile home shall be parked less than ten (10) feet from any front property line abutting a street or highway. No part of such mobile home shall obstruct any roadway. Areas between mobile home spaces and public rights-of-way shall be cared for and kept free from weeds, rubbish or trash.
No occupied mobile home shall be allowed to remain in a mobile home park unless a mobile home space as set forth herein is available.
c. ACCESS ROADS. Access roads must be graded for draining, surfaced with concrete, oil or any other dust-free surfacing and maintained in good condition, free of weeds, dust, trash or debris.
Each access road shall be continuous and shall connect with other circulation roads unless terminated in cul-de-sac of fifty foot minimum outside radius. Minimum width for two-way access roads shall be twenty-five (25) feet; for one-way access roads, fifteen (15) feet. Curves on all access roads shall have a minimum inside radius of not less than twenty (20) feet. All such roads shall be kept clear of all obstructions--to allow movement of vehicles at any time. No parking shall be permitted on one-way roads of less than twenty (20) feet/width and parking on one side only shall be permitted on two-way roads under thirty-five (35) feet improved width.
d. OFF-STREET PARKING. Areas eight (8) feet by twenty (20) feet shall be provided for the parking of motor vehicles in addition to each required mobile home space to accommodate at least a number of vehicles equal to the number of mobile home spaces provided. Such parking spaces may be located adjacent to the mobile home space to be served and in no case shall be more than two hundred (200) feet from the mobile home space to be served.
e. SERVICE FACILITIES. Every mobile home space shall be provided with covered vault or shed with a minimum of seventy-two (72) cubic feet of volume for the storage of fuel containers and personal belongings -- this requirement may be met by a building providing a like amount of space for each mobile home space.
f. No storage under a mobile home or on the mobile home space, except an automobile in operable condition, will be permitted except as provided in paragraph e. above.
Section 5. SERVICE BUILDINGS. Each mobile home park permitting space use by a dependent mobile home shall be provided with one or more service buildings adequately equipped with toilet fixtures.
a. LOCATIONS AND CONSTRUCTION. Service buildings shall:
(1) Be located within two hundred (200) feet of all dependent mobile homes.
(2) Be located ten (10)feet or more from any mobile home space.
(3) Be of fire resistant construction in conformity with the Building Code of the City of Grand Junction.
(4) Interior shall be constructed of non-absorbent moisture-resistant material to permit frequent washing and cleaning.
b. LAUNDRY AND TOILET FACILITIES. Service buildings shall:
(1) Have adequate heating facilities to maintain a temperature of seventy (70) degrees fahrenheit during cold weather, and to supply a minimum of three (3) gallons of hot water per hour per coach space during time of peak demands.
(2) Have all rooms well ventilated, with all openings effectively screened.
(3) Have at least one mop-sink or other satisfactory facility supplied with hot and cold water.
(4) Have separate flush-type toilet facilities for males and females, plainly marked by appropriate signs, which shall be provided in separate rooms if in the same building. Each water closet shall be placed in a separate compartment, at least three (3) feet wide, property separated from other water closets.
(5) Have provided one flush-type toilet for each sex for each fifteen (15) dependent mobile home spaces, or fraction thereof.
(6) Have all water closets and showers for women and all water closets and showers for men located in separate compartments, with self-closing doors. Gang-type shower compartments may be used for men. Individual shower stalls shall be at least nine hundred sixty-one (961) square inches in area. Showers for women shall have a dressing compartment with stool and bench.
Section 6. WATER SUPPLY.
a. CAPACITY. An accessible, adequate and safe supply of potable water shall be provided in each mobile home space, capable of furnishing a minimum of one hundred twenty five (125) gallons per day per mobile home space.
b. INDEPENDENT SYSTEM. The development of an independent water supply to serve the mobile home park shall be made only after express approval has been granted by the Department of Public Health of the State of Colorado and the City of Grand Junction.
c. ALL FACILITIES CONNECTED. The water system of the mobile home park shall be connected by pipes to all service buildings and all mobile home spaces.
d. CONNECTIONS. Individual water service connections which are provided for direct use by mobile homes shall be so constructed that they will not be damaged by the parking of such mobile homes.
e. PRESSURE. The mobile home park water system shall be adequate to provide six (6) gallons per minute at twenty (20) pounds per square inch of pressure at all mobile home connections.
f. VALVE DEPTH. Outlets for mobile home spaces shall be provided with individual valves below frost depth (not less than eighteen (18) inches) and valve box to grade.
Section 7. SEWAGE DISPOSAL.
a. All plumbing in the mobile home park shall comply with the plumbing. laws and health regulations of the City of Grand Junction.
Sewage disposal shall be by connection to City or Sanitation District Sewers in accordance with City ordinances regulating sewer connections.
b. ALL FACILITIES CONNECTED. A system for sanitary sewage shall be provided in all mobile home parks and all waste and sewer lines discharging from buildings and mobile homes shall be connected thereto.
c. CONNECTION. Each mobile home space shall be provided with at least a three-inch sewer connection, trapped below frost line, with the inlet of the line to be not less than one inch above the surface of the ground. The sewer connection shall be provided with suitable fittings so that a watertight connection and proper vent can be made between the mobile home drain and the sewer connection, Such mobile home connections shall be so constructed that they can be closed air tight when nol linked to a mobile home, and shall be trapped in such a manner as to maintain them in an odor-free condition.
Section 8. REFUSE DISPOSAL.
a. SYSTEM REQUIRED. The storage, collection and disposal of refuse in.the park shall be so managed as to avoid health hazards, rodent harborage, insect-breeding areas, accident hazards or air pollution.
b. CONTAINERS. Refuse shall be stored in flytight, rodent-proof containers, which shall be located within the mobile home park. Such containers shall be provided in sufficient number and capacity to prevent any refuse from overflowing. Garbage shall be deposited in watertight containers with tight-fitting lids. All receptacles shall be designated as to type of use.
Holders shall be provided for all refuse and garbage containers. Such container holders shall be so designed as to prevent containers from being tipped, to minimize spillage and container deterioration, and to facilitate cleaning around them.
c. COLLECTION. All garbage and non-combustible rubbish shall be collected as frequently as necessary to prevent it from overflowing the available containers, but in any event garbage shall be collected not less than once weekly. No waste water of any kind shall be thrown or discharged upon the ground of any mobile home park.
Section 9. ELECTRICITY.
a. INSTALLATION TO EACH SPACE. An electrical outlet supplying at least 110 volts shall be provided for each mobile home space, The installation shall comply with all state and local electrical codes and ordinances. Such electrical outlets shall be weather-proof. No power line shall be permitted to lie on the ground or to be suspended less than eighteen (18) feet above the ground.
b. SPECIFICATIONS. Service drops to each mobile home space shall be weatherproof, insulated and not smaller than two No. 8 wires.
c. AREA LIGHTS. Street and yard lights shall be provided in such number and intensity as to insure safe movement of vehicles and pedestrians at night. A light shall be located at each outside entrance of the service buildings, which shall be kept lighted during the hours of darkness.
Section 10. FUEL.
a. COOKING FUEL. Liquefied petroleum gas for cooking purposes shall not be used at individual mobile home spaces unless the containers are properly connected by copper or other approved metallic tubing. Liquefied petroleum gas cylinders shall be securely fastened in place and shall be adequately protected from the weather. No cylinder containing liquefied petroleum gas shall be located inside a mobile home, nor within five feet of a door thereof. State and local regulations applicable to the handling of bottled gas and fuel oil must be followed.
b. HEATING FUEL. Fuel tanks for heating purposes shall be detached from the mobile home and mounted up on substantial self-supporting stands at least one foot from any part of the mobile home or any other mobile home. Each service line from the fuel tank to the mobile home shall consist of copper tubing or iron pipe and be provided with a shut-off valve outside of the trailer.
c. The use of natural gas for fuel and/or lights shall comply with all City ordinances governing the same.
Section 11. FIRE PROTECTION.
a. LITTERING PROHIBITED. Mobile home areas shall be kept free of litter, rubbish and other flammable materials.
Section 12. ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS-RESTRICTION OF ANIMALS AND PETS-SIGNS.
a. CONFORMITY. No alterations or additions shall be made to or within any mobile home park unless in conformity to this ordinance. In the event an increase in gross land area is necessary for compliance with provisions of this ordinance, the Board of Adjustments and Appeals shall determine the amount of additional area required in accordance with applicable provisions of the Zoning Ordinance.
b. SKIRTING UNITS. No permanent additions of any kind shall be built onto, nor become a part of, any mobile home. Skirting of mobile homes is not permissible.
c. WHEELS NOT TO BE REMOVED. The wheels of the mobile home shall not be removed, except temporarily when necessary for repairs. Jacks or stabilizers may be placed under the frame of the mobile home to prevent movement on the springs while the mobile home is parked and occupied.
d. OWNER TO CONTROL PETS. No owner or person in charge of a dog, cat or other pet animal shall permit it to run at large, or to commit any nuisance within the limits of any mobile home park.
e. SIGNS. Each mobile home park shall provide a street sign to include the name of the park and the street address in letters of a minimum of six inches in height. Each mobile home space shall he numbered uniformly.
Section 13. LICENSE FEE. No persons shall operate a mobile home park within the corporate limits of the City of Grand Junction without first having obtained a license therefor from the City Clerk of the City of Grand Junction; such license fee to be paid in each case is as follows: For mobile home parks having up to and including ten spaces, Five dollars ($5.00) per-year; for such parks having in excess of ten spaces, the sum of Ten Dollars ($10.00) per year. All such licenses shall be issued annually and shall expire December 31st of each year.
Section 14. MANAGEMENT.
a. The owner or operator of any mobile home park shall arrange for the management and supervision of such mobile home park so as to enforce or cause compliance with the provisions of these rules and regulations
b. The owner, operator, or attendant of every mobile home park shall assume full responsibility for maintaining in good repair and condition all regular and ordinary facilities of the mobile home park as required herein.
c. In every mobile home park there shall be a designated office building in which shall be located the office of the person in charge of said park. A copy of all required City and State licenses and permits and of this ordinance shall be posted therein and the park register shall at all times be kept in said office.
d. It shall he the duty of the attendant or person in charge, together with the owner or operator to:
(1) Keep at all times a register of all guests (which shall be open at all times to inspection by State, County and Federal officers and officers of the City of Grand Junction) showing for all tenants:
(a) Names and relationships of all persons inhabiting each mobile home.
(b) Address or previous location of all persons inhabiting each mobile home.
(c) Dates of entrance and departure.
(d) License numbers of all mobile homes and towing vehicles or automobiles.
(e) States issuing such licenses.
(2) Maintain the park in a clean, orderly and sanitary condition at all times.
(3) See that the provisions of this ordinance are complied with and enforced and report promptly to the proper authorities any violations of this ordinance or any other violations of law which may come to his attention.
(4) Report to local health authorities any incidence of communicable disease within the park.
(5) Pay promptly to the City of Grand Junction the license fee as specified in Section 13 above and all other license fees required by the City ordinances or any other laws.
(6) Prohibit the lighting of open fires.on the premises.
(7) Prohibit the use of any mobile home by a greater number of occupants than that which it is designed to accommodate.
Section 15. TIME FOR COMPLIANCE. All mobile home parks which at the effective date hereof constitute non-conforming uses as defined and constituted by the City of Grand Junction Zoning Ordinance, shall, within a reasonable time and in no event longer than ninety (90) days from the effective date hereof, comply with the standards and requirements herein contained except as to provisions of Sections 4 and 5 which shall be complied with on or before January 1, 1967.
Section 16. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND APPEALS. The Board shall have jurisdiction and power in passing upon appeals to grant variances or modify in specific cases the strict application of the provisions of this ordinance provided the following conditions are met:
a. PUBLIC HEARING. No variation or modification of the application of any provision of this ordinance shall be authorized except after public hearing thereon. Public notice of time and place and purpose of such hearing to be given by posting of the property affected for not less than fifteen (15) consecutive days.
b. HARDSHIP. There shall be unnecessary and substantial hardship in applying the strict-letter of such provisions, provided that no such variation or modification heretofore or subsequently authorized or existing shall constitute or be construed as a precedent, ground or cause for any other variation or modification by the Board, and that such power to vary or modify shall be strictly construed as specifically enumerated within the jurisdiction of the Board.
c. PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS ONLY. The authorization to vary or modify the provisions of this ordinance includes only the authority to vary or modify the physical requirements of the ordinance. However, in the matter of granting such variance, the Board shall first find that all of the following conditions are present.
(1) That the plight of the owner of the property for which the variance is sought is due to unique circumstances existing on the property, not created by the owners and not due to general condition in the district in which the property is located.
(2) That the development or use of the property, if held strictly to the standards of this ordinance, cannot yield a reasonable return in service, use or income compared to adjacent conforming property in the same district.
(3) That the variance, if authorized, will neither weaken the general purpose of this ordinance nor the regulations prescribed for the district in which the property is located.
(4) That the variance, if authorized, will not alter the essential character of the district in which the property is located.
(5) That the variance, if authorized, will not substantially or permanently injure the appropriate use of adjacent conforming property.
(6) That the variance will not authorize a use other than those uses which are specifically enumerated as permitted uses for the district in which is located the property for which variance is sought.
Section 18. PENALTIES.
a. A violation of this ordinance shall be punishable by a.fine not exceeding three hundred dollars ($300.00), or by imprisonment not exceeding ninety (90) days for each offense, provided that each day that a violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
b. The City may, in its discretion, proceed against any violation or violator of this ordinance by abatement, injunction, or other civil action, which remedies shall be cumulative to the penalties in Section 18.a.
Section 19. SEVERABILITY. If any section, sub-section, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the-remaining portion thereof. The City Council -hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each portion or portions thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one portion or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional
Section 20. CONFLICT OF ORDINANCES - EFFECT OF PARTIAL INVALIDITY. In any case where a provision of this ordinance is found to be in conflict with a provision of any zoning, building, fire I safety, or health ordinance or code of the City of Grand Junction existing on the effective date of this ordinance, the provision, which establishes the higher standard for the promotion .and protection of the health and safety of the people, shall prevail. In any case where a 'provision of any other ordinance or code of the City of Grand Junction existing on the effective date of,this ordinance establishes a lower standard for the promotion and protection of the health and safety and welfare of the people, the provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed to prevail, and such other ordinances or codes are hereby declared to be repealed to the extent that they may be found in conflict with this ordinance.
In addition to the requirements set forth in these regulations, all mobile home parks and facilities shall be established and constructed in compliance with all existing statutes, ordinances, codes and regulations of the City of Grand Junction, County of Mesa, and State of Colorado.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 20th day of January, 1965.
/s/Charles E. McCormick
President of the City Council
ATTEST:
/s/ Helen C. Tomlinson
City Clerk
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance, being Ordinance No. 1209, was introduced, read and ordered published by the City Council of the City of Grand Junction, Colorado, at a regular meeting of said body held on the 6th day of January, 1965, and that the same was published in The Daily Sentinel, a newspaper published and in general circulation in said City at least ten days before its final passage.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of said City this 21st day of January, 1965.
/s/ Helen C. Tomlinson
City Clerk
Published: January 10, 1965
Published: January 23, 1965