18J.15.200 Mobile Home Parks.
A. Applicability. This Section applies to all new and expanding mobile home parks.
B. Design Objective. Provide design standards that ensure mobile home parks are located, developed, and occupied in a manner that will protect the health, safety, general welfare, and convenience of the occupants and the citizens of Pierce County.
C. Standards – General. The following criteria shall govern the design of a mobile home park:
1. A mobile home park shall contain not less than two spaces and shall be consistent with the density provisions of the underlying zone, except when located within the HRD and MUD zones. Mobile home parks proposed within the HRD and MUD zones shall have a minimum density of six dwelling units per acre.
2. Only one mobile, manufactured home, or motor home/travel trailer shall occupy any given space in the park.
3. No building, structure, or land within the boundaries of a mobile home park shall be used for any purpose other than the following:
a. Mobile or manufactured homes or motor home/travel trailer used as a single-family residence only.
b. A patio, carport, or garage as an accessory use for a mobile/manufactured home.
c. Recreation buildings and structures, including facilities such as a swimming pool, for the exclusive use of park residents and their guests.
d. One residence for the use of the owner, a manager, or caretaker responsible for maintaining or operating the property. This residence may be either a mobile/manufactured home or a site-built structure.
e. Public or private utilities where related exclusively to serving the mobile home park.
4. Setbacks. No mobile/manufactured home, building, or other structure shall be located closer to a park boundary property line than is specified by the zone district in which the park is located.
5. Two off-street parking stalls shall be provided for each mobile/manufactured home space with a minimum 10 feet access to a park street. All required off-street parking spaces shall be not less than 8 by 20 feet and shall be paved, preferably with permeable materials, or have a crushed rock surface and maintained in a dust-free surface. On-street or curb-side parking shall not be counted as part or all of the required parking for a mobile home park where moving traffic lanes are used for this purpose.
6. All interior park roads shall be privately owned and shall be paved with asphalt, concrete, or permeable pavement as allowed by the Pierce County Stormwater and Site Development Manual, to a width that safely accommodates the movement of a mobile home and emergency vehicles. Dead-end streets shall be provided with a 70-foot minimum diameter roadway surface turnaround exclusive of parking lanes.
7. Storage areas comprising not more than 10 percent of the total mobile home park area for recreational vehicles, boats, and trailers may be provided. Such areas shall be enclosed by a sight-obscuring fence or hedgerow.
8. There shall be landscaping and ground cover within open areas of the mobile home park not otherwise used for park purposes. Such open areas and landscaping shall be continually and properly maintained.
9. When deemed necessary to maintain compatibility of the park with adjacent land uses, buffering or screening may be required by the County approving authority.
10. Mobile homes may be maintained with or without mobility gear but in either event shall be secured to the ground in a manner approved by the Building Official. Each mobile home shall be skirted with weather-resistant, non-combustible material compatible with the exterior finish of the mobile home.
D. Standards – Phased Development. Proposed mobile home parks of 10 or more acres in size developed after the effective date of this Section may be developed in phases. Notwithstanding a change of zone or reclassification of the site, which would ordinarily preclude further development, a mobile home park that has completed the initial phase of development may be continued and developed into all additional phases indicated on the approved site plan, provided that this exception shall only be applicable to phases that can be substantially completed within 5 years of the adoption of the change of zone.
E. Standards – Park Administration.
1. It shall be the responsibility of the park owner and manager to assure that the provisions of this Title are observed and maintained within the mobile home park. Violations of this Title shall subject both the owner and the manager of the facility to any penalties provided for violation of this Title.
2. No camper shall be utilized except as temporary living quarters; however, the parking of an unoccupied recreational vehicle in duly-designated storage areas shall be permitted.
3. All refuse shall be stored in insect-proof, animal-proof, water-tight containers which shall be provided in sufficient number and capacity to accommodate all refuse. Any storage area for refuse containers shall be enclosed by a sight-obscuring fence or screening and shall be situated on a concrete pad and shown on the site plan. Refuse shall be collected and disposed of on a regular basis.
4. Construction of accessory structures and alterations and additions to the mobile home park shall be subject to review by the Building Division, and necessary permits and inspections shall be obtained as required for such construction.
5. All electrical connections to each mobile home shall comply with the Electrical Code and shall be inspected.
6. Portable fire extinguishers rated for classes A, B, and C shall be kept in service buildings and at other locations conveniently and readily accessible for use by all residents and shall be maintained in good operating condition.
7. The park shall be maintained free of any brush, leaves, and weeds that might communicate fires between mobile/manufactured homes and other improvements. No combustible materials shall be stored in, around, or under any mobile/manufactured home.
8. Individual mailboxes shall be provided for each space in the park.
9. The owner, or a designated agent, shall be available and responsible for the direct management of the mobile home park.
10. The parking of an unoccupied recreational vehicle in duly-designated storage areas shall be permitted.