The purpose of this article is to establish the criteria for determining the minimum acceptable standards for the development of a mobile home park and the placement thereon of mobile homes, as well as the accessory services primarily intended for the use of residents of the mobile home park which may be allowed by ordinance as part of a planned unit development district-mobile home park as set forth in article XIII, Planned Unit Development Districts.

The following general requirements applicable to mobile home park:

(a)

Each mobile home park shall provide for not less than 75 mobile home sites of not less than 4,500 square feet each.

(b)

No mobile home park shall be located within 400 feet of an R-1, R-2 or R-3 residential zoning district.

(c)

Each mobile home park shall be located so as to have direct access to a street designated as an arterial road on the thoroughfare plan, as part of the Town of Griffith master plan as heretofore or hereafter adopted and from time to time amended. Two copies of the thoroughfare plan shall be kept on file and available for public inspection in the office of the town clerk-treasurer.

(d)

Each mobile home park shall have streetlights of sufficient number, placement and illumination to permit safe movement of vehicles and pedestrians at night.

(e)

Each mobile home park shall contain a greenbelt of not less than 20 feet in width adjacent to all abutting properties and public rights-of-way. The plan commission may recommend and the common council may approve as part of the planned unit development district-mobile home park, the erection of an obscuring wall or fence not less than four feet six inches but not more than six feet in height to be built in combination with or in lieu of a greenbelt.

(f)

Each mobile home park shall provide and contain an area of land not less than the greater of 250 square feet multiplied by the number of mobile home sites or of 20,000 square feet, exclusive of the greenbelt, for recreational purposes. Such area shall be maintained, and as part of the planned unit development district-mobile home park may be required to be graded, sodded and otherwise developed in a manner appropriate for recreational use by the residents of the mobile home park.

(g)

Each mobile home park shall be developed so that more than 80 percent of the interior floor area of all the mobile homes and all the other buildings combined in the development is used for mobile home residence or such accessory uses customarily related to mobile homes, with the balance of such interior floor area, if any, being intended for such business, commercial and community uses as reasonably relate to the support or convenience of the mobile home park residents.

(h)

Unless otherwise authorized as part of the planned unit development, each building or structure within a mobile home park, other than mobile homes, shall have a front and rear yard of not less than 40 feet each and shall have side yards of not less than 20 feet each.

(i)

Each mobile home site shall have a front yard of not less than 20 feet, a rear yard of not less than 15 feet, an entrance side yard of not less than 20 feet and an opposite side yard of not less than 10 feet. Yards shall be measured in depth at the shortest distance from each mobile home site boundary on a line perpendicular to such boundary, to the nearest edge of the mobile home.

(j)

The boundaries of each mobile home site shall be clearly and permanently designated; fences, if any, along the side and rear yards, shall be of uniform height not in excess of 42 inches.

(k)

All fuel oil, gas, and other similar tanks on any mobile home site shall be of uniform size, appearance and location, screened from the public view, and shall be equipped with vent pipes and fused valve.

(l)

There shall be no storage of any kind beneath any mobile home in a mobile home park. Boats, snowmobiles, similar recreational equipment and storage structures may be allowed or stored on a mobile home site only if the following conditions are continuously met:

(1)

Such items shall be placed or stored only in the rear yards.

(2)

Such items shall be placed or stored no closer than four feet from the nearest mobile home site boundary.

(3)

Such items shall be maintained so as not to be unsightly and/or to have a detrimental affect on the appearance of the mobile home park.

(4)

The aggregate area occupied by such items on any one mobile home site shall not exceed 200 square feet.

The following standards for development of a mobile home park are required and must be complied with in the request for a planned unit development district-mobile home park:

(a)

Suitability of land. Land subject to flooding and land deemed by the plan commission to be unsuitable for platting because of topography, drainage or for other reasons, shall not be eligible for use as a mobile home park. Land deemed unsuitable for platting shall include, but not be limited to:

(1)

Land with an elevation less than four feet above the highest ground water level; provided that land with an elevation of between two and four feet above the highest ground water level may comprise not more than ten percent of the minimum lot area of a mobile home site.

(2)

Land with an elevation less than two feet above the approximate high water elevation of any lake, stream or swamp affecting the plat; provided, that such land may comprise not more than ten percent of the minimum lot area of a mobile home site.

(b)

Streets.

(1)

Streets within the mobile home park shall be so designed and developed to take into consideration their relationship to existing and planned streets in the area surrounding the mobile home park, as well as to topographical conditions and natural terrain features such as streams, wetlands and existing tree growth. Street jogs shall be avoided. Half streets shall be prohibited.

(2)

Such internal streets shall be so arranged as to provide access to all mobile home sites. Each mobile home site shall have frontage on a street.

(3)

The minimum sight distance on all streets within the mobile home park shall be 200 feet.

(4)

The minimum centerline radius for horizontal curves on all streets within the mobile home park shall be 100 feet.

(5)

Intersecting streets shall be laid out as nearly at right angles as possible with no angle of intersection being less than 60 degrees. The minimum corner radius at the curbs shall be 20 feet, except that a larger radius may be required where the angle of intersection is less than 75 degrees.

(6)

Local streets within a mobile home park shall have not less than 30 feet of roadway width from back to back of curbs.

(7)

Dead end streets shall be not more than 500 feet in length and shall be provided with a turn around (cul de sac) having a minimum roadway radius of at least 35 feet.

(8)

Minimum street grade shall not be less than one-half of one percent. Maximum street grade shall not be more than eight percent.

(9)

All changes in grade shall be connected with vertical curve with minimum lengths of eight times the algebraic difference in slope of the street grades.

(10)

Concrete curb and gutter shall be provided on all streets.

(11)

Sidewalks shall be provided within a mobile home park and shall not be less than four feet in width. Walks shall be provided at least on one side of all streets in the mobile home site areas; in front of all mobile home park accessory service areas, the clubhouse, recreational areas and along routes leading to aforesaid areas.

(c)

Easements. Easements shall be provided, where necessary, for overhead or underground utilities, watercourses, drainage ways, channels or streams. Width of each easement shall be a minimum of 20 feet.

(d)

Blocks. Blocks within the mobile home park shall be designed so as to meet the following characteristics:

(1)

Block length shall not exceed 1,000 feet nor be less than 500 feet.

(2)

Pedestrian crosswalks not less than six feet wide in a ten-foot easement may be required in blocks longer than 600 feet.

(3)

Blocks shall be wide enough to allow two tiers of lots of at least minimum depth, except where there is frontage on major streets, or where prevented by topographic conditions or property dimensions, in which case the plan commission may approve a single tier of lots of at least minimum depth.

(e)

Lots. Lots within the mobile home park shall be designed so as to meet the following characteristics:

(1)

Lots in a mobile home site shall have an area of not less than 4,500 square feet. The least lot dimension shall not be less than 40 feet.

(2)

Double frontage lots shall be avoided, except for frontage along a major street and for unusual topographic features, in which case double frontage lots may be approved by the plan commission provided that access to the lot is limited to the interior street and screen planting is provided along the rear property line.

(3)

Corner lots shall be sufficiently wider to provide for the width of a front yard or entrance side yard required by this chapter.

The following standards for improvements in a mobile home park are required and must be complied with in the request for a planned unit development district-mobile home park:

(a)

General. Every mobile home park shall be required to install sanitary sewers; storm sewers or alternative stormwater drainage system; Water main distribution and fire protection system; street pavement with curb, gutters and sidewalks; and other improvements deemed necessary by the plan commission.

(b)

Sanitary sewers. Sanitary sewers connected to a municipal sewage system shall be constructed in accordance with current Town of Griffith standards and specifications. Septic systems and private treatment plant systems will not be approved.

(c)

Storm sewers. A storm sewer system to collect all run-off water from the site shall be constructed in accordance with current Town of Griffith standards and specifications. Such system shall discharge to a public storm sewer, watercourse, drainage way, retention or detention area or other acceptable receptacle. Care shall be taken to protect the upstream and downstream areas from flood hazard that may be caused by the development.

(d)

Water mains. Water mains shall be placed to serve all parcels and lots proposed for development. Mains shall be sized to provide adequate water supply for fire protection. Hydrants for fire protection shall be provided at the number and location agreed to by the Griffith Town Fire Department.

(e)

Streets, curbs, gutters and walks. Streets, curbs, gutter and walks shall be provided according to the following improvement standards:

(1)

Street pavement shall be constructed of a minimum of eight inches of compacted aggregate base, two inches of hot asphalt binder and one inch of hot asphalt surface. Where traffic loads or subgrade soils warrant, the pavement and/or material may be increased or changed based upon design criteria.

(2)

Concrete curb and gutter shall be constructed of 3,500 pounds per square inch concrete with proper air entrainment. Reinforcing steel may be required if subgrade conditions warrant. Curb and gutter shall have a minimum section eight and one-half inches at front edge, eight inches at gutter, 12 inches at back of curb, and shall be a minimum of 18 inches wide.

(3)

Concrete walk shall be a minimum of four feet wide and four inches thick, constructed of 3,500 pounds per square inch concrete with proper air entrainment on a prepared sub-grade with a minimum of three-inch thick granular material.