Marlborough Township
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIII
MHD Mobile Home Development District
§ 275-97 Legislative intent.
In addition to the statement of community development objectives set forth in § 275-2, of this chapter, it is hereby declared to be the specific intent of this article to:
A.
Establish standards of performance and promote the desirable benefits which planned mobile home developments may have upon the community;
B.
Ensure the interdependency and compatibility of proposed mobile home developments with essential utilities and surrounding land uses in the Township; and
C.
Provide for a diversity in housing types and prices.
§ 275-98 Permitted uses.
A.
Single- or double-wide mobile homes.
B.
Municipal uses.
C.
Community center and recreational use for the use of the mobile home development residents.
D.
A convenience commercial center under the following conditions:
(1)
There is no similar use in existence, or actively being proposed, within 1/2 mile of the mobile home development (MHD).
(2)
The applicant demonstrates, to the Township's satisfaction, that such a use will be supported primarily by the residents of the MHD.
(3)
The maximum number of residential dwelling units permitted on the tract shall be reduced by one unit for each 8,000 square feet of land devoted to the convenience commercial center.
(4)
No such commercial center shall be opened until at least 50% of the dwelling units in the MHD are occupied.
§ 275-99 General requirements.
A mobile home development shall be planned and developed in accordance with the following requirements:
A.
Conditional use. A new MHD, or expansion of an existing MHD, shall be permitted by approval of a conditional use by the Board of Supervisors, pursuant to the public hearing requirements of § 275-60 herein.
B.
Sketch plan. The applicant shall submit a sketch plan as described by Chapter 215, Subdivision and Land Development. This sketch plan is required as a part of the application for conditional use.
C.
Ownership. The tract of land proposed for the MHD shall be in single ownership, or ownership shall be such that the tract will be developed under a single direction, in one phase or multiple stages, in accordance with a development agreement, which shall:
E.
Community facilities. Any site proposed for a mobile home development shall be served by central water and sewage facilities and, in the opinion of the governing body, be easily accessible to other community facilities and services such as employment centers, shopping centers, schools, and police and fire protection.
F.
Road access. Any tract proposed for MHD must have direct access to a feeder (or higher classification) road, as defined by the Township Comprehensive Plan or Ultimate Right-of-Way Map, which the Township governing body deems capable of accommodating the transport of mobile home units.
G.
Traffic study. A traffic impact study, in accordance with the provisions of § 275-72 herein, along with appropriate public improvements plans, shall demonstrate that the MHD will not generate undue confusion or interference with the normal traffic flow, and shall further demonstrate the adequacy of the local and regional road network to carry the additional traffic generated by the MHD.
§ 275-100 Development standards.
A.
Common open space. At least 20% of the site must be in common open space as required in § 275-99 and that meets the requirements of § 275-52 of this chapter, no more than 1/3 of which may be required buffer area. Permanent open space may be maintained in private corporate or individual ownership in accordance with § 275-53, or offered for dedication to the Township or other suitable entity as public open space. Separate portions of open space on a single tract may be treated separately for purposes of disposition.
B.
Preservation of natural features. No mobile home or other structure shall be located within an area defined as floodplain by Chapter 136, Floodplain Management. Nor shall any mobile home by placed on steep slope land having a natural grade of 15% or greater, unless the applicant has secured approval of a site preparation plan from the Township Engineer which indicates consistency with proper erosion and sedimentation control techniques.
C.
Unit location on individual lots. Mobile homes placed on individual lots are encouraged to be placed off-center on the lots so as to provide a large usable open yard space and outdoor living area in one section of the lot.
D.
Distance between structures. Mobile homes and roofed structures attached thereto shall be separated from each other, and from other principal buildings and structures, at their closest points by a minimum of 20 feet; provided, however, that whenever two mobile homes have their longer sides parallel or essentially parallel to each other for more than 25% of the length of either, the minimum distance between the two mobile homes shall be 30 feet. The sides shall be considered essentially parallel if they form an angle of less than 45° when extended to intersect.
E.
Design alternatives. In order to allow for flexibility of site design, the minimum required open space of § 275-119A may be reduced to require that a minimum of 10% of the site be in common open space upon a finding by the Township Supervisors that the purpose and intent of the open space requirements and the buffer requirements of this chapter and of Chapter 215, Subdivision and Land Development, have been met.
F.
Lighting, parking, landscaping signs. All MHD shall comply with the standards for lighting, parking, landscaping, and signage found elsewhere in this chapter.
G.
Visual buffers. Mobile home lots located in strip fashion along existing rural roads are strongly discouraged; all lots are encouraged to be placed in the least visible areas of the tract and out of floodplain and steep slope areas.
(1)
As a general guideline, at least one quarter of the required open space in cluster developments shall be located along the internal or external road frontage of the site, in order to minimize the perceived density of the development and preserve rural vistas.
(2)
The location of all mobile home developments shall be buffered by vegetative screens or other appropriate means, screening views of the development from the road and from abutting properties, and screening views from inside the development of any undesirable off-site element (such as heavy commercial or industrial use, heavy traffic, or brightly lighted activities). Landscaping and/or berms consisting of hedges, evergreens, shrubbery on other natural vegetation shall be planted at a density sufficient to visually screen the development from the external roadways. Said screening shall comply with all the other landscaping requirements of the Township.