Worcester Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XV
MHD Mobile Home Development District
§ 150-98 Use regulations.
A.
Conditional use. Mobile home development may be allowed as a conditional use in MHD, R-100 and R-125 Residential Districts by the Board of Supervisors pursuant to public hearing as per § 150-99 and subject to the standards in Article XXV and subject to the following regulations:
(1)
The tract of land to be developed shall be in one ownership or shall be the subject of an application filed by the owners of the entire tract, and it shall be agreed that the tract shall be developed under single direction and in the manner approved.
(2)
Any area to be used as a mobile home development must have a minimum developable area of 10 contiguous acres of land.
(3)
Every area to be used as a mobile home development must be served by public sewer and public water.
(4)
Any site proposed for a mobile home development shall be free from adverse influence by swamps, marshes, garbage or rubbish disposal area and other potential breeding places for insects or rodents.
(5)
Any site proposed for a mobile home development shall not contain wetlands or be subject to flooding.
(6)
Any site proposed for a mobile home development shall not be subject to any hazard or nuisance, such as excessive noise, vibration, smoke, toxic matter, radiation, heat, odor or glare.
(7)
Any site proposed for a mobile home development shall be accessible to essential community facilities and services such as employment center, shopping center, schools, and police and fire protection.
(8)
Access. Plans evidencing provision for safe and efficient ingress and egress to and from the public streets and highways servicing the mobile home development district without causing undue confusion or interference with the normal traffic flow shall be submitted to the Board of Supervisors and must be approved by the Township Engineer, who shall make the determination by concerning himself with the adequacy of the thoroughfare to carry the additional traffic generated by the mobile home development, as well as to the street frontage of the proposed project.
B.
No-impact home-based business, as defined in § 150-9; provided that the permission for such use granted herein shall not supersede any deed restriction, covenant or agreement restricting the use of land, nor any master deed, bylaw or other document applicable to a common interest ownership community.
[Added 8-17-2011 by Ord. No. 230]
§ 150-99 Public hearing.
Prior to deciding to allow or deny a mobile home development, the Board of Supervisors shall hold a public hearing thereon pursuant to public notice. At least 30 days prior to the date of hearing, one copy of the development proposal shall be transmitted to the Township planning agency and one to the Montgomery County Planning Commission to provide these agencies an opportunity to submit recommendations.
§ 150-100 Accessory uses.
A.
Accessory uses and structures customarily incidental to the maintenance, servicing and well-being of mobile home development residents shall be permitted only as part of an approved development for the site.
B.
Accessory uses on individual mobile home lots, customarily incidental to mobile homes, shall be permitted on the individual mobile home lots, provided that the other applicable sections of this chapter are complied with.
§ 150-101 Site design.
A.
Lot size. Mobile home lots in a mobile home development shall have a minimum lot size of 5,000 square feet.
B.
Density. The total number of lots in a mobile home development shall not exceed a maximum density of five per developable acre.
C.
Distance between structures.
(1)
Mobile homes shall be separated from each other and from other buildings and structures at their closest points by a minimum of 30 feet; provided, however, that said distance may be reduced to 20 feet in the event that a wall on one unit faces a wall of an adjacent unit which contains no principal window in a living area.
(2)
In order to allow clustering of lots designed to encourage flexibility in site design and preservation of natural features and to maximize creation of and accessibility to recreation areas, the distance between structures and minimum lot size may be reduced up to a maximum of 20% at the sole discretion of the Board of Supervisors.
D.
Setback from park boundary. No mobile home or accessory use may be located closer than 60 feet to a boundary of a mobile home development. In the event that a mobile home development abuts another such development, this provision will not apply; however, all other applicable setbacks prescribed herein shall apply.
E.
Setback from streets. No mobile home or accessory use shall be located closer than 35 feet to the ultimate right-of-way line of any public street or closer than 25 feet to the edge of the cartway of private interior roadways in a mobile home development.
F.
Parking setback. No mobile home or accessory use shall be located within 25 feet of any parking area with space for two or more automobiles.
G.
Buffers. The mobile home development shall have a permanent landscaped planting area of at least 15 feet in depth designed for screening residential commercial and industrial uses which are adjoining and contiguous. The buffer shall be a minimum of six feet in height. The use of mounding shall be encouraged as a means of providing screening, provided that their slope shall be a maximum of 3:1. In cases where an edge(s) of a mobile home development borders natural features which function as buffers, including but not limited to mature woodland, severe grade changes or stream valleys, buffering may not be required along that edge(s), at the discretion of the Board of Supervisors. A landscaping plan shall be submitted with the final plans, showing all pertinent information including the location, size and species of all trees and shrubs to be preserved or planted.
H.
Groups or clusters of units, so placed as to create interior spaces and courtyards, shall be incorporated whenever feasible.
I.
Direct end-to-end exposure of mobile home units is prohibited.
J.
Gridiron layouts and street patterns, unrelated to the topography of the site, are prohibited.
K.
The location of all mobile home developments shall be protected against any undesirable off-site views or any adverse influence (such as heavy commercial or industrial use, heavy traffic or brightly lighted activities) from adjoining streets and areas.
L.
Common areas.
(1)
At least 20% of the developable site area of the mobile home development must be in common space, including recreation space, space for laundry and storage facilities.
(2)
The common space shall be designed as a contiguous area with paved pedestrian walks and visual accessibility to all residents of the mobile home development.
(3)
Recreation areas and facilities shall be provided to meet the anticipated needs of the residents of the development. Not less than 10% of the developable site area exclusive of lands within the required setback area shall be devoted to recreation. Recreation areas shall be of a size, shape and design that is conducive to active and passive recreation.
(4)
Service building. The structure or structures containing the management office and other common facilities shall be conveniently located for the use intended. Consolidation of laundry, recreation, management and other common facilities in a single building and location is encouraged, if the single location will adequately serve all mobile home lots.
(5)
Maintenance. After the successful completion of the development, provisions acceptable to the Township Board of Supervisors and Solicitor for the maintenance and/or ownership of the common open space, service and recreational facilities shall be established.
M.
Arrangement of structures and facilities. The tracts, including mobile home stands, patios, structures and all tract improvements, shall be organized in relation to topography, the shape of the plot and the shape, size and position of structures and common facilities. Special shall be given to new mobile home designs and to common appurtenances that are available.
N.
Adaption to tract assets. The mobile home unit shall be fitted to the terrain with a minimum disturbance of the land. Existing trees and shrubs, rock foundations, stream courses and banks and other natural features of the tract shall be preserved.
P.
Ground cover requirement. Exposed ground surfaces in all parts of every mobile home development shall be paved or covered with stone screening or other solid material or protected with a vegetative growth that is capable of preventing soil erosion and the emanation of dust during dry weather.
Q.
Lighting facilities. Lighting facilities shall be provided as needed and arranged in a manner which will protect the mobile home development residents, neighboring properties and adjacent highways from unreasonable direct glare or hazardous interference of any kind. Lighting facilities shall be required where deemed necessary by the Board of Supervisors for the safety and convenience of the mobile home development.
§ 150-102 Roadways.
A.
Standards. All applicable standards for streets and roads, contained in the Worcester Township Land Subdivision Regulations, and as subsequently amended,[1] shall be adhered to in mobile home developments. In those developments wherein the roads are to be maintained by the developer as private internal roadways, cartway construction and width standards shall be enforced.
B.
Access limitations. No mobile home lot shall have direct access to any street, except in those mobile home developments wherein the lots are for sale. In such cases, mobile home may have direct access only onto minor internal streets. In no case shall direct access from a mobile home be permitted onto the street(s) off which the mobile home development gains primary access.
§ 150-103 Parking.
A.
Spaces required. Two paved off-street parking spaces shall be provided for each mobile home. Such spaces may be in a common parking facility, provided that parking areas contained therein are within 100 feet of the mobile home lots for which they are intended. All parking shall be in accordance with the applicable provisions of Article XXII.
B.
Landscaping; required green areas. Ten percent of all paved parking area on each lot shall be devoted to green areas which must be interspersed within the paved parking areas to channel traffic or divide parking areas. The green areas required by this section shall not constitute a portion of any green area otherwise required by this chapter or any other ordinance or regulation of the Township. The exact design and location of the green areas required by this section shall be disclosed on a development or subdivision or other similar plan and be permanently maintained as such.
§ 150-104 Utilities.
A.
Water supply. An adequate supply of public water shall be provided for mobile home developments, service buildings and other accessory facilities.
B.
Underground utilities. All electric, natural gas, telephone and any other utility lines shall be placed underground in all mobile home developments.
§ 150-105 Municipal use.
[Added 9-15-1993 by Ord. No. 133]
In addition to the uses otherwise permitted by this article, a municipal use, as defined in Article III, shall also be permitted.