[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville 8-18-1954. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "House Trailer Ordinance of the Town of Cortlandville."
It is the purpose of this chapter to regulate house trailers and house trailer parks within the Town of Cortlandville; to require that such parks be laid out and constructed in accordance with approved plans; to prescribe regulations for said parks; to require the registration of occupants thereof; to regulate the parking and location of house trailers outside of such parks.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
HOUSE TRAILER
Any vehicle, or combination thereof, used, designed for use or capable of being used as sleeping or living quarters, whether propelled by its own power or by the power of another vehicle to which it may be attached. This definition shall not include any house trailer, as defined herein, located outside of a trailer park, if the wheels of such trailer are removed and such trailer is or is intended to be permanently affixed or attached to the realty upon which it is situate.
PARK UNIT
The lot or space in any park which shall be assigned to or used and occupied by any one house trailer, by any one tent or by any one house tent.
TRAILER PARK
Any lot, piece or parcel of ground whereon two or more house trailers, tents or tent houses used, designed for use or capable of being used as living or sleeping quarters are parked or located and for which use said premises are held open to the public, a fee being collected for such use.
No person, firm or corporation being the owner or occupant of any land or premises within the Town of Cortlandville shall use or permit the use of said land or premises as a trailer park without obtaining a permit therefor as hereinafter provided.
A. 
Application for permit.
(1) 
The application for each trailer park permit shall be in writing and signed by the applicant. It shall state:
(a) 
The name and address of the applicant;
(b) 
The name and address of each partner, if the applicant is a partnership;
(c) 
The name and address of each officer and director, if the applicant is a corporation;
(d) 
A complete description of the premises upon which the proposed park is to be located;
(e) 
The name and address of the owner or owner of such premises; and
(f) 
The number of park units to be provided in the proposed park.
(2) 
Each application shall be accompanied by a complete plan to scale, showing the layout of the park, the location, size and arrangement of each park unit, location of streets, location and number of toilets, lavatories, showers and tubs for each sex, location of water service and fire hydrants, and location of slop sinks, garbage receptacles and laundry trays. Where the applicant is not the owner of the premises, the application shall also be accompanied by the original or photostatic copy of the lease of the premises and a written statement signed by all of the owners consenting that the premises be used for the purpose of a trailer park.
B. 
Filing of application and submission of the same to Cortland County Health Department and Town Board.
(1) 
Each application shall be submitted to the Zoning Officer, who shall thereupon transmit the same to the Cortland County Health Department. Such application shall indicate compliance by the applicant with the minimum park requirements as established by rule or regulation of the State Department of Health and Chapter 7 of the Sanitary Code of the State of New York. The Cortland County Health Department shall, after investigation, transmit the application to the Town Board, together with its written approval or disapproval thereof, or recommendation pertaining thereto.
[Amended 8-5-1998 by L.L. No. 2-1998; 12-16-2009 by L.L. No. 3-2009]
(2) 
All such applications shall, after investigation, be approved or rejected by the Town Board, after which the application shall be filed with the Town Clerk and the applicant notified, in writing, by the Clerk of the action taken thereon.
C. 
Issuance of permit. The Town Clerk of the Town of Cortlandville, upon the written application and upon the approval of the same by the Cortland County Health Department and the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville, and upon receipt of the fee hereinafter provided, shall issue a permit to become effective from the date thereof, and to continue in force for the term specified therein, but in no event longer than through the 31st day of December next succeeding, for the use of the premises therein specified as a trailer park, which permit shall specify the number of park units which may be used in said park. Such permit shall not be transferable or assignable.
D. 
Issuance of permit not to waive compliance. Nothing in this chapter shall repeal or supersede any provision of Chapter 178, Zoning, of the Town of Cortlandville, and compliance must be shown with the provisions of that chapter before application for a permit may be made hereunder. The issuance of a trailer park permit pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall not be deemed to waive compliance by the holder thereof, by the property owner or by any occupant of said park with any statute of the State of New York or chapter or health regulation of the Town of Cortlandville.
[Amended 8-5-1998 by L.L. No. 2-1998]
E. 
Fees. The applicant for a trailer park permit shall at the time of the issuance of any such permit pay to the Town Clerk a fee to be computed at the rate as set forth from time to time by Town Board resolution per annum, based upon the average number of occupied park units, or, if none, then the minimum fee as set forth from time to time by Town Board resolution.
[Amended 8-5-1998 by L.L. No. 2-1998]
A. 
Drainage and grading. All lands used as a trailer park shall be well drained, of ample size and free from heavy or dense growth of brush or weeds. The land shall be properly graded to ensure proper drainage during and following rainfall and shall at all times be so drained as to be free from stagnant pools of water.
B. 
Park plan. Each trailer park shall be subdivided and marked off into rectangular shaped lots of park units numbered consecutively, the number being conspicuously posted on each park unit, each of which park units shall contain at least 5,000 feet (square feet) and shall have width of not less than 50 feet and a depth of not less than 100 feet. No more than one house trailer, tent or tent house shall be permitted to occupy any one park unit. No house trailer, tent or tent house, including any attached cabana or other structure, shall be erected within 10 feet of any side line, 25 feet of the front line and 10 feet of the rear line of any park unit. The park units shall be grouped in blocks with streets at least 30 feet wide between each block. No park unit shall be located within 100 feet of any highway or street line, nor within 25 feet of any adjacent property line. Each trailer park and all parts thereof shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition at all times.
[Amended 10-20-1964]
C. 
Water supply. A sufficient supply of pure drinking water shall be provided in convenient locations in the park.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 6(d), regarding toilets, lavatories and showers, which immediately followed this section, was repealed 8-5-1998 by L.L. No. 2-1998.
D. 
Disposal of sewage and other water-carried wastes.
(1) 
All sewage and other water-carried wastes shall be disposed of into a municipal sewerage system whenever available. In house trailer parks in which such connections are not available, disposal shall be into a private system which includes a sanitary means of disposal, the operation of which creates neither a nuisance or a menace to health.
(2) 
When a water carriage system of sewage is used, each park unit shall be provided with a sewer connection for the combined liquid waste outlet or outlets of each house trailer, and trapped below the frost line. It shall be the duty of the owner or operator of said trailer park to provide a water- and odor-tight connection from the trailer water drainage to the sewer connection, and it shall be the duty of said owner or operator to make such connections and keep all occupied trailers connected to said sewer while located in a trailer park. Sewer connections in unoccupied park units shall be so closed that they will emit no odors or cause a breeding place for flies. No water or waste shall be allowed to fall on the ground from a house trailer.
E. 
Garbage receptacles. Each such trailer park shall provide equipment sufficient to prevent littering of the grounds and premises with rubbish, garbage and refuse, and shall provide flytight metal depositories with tight-fitting covers at conspicuous locations upon such premises. Such depositories shall be emptied as often as necessary to be kept at all times in sanitary condition. The depositories shall be so located that no park unit shall be more than 100 feet from a depository.
The owner or operator of each trailer park shall keep a permanent record, in writing, of all persons occupying or using the facilities of such trailer park, which record shall include the following:
A. 
The name and address of each occupant of each house trailer.
B. 
The date of arrival at and departure from said park of each trailer and occupant of each trailer.
C. 
The name and address of owner of each house trailer.
D. 
If registered, the registration number of each house trailer, state in which registered and year of registration.
E. 
The name and address of owner of each automobile or other motor vehicle used to propel such trailers.
F. 
The make and registration number of each motor vehicle with state in which registered and year of registration.
G. 
The name, address and date of arrival at and departure from said park, of each occupant of a tent house or facility other than a house trailer. If such occupant travels by automobile or other motor vehicle, the name and address of the owner of such vehicle, its registration number, the state in which registered, the year of registration and its make and description.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 8, Report of trailer park occupants, which immediately followed this section, was repealed 8-5-1998 by L.L. No. 2-1998.
The police officers of the Town of Cortlandville, the Cortland County Health Department and any other duly authorized agent of said Town shall have the right at any reasonable time to enter any trailer park or other premises used for the parking or location of a house trailer, and shall have the right at all times to inspect all parts of said premises, and to inspect the registration records required to be kept in any trailer park.
If a police officer, health officer or any authorized representative of the Town of Cortlandville finds that any trailer park is not being maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, or is not being conducted in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, such facts shall thereupon be reported to the Town Board, and the said Town Board may direct the Town Clerk to serve an order, in writing, upon the holder of the permit or the person in charge of said park, directing that the conditions therein specified be remedied within five days after the date of service of such order. If such conditions are not corrected after the expiration of said five-day period, the Town Board may cause a notice, in writing, to be served upon the holder of the said permit or the person in charge of such trailer park, requiring the holder of the permit to appear before the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville at a time to be specified in such notice and show cause why such trailer park permit should not be revoked. The Town Board may, after a hearing at which testimony of witnesses may be taken and the holder of the permit shall be heard, revoke such permit if said Town Board shall find that said park is not being maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, or if they find that any provisions of this chapter have been violated, or for other sufficient cause. Upon the revocation of such permit, the premises shall forthwith cease to be used for the purpose of a trailer park, and all house trailers, tents and tent houses shall forthwith be removed therefrom.
[Amended 8-5-1998 by L.L. No. 2-1998]
Application for the renewal of any trailer park permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall be submitted to the Town Clerk on or before the first day of December next preceding the expiration of said permit. The application for renewal shall be in writing and signed by the applicant and shall contain the same information is required by § 151-5A of this chapter in the case of original application for permits, except that such renewal application need not be accompanied by a plan of the trailer park unless some change in the plan or layout of the park is contemplated by the applicant, nor is it necessary that the said renewal application be accompanied by the lease of the premises unless a new lease of the premises has been entered into subsequent to the time of filing the previous application, in which event the original or photostatic copy of the new lease shall be attached to the application for a renewal, nor shall it be necessary to attach to such application for renewal the written consent of the owners of the premises that the same may be used for the purposes of a trailer park unless there shall have been a change in the ownership since the filing of the previous application, in which event such written statement signed by all of the new owners of the premises must accompany the application for a renewal of the permit. Upon the approval of said application for a renewal of the permit by the Cortland County Health Department and the Town Board, the Town Clerk shall issue a renewal permit which shall become effective upon the expiration of the prior permit and continue in force for the term specified therein, but in no event longer than for a period of one year. Such renewal permit shall not be transferred or assigned. The applicant shall, at the time of issuance of such renewal permit, pay to the Town Clerk the same fee provided in § 151-5E of this chapter covering the original issuance of trailer park permits.
[Amended 8-5-1998 by L.L. No. 2-1998]
This chapter shall apply to all existing trailer parks located in the Town of Cortlandville on the date of its adoption, except that the owner or operator of any such existing park shall have 30 days after this chapter becomes effective to make an application for a temporary permit to operate such park until the following December 31, which permit shall be issued upon payment of the minimum annual fee hereinabove provided in § 151-5E hereof. An application may be made to extend such temporary permit for the period of one year, such application to be made 30 days before expiration of such temporary permit, and, if granted by the Town Board, such extended temporary permit shall be issued by the Town Clerk upon payment of the fee as herein provided. A park operating under such temporary permit shall be maintained and operated in compliance with all of the provisions of this chapter, except as the provisions of this section make compliance with the provisions of § 151-6 impossible with respect to furnishing adequate park unit areas. The owner or operator of any such trailer park shall have a period of one year from the expiration date of a temporary permit within which to rearrange such park to conform to the provisions of § 151-6 of this chapter upon payment of the fee otherwise required by this chapter.
[Amended 8-5-1998 by L.L. No. 2-1998]
A. 
Highway parking prohibited. No house trailer shall be parked or allowed to remain upon any public highway or private way in the Town of Cortlandville.
B. 
Permit required; area requirements. No house trailer shall be parked or located on any land or premises within the Town of Cortlandville, other than a trailer park, without a permit therefor. Such land or premises must have conveniently accessible to such house trailer adequate sanitary facilities and approved water supply. Each trailer located outside a trailer park must be located on a lot which conforms to the provisions of Chapter 178, Zoning, of the Town of Cortlandville with respect to width, depth and total lot area size. Front and side yard area requirements of said chapter must also be complied with in respect to the location of a house trailer. Except for a temporary period of not to exceed 10 days, not more than one house trailer shall be parked or otherwise located on each such separate lot or parcel of land. The area of each lot so used for the location of a house trailer outside a trailer park must be computed independent of any yard areas required for adjoining residential premises as prescribed in Chapter 178, Zoning.
[Amended 8-5-1998 by L.L. No. 2-1998]
Anyone violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable by a fine of not more than $250 or by imprisonment for a term of not more than 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. The application of the above penalty or penalties or the prosecution for the violation of the provisions of this chapter shall not be deemed to prevent the revocation of any permit issued pursuant thereto, or the enforced removal of conditions prohibited by this chapter.
None of the provisions of this chapter shall be applicable within the limits of any incorporated village located in the Town of Cortlandville, Cortland County, New York nor to any house trailers stored or garaged where such house trailers are not being used or occupied as living or sleeping quarters.