A.
No person or entity shall own or operate a mobile home
park within the Township of Elk without first having obtained a license from
the Elk Township Committee pursuant to the provisions of this article.
B.
No more than one license pursuant to this article shall
be issued at any one time to the end that the number of mobile home parks
operating within the Township of Elk at one time shall be limited to one.
An application for a mobile home park license shall be made to the Elk
Township Clerk in triplicate on a form provided for such application by the
Township Clerk. The application shall be verified by affidavit of the owner
or managing agent of the mobile home park and shall include the following:
A.
The applicant's full name, residence, telephone number
and post office address, and whether such applicant is an individual, partnership
or corporation. If a partnership, the names and addresses of the partners
shall be included. If a corporation, the names and addresses of the officers
of the corporation shall be included.
B.
In the case of an initial application, a complete plan
of the park, prepared by a professional engineer licensed to practice in New
Jersey, and bearing his seal and signature, shall accompany the application.
The plans shall reflect the following:
(1)
The extent and area used for mobile home park purposes.
(2)
The roadways, driveways and drainage.
(3)
The location of mobile home spaces will include numbers
that the township will specify.
(4)
The method and plan of sewage disposal.
(5)
The method and plan of garbage removal.
(6)
The plan of electrical lighting of mobile homes and the
mobile home park, including the roadways and driveways.
(7)
The plan and specifications of all buildings and other
improvements situate in the mobile home park.
(8)
The plan for water supply.
C.
In the case of a renewal application, the applicant shall
submit with its application plans prepared by a professional engineer licensed
to practice in New Jersey, bearing his seal and signature, reflecting all
changes and modifications to the plan previously filed by the applicant in
the detail required for the initial plans and specifications. In the event
that there have been no changes or modifications to the mobile home park,
the applicant shall submit a statement to this effect verified by affidavit.
Improvements to or maintenance of existing infrastructure, unless said improvement
effects storm drainage, shall not require submission of sealed plans, but
such maintenance or improvements should be described in detail in the applicant's
affidavit.
D.
Applications for a mobile home park license submitted
after December 6, 1996, by mobile home parks licensed prior to December 6,
1996, shall be considered a renewal application.
The following fees shall be charged for all mobile home parks licensed
under this chapter, and the person to whom said license is issued shall be
responsible for the prompt payment thereof to the Township Clerk: The annual
fee for all mobile home park licenses shall be $25 for mobile home parks containing
five mobile home park spaces or fewer on which one or more occupied mobile
home is situated, and $5 for each additional mobile home park space over five
provided for or on which an occupied mobile home may be placed. This fee shall
be payable in advance for each calendar year and shall be apportioned and
prorated if the license is issued between January 31 and December 15 of the
same year.
Mobile home park licenses issued pursuant to this article shall be valid
for a period of one year from January 1 to December 31; licenses which are
issued between January 1 and December 31 of any year shall expire on December
31 of that year. Applications for mobile home park licenses for a full one-year
term shall be made subsequent to October 1 and prior to November 15 of the
preceding year, and, if a license is issued thereon, it shall be issued to
be effective January 1 of the following year if the provisions of this article
have been complied with.
A.
The licensee shall pay to the Township of Elk a fee for
each mobile home lot in the mobile home park on which is situated a mobile
home. The fee shall be $5 per week commencing in the year 1998 and shall increase
to $6 per week effective for the year 2000. The fee shall be paid on a monthly
basis to the Elk Township Clerk on the first business day following the last
day of the preceding month. Interest on all delinquent payments shall accrue
commencing 10 days after default and shall be paid at the same rate as on
unpaid delinquent real estate taxes in the township.
B.
The above fees are deemed necessary for revenue purposes
as well as for inspection supervision, public health, fire and police protection
and other similar governmental functions, and for the additional cost to the
township for furnishing and maintaining educational facilities for the children
of the occupants of the mobile home park.
A.
Each licensee of a mobile park shall maintain a mobile
home park registry and shall submit the same to the Elk Township Clerk on/or
before January 30 of each year. The mobile home park registry shall be verified
by affidavit of the owner or managing agent and shall reflect the following:
the name and address of each mobile home owner residing in the mobile home
park and the mobile home lot on which said owner's mobile home is located.
In the event that there is a change in occupancy, the licensee shall submit
to the Municipal Clerk, within 10 days of any change of occupancy, a statement
providing the name and address of the new occupant and the designation of
mobile home lot on which said occupant's mobile home is located.
B.
The initial mobile home park registry submitted by a
licensee in each calendar year shall contain a map or diagram of the mobile
home park reflecting the location of each mobile home lot and mobile home
and a number assigned to the mobile home lot by the township.
Upon the filing of complete application and the payment of the application
fee as required by this article, the Township Clerk shall forward a copy of
the application, plans and specifications to the Elk Township Zoning Officer.
Thereafter, the Zoning Officer shall, within 20 days from receipt of said
documents, conduct an inspection of the mobile home park and submit a written
report of his inspection to the Township Committee as to whether or not the
mobile home park is in compliance with the provisions of the ordinances of
Elk Township and all state and federal laws. In the event that the Zoning
Officer determines that the mobile home park is not in compliance with said
provisions, he shall notify the Township Committee of the nature and extent
of the violations.
The Zoning Officer is hereby designated as the inspection officer and
is authorized to make inspections of mobile home parks situated in the Township
of Elk for the purpose of determining whether or not there is compliance with
the provisions of the township ordinances. For the purpose of making such
inspections, the Zoning Officer is hereby authorized to enter, examine and
survey at all reasonable times the mobile home park and its facilities. The
owner or person in charge of the mobile home park shall give the Zoning Officer
free access to the mobile home park and its facilities at all reasonable times
for the purpose of such inspection.
At the next regular Township Committee meeting following receipt of
the Zoning Officer's report, the Township Committee shall issue a mobile home
park license unless the Zoning Officer has made a determination that the mobile
home park is in violation of the provisions of the township ordinances. If
the Zoning Officer has made such a determination, the Township Committee shall
not issue a license until the Zoning Officer has advised that the violations
have been abated; provided, however, that the Township Committee shall be
permitted to issue a license with conditions or restrictions if it deems the
same appropriate. The Township Committee, in its discretion, may require a
performance guaranty from the applicant to ensure compliance by the applicant
with the restrictions or conditions imposed by the Township Committee. The
amount and kind of performance guaranty shall be approved by the Elk Township
Solicitor.
Whenever the Zoning Officer determines that there are reasonable grounds
to believe that there are violations of the provisions of the township ordinances,
he shall give notice of such violations to the owner or manager of the mobile
home park. Such notice shall be in writing, shall include a statement of the
reasons why it is being issued and shall allow a reasonable time for the performance
of any act to abate the violations. Said notice shall be served upon the owner
or manager personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested, and
shall advise that failure to abate the alleged violations may result in loss
of the mobile home park license.
The owner or manager on whom the notice of violation has been served
may request and shall be granted a hearing on the notice of violation by the
Township Committee, provided that such person shall file in the office of
the Township Clerk a written petition requesting such hearing setting forth
a brief statement of response in answer to the notice of violation, within
10 days after the date of the notice was served. Upon receipt of such petition,
the Township Committee shall set a time and place for such hearing and shall
give the petitioner written notice thereof. At such hearing, the petitioner
shall be given an opportunity to be heard and to respond to the allegations
of the notice. The hearing shall commence not later than 21 days after the
day on which the petition was filed; provided, however, that upon application
by the petitioner, the Committee may grant a continuance of the hearing date.
After such hearing, the Township Committee shall make a determination regarding
the notice of violation and may, in the exercise of its discretion, revoke
or suspend the mobile home park license or impose conditions or restrictions
on the same. In the event that the Township Committee imposes conditions or
restrictions on the license, it may, in the exercise of its discretion, require
a performance guaranty from the applicant to ensure compliance by the applicant
with such restrictions or conditions imposed. The amount of performance guaranty
shall be determined by the Township Committee, and its form shall be approved
by the Township Solicitor. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Township
Committee may seek relief therefrom in any court of competent jurisdiction
as provided by the laws of the State of New Jersey.
