[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Catawissa as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building permits — See Ch.
136.
Uniform construction codes — See Ch.
153.
Storage of vehicles — See Ch.
326.
[Adopted 8-13-1970 by Ord. No. 195 (Ch. 14, Part 2, of the 1983 Code
of Ordinances)]
A. The following words and terms, as used in this article, shall have
the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section, unless
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
PERSON
Any natural person, partnership, firm, association or corporation.
TRAILER
Any structure which is mounted, or designated for mounting,
on wheels, and which includes accommodations designed for sleeping
or living purposes for one or more persons, excepting a device used
exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.
TRAILER PARK
Any lot, parcel or tract of land designed, maintained or
intended for the purpose of supplying a location or accommodations
for any trailer or self-contained mobile unit, or upon which any trailer
or self-contained mobile unit is parked or located, whether or not
a charge is made for the use of the trailer park and its facilities,
and shall include all buildings and structures used or intended for
use as a part of the equipment thereof, which trailer park shall be
laid out and improved with facilities for at least 10 units in the
manner hereinafter described.
B. In this article, the singular shall include the plural, and the masculine
shall include the feminine and the neuter.
No person shall occupy any trailer or self-contained mobile
unit in the Borough of Catawissa for sleeping or living purposes except
in a trailer park licensed under this article, provided that the parking
or storing of no more than one unoccupied trailer in a private garage,
or in a rear yard, shall be permitted, on condition that no person
uses such trailer for living or sleeping purposes while such trailer
is so parked or stored.
Any trailer in the Borough of Catawissa suitable for sleeping
or living purposes which shall have been placed on a permanent foundation
or shall have been incorporated into or which forms part of an adjacent
structure shall not be considered as a trailer but shall be considered,
for all Borough purposes, as a dwelling or residence.
No person shall operate or occupy any trailer park within the
Borough except as provided in this article.
[Amended 6-9-1983 by Ord.
No. 268]
A. No person shall establish or operate any trailer park within the
Borough until a permit shall have been secured from the Mayor of the
Borough. Any person desiring to establish or to operate a trailer
park shall make application for a permit to the Mayor of the Borough.
With every such application, there shall be submitted a plan of such
trailer park or proposed trailer park showing the following:
(1) The name and address of the applicant.
(2) The extent and area to be used for trailer park purposes.
(3) The location of all roadways and driveways.
(4) The location of all lots intended for the parking of trailers.
(5) The location and number of all existing or proposed facilities to
be used by the occupants of trailers, including sanitary conveniences,
washrooms, toilets, laundries and utility rooms.
(6) The method and plan of sewage disposal.
(7) The method and plan of garbage and refuse disposal.
(8) The plan for water supply.
(9) The plan for electric lighting of trailers.
(10)
The location of fire extinguishers.
(11)
A statement that the premises proposed to be occupied by such
trailer park shall conform to the provisions of any zoning ordinance
now in force or hereafter adopted.
B. Such application shall be accompanied by a fee of $300 to cover the
cost of the services of Borough officers and employees in making the
necessary studies and investigations in connection with such application.
[Amended 6-9-1983 by Ord.
No. 268]
Following the receipt of the application for a permit as provided
above, the Mayor of the Borough shall cause an investigation to be
made of the premises to which such application relates, in order to
assure himself, before issuing such permit, that all requirements
of this article applicable to trailer parks are conformed with. In
connection with such investigation, the Code Enforcement Officer and
any other Borough officer or employee requested to do so by the Mayor
of the Borough shall visit the premises in order to determine whether
requirements as to which they have particular knowledge and understanding
are adhered to.
[Amended 6-9-1983 by Ord.
No. 268]
Immediately following the investigation required under §
211-6, when the Mayor of the Borough shall be satisfied that all the applicable requirements of this article have been adhered to, or are to be adhered to according to the plans for a proposed trailer park, the Mayor of the Borough shall issue a permit to establish and operate such park for a period of one year after the issuance thereof. Such permit shall be subject to suspension whenever the holder thereof shall be convicted of any violation of this article. A suspended permit may be reinstated by the Mayor of the Borough for the balance of the year for which it was issued upon compliance by the holder thereof of with the provisions of this article. No person shall operate a trailer park in the Borough during the time when the permit therefor shall have been suspended.
Whenever the ownership or management of any trailer park shall
have been changed, the new owner or manager thereof shall forthwith
notify the Mayor of the Borough, who shall amend the permit for such
trailer park, as well as the pertinent records of the Borough, to
indicate such change.
No permit issued under this article shall be transferable to
a different location. No person holding a permit under this article
shall extend or reduce the area of any trailer park, add any new facility
or structure, or eliminate any existing facility or structure until
notice of such proposed change shall have been given to the Mayor
of the Borough and he shall have ascertained, after investigation
as in the case of an original application for a permit, that such
proposed change is in accordance with all the requirements of this
article, and shall have signified that fact by his approval.
[Amended 6-9-1983 by Ord.
No. 268]
Prior to the date of expiration of any permit issued under this
article, the holder thereof may apply to the Mayor of the Borough
for renewal thereof, such application to be accompanied by a fee of
$100. Following any investigation deemed necessary by the Mayor of
the Borough to ascertain whether all the requirements of this article
continue to be adhered to, the Mayor of the Borough shall renew such
permit for a further period of one year.
Every trailer park shall be located in a well-drained area,
and the premises shall be properly graded so as to prevent the accumulation
of stormwater or other water.
Lots for individual trailers in a trailer park shall be indicated
by corner markers and no individual lot shall have an area of less
than 1,500 square feet. Each lot shall be a minimum of 25 feet in
width and shall abut upon a roadway or driveway not less than 20 feet
wide. Every such roadway or driveway shall be paved with blacktop,
concrete, or other approved type of surface, be well drained, shall
be clearly marked, adequately lighted at night, and easily accessible
to a public street. Lots for individual trailers shall be so located
and arranged that when the trailer is located thereon no part of a
trailer shall be nearer than 10 feet to the roadway or driveway adjacent
to said lot. Each trailer park shall have a separate exit and separate
entrance leading to a public street or highway.
[Amended 6-9-1983 by Ord.
No. 268]
In each trailer park, a sufficient supply of pure, healthful
drinking water from a source and of a quality approved by the appropriate
agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, not more than 50 feet
from any trailer, shall be provided in convenient locations. Waste
from each outlet shall be emptied into a drain connected with an approved
disposal system. No common drinking vessel shall be provided. An abundant
supply of hot water shall be provided at all times for bathing, washing
and laundry facilities.
[Amended 6-9-1983 by Ord.
No. 268]
In each trailer park, toilet facilities connected with the sanitary
sewer system in the Borough of Catawissa shall be provided as follows.
There shall be separate toilet rooms for each sex located not more
than 200 feet from any lot for an individual trailer. Such toilet
rooms shall be provided with one flush toilet for each sex for each
10 trailer lots, or fraction thereof, and, in addition, one urinal
for each flush toilet provided for men. Each toilet room shall include
lavatories with hot and cold water, in the ratio of one lavatory to
every two toilets. Toilet rooms shall be adequately heated when the
outside temperature renders it necessary. No trailer provided with
an inside toilet facility not connected to the sanitary sewer system
of the Borough of Catawissa shall be accommodated in any trailer park
unless there shall be available, in a room separate from the other
toilet rooms, a hopper with flushing facilities for the disposal of
the contents of night waste containers. Adequate facilities shall
be provided for the washing of such containers, and the washings and
hopper wastes shall be disposed of in such manner as shall be approved
by the appropriate Commonwealth agency; provided trailer units equipped
with recirculatory toilets, or holding tanks, may be accommodated
if the trailer park is equipped with approved pump-out facilities.
In each trailer park, there shall be provided separate bathing
facilities for each sex, with each shower or tub bath enclosed in
a compartment at least four feet square. For each 10 trailer lots,
or fraction thereof, a separate shower or tub bath for each sex shall
be provided. Each shower or tub bath compartment shall be supplemented
by an adjacent individual dressing compartment. Bathing facilities
for each sex shall be located not more than 200 feet from any lot
for an individual trailer. Bathing rooms shall be adequately heated
when the outside temperature renders it necessary.
In each trailer park, there shall be provided a laundry room,
with laundry trays, in the ratio of one double tray for each 10 individual
trailer lots.
Floors of toilet rooms, bathing rooms and laundry rooms in each
trailer park shall be of concrete, quarry, tile, or similar material,
impervious to water and easily cleaned, and pitched to a floor drain.
Liquid wastes from toilets, baths, lavatories and laundry rooms shall
be piped to and connected with the sanitary sewer system.
No cooking shall be permitted in any trailer not furnished with
a sink and a connection with a sanitary sewer unless there shall be
located, within 150 feet of such trailer, a hopper or a kitchen or
laundry sink for the disposal of dishwater. In every case, such facilities
for the disposal of dishwater shall be separate from the hopper for
the disposal of sanitary sewage wastes and the washings from night
waste containers.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
All plumbing, electrical, building and other work in the premises of any trailer park located in the Borough of Catawissa shall be in accordance with any other ordinances of the Borough regulating such subjects (see Chapter
153, Construction Codes, Uniform); provided, however, if there is any conflict between any such ordinance and any of the provisions of this article, the provisions of this article shall control as to trailer parks only.
All trailers parked or located in trailer parks within the Borough
of Catawissa shall be subject to the applicable tax ordinances of
the Borough on the use or occupancy of house trailers; and all ordinances
of the Borough applicable to the accumulation, collection, segregation
and disposal of garbage shall be applicable to trailer parks located
in the Borough and shall be adhered to strictly by persons owning
and operating trailer parks and by persons occupying trailers therein.
In every trailer park, there shall be an office building in
which shall be located the office of the person in charge of such
trailer park. A copy of the permit issued under this article, and
of this article, shall at all times be posted in such office, and
the register of such trailer park shall at all times be kept therein.
Every person holding a permit under this article shall keep,
or cause to be kept, a register, which shall at all times be open
for the inspection of any official of the Borough. Such register shall
show, for each trailer accommodated in such trailer park, the following
information:
A. The lot number upon which such trailer is parked or located.
B. The names and addresses of all persons using such trailer for living
or sleeping purposes.
C. The state license number of such trailer and of the vehicle towing
the same.
D. The date of arrival of such trailer at such trailer park and the
date of departure therefrom.
[Amended 6-9-1983 by Ord.
No. 268]
Each person holding a permit under this article shall adhere
to the following additional regulations at all times:
A. He shall maintain such trailer camp in a clean, orderly and sanitary
condition.
B. He shall see that no disorderly conduct or violation of any law or
ordinance is committed upon the premises and shall immediately report
to the proper authorities any violations which may come to his attention.
C. He shall report to the appropriate commonwealth agency all cases
of persons or animals affected or suspected of being affected with
any communicable disease, when he shall have reason to believe that
medical attention has not been sought.
D. He shall maintain, in convenient places designated by the Fire Chief
of the Borough, hand fire extinguishers, in good working order, in
the ratio of one to every eight trailer lots or fraction thereof.
E. He shall prohibit the lighting of any open fire upon the premises.
F. He shall prohibit the use of any trailer by a greater number of occupants
than that which it is designed to accommodate.
G. He shall collect and transmit to the Borough all taxes on the use
or occupancy of house trailers under applicable Borough ordinances,
and in the event of his failure to collect said taxes shall be personally
liable therefor in the event the same shall not have otherwise been
paid to the Borough.
Any person operating a trailer park within the Borough of Catawissa
at the time of the adoption of this article shall cause the same to
conform to the requirements of this article and shall make application
for, and secure, a permit to operate such trailer park within three
months from the effective date of this article. Any person having
a trailer parked or located within the Borough of Catawissa at the
time of the adoption of this article other than a trailer park required
to be licensed under the terms of this article shall immediately conform
with the provisions of this article.
It shall be the duty of the Mayor of the Borough to enforce
the provisions of this article, and, to that end, he shall from time
to time make, or cause to be made, by the police or any other Borough
officer or employee, an inspection to ascertain whether any trailer
park continues to operate strictly under the provisions of this article.
The Mayor of the Borough may designate such persons as shall
be selected by him to act as the issuing officer for permits under
the provisions of this article and to perform such other duties as
may be proper.
[Amended 6-9-1983 by Ord.
No. 268]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision
of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay
a fine of not more than $300 and/or to imprisonment for a term not
to exceed 90 days. Every day that a violation of this article continues
shall constitute a separate offense.
[Adopted 8-13-1970 by Ord. No. 196 (Ch. 14, Part 1, of the 1983 Code
of Ordinances)]
All mobile homes hereinafter located in the Borough of Catawissa
shall comply with the terms of this article and any other ordinances
or regulations of the Borough now in force or hereafter passed, governing
the construction, erection, maintenance and/or improvement of residences
within the Borough.
[Amended 12-13-1973 by Ord. No. 220]
Mobile home parks shall be established in compliance with the
following minimum lot and yard and maximum density requirements:
A. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
MOBILE HOME PARK
Any lot, parcel or tract of land upon which two or more mobile
homes are placed, constructed, or erected.
C. Yards:
(1) Front yard: 50 feet deep.
(2) Each side yard: 10 feet deep.
D. Density. Six mobile home spaces per gross acre, provided that no
mobile home shall be placed closer than 20 feet to an adjoining mobile
home or structure. (Gross acreage includes the total mobile home park
area, including, but not limited to, mobile home spaces, driveways
and recreation areas.)
All mobile home parks not served by a public or other off-lot
sewage system shall be provided with an adequate internal sewage collection
and treatment system (as determined and approved by the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection) to serve the design capacity
of the park; however, the collection system may be installed as the
park is developed.
A planting strip, not less than 20 feet wide, shall be provided
and maintained along all lot lines of a mobile home park; provided,
however, that required trees and shrubs shall be set back at least
30 feet from the front lot line. Screen planting shall be composed
of at least one row of deciduous and/or evergreen trees, spaced not
more than 40 feet apart, and not less than two alternating rows of
shrubs, spaced not more than eight feet apart.
The sale of mobile homes, provided that such is incidental to
the mobile home park, and convenience uses such as a commissary and
laundry facilities, providing that such serve the residents of the
park only, shall be permitted accessory uses to mobile home parks,
and providing further that no permitted accessory use shall be located
within any required yard area.
All mobile home spaces shall abut upon a driveway of not less
than 20 feet in width, and walkways not less than two feet in width
shall be provided from the mobile home spaces to service buildings,
provided that such driveways and walkways shall be hard surfaced and
lighted with lamps not less than 25 watts each, spaced at intervals
of not less than 100 feet.
Every mobile home park shall contain a minimum of 200 square
feet of common open areas for recreational purposes for every mobile
home space installed, or intended to be installed, for the use of
the residents of the park.
[Amended 12-13-1973 by Ord. No. 220; 6-9-1983 by Ord. No. 268]
A. No person shall establish or operate any mobile home park within
the Borough until a permit shall have been secured from the Code Enforcement
Officer. With every application for a permit, there shall be submitted
a scale drawing showing the layout of mobile home spaces, accessory
building, access drives, recreation and planting areas and the sanitary
sewerage system, having the approval of the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection as part of the required plot plan, and
such plan shall be approved by the Borough Engineer and Borough Council
before any permit shall be issued by the Code Enforcement Officer.
B. The application must also contain a statement that the premises proposed
to be occupied by such mobile home park shall conform to the provisions
of any zoning ordinance now in force or hereafter adopted.
C. Such application shall be accompanied by a fee of $300 to cover the
cost of Borough officers and employees in making the necessary studies
and investigations in connection with such application.
[Added 12-13-1973 by Ord.
No. 220; 6-9-1983 by Ord. No. 268]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision
of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay
a fine of not more than $300 and/or to imprisonment for a term not
to exceed 90 days. Every day that a violation of this article continues
shall constitute a separate offense.