This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "House Trailer Ordinance of the Town of Bethlehem."
It is the purpose of this chapter to regulate
the maintenance of house trailers and house trailer camps within the
Town of Bethlehem and to prescribe regulations for said camps, to
regulate the parking and locations of house trailers outside of said
camps within the Town of Bethlehem and to require that house trailer
camps within the Town of Bethlehem be laid out and constructed in
accordance with approved plans.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
CAMP UNIT
The lot or space in any camp which shall be assigned to or
used and occupied by any one house trailer.
HOUSE TRAILER
Any vehicle or combination thereof used, designated 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.
TRAILER CAMP
Any lot, piece or parcel of ground whereon one or more house
trailers 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.
No trailer camp shall be permitted in any district
in the Town except in a rural district zoned and rural district not
zoned.
No person, firm or corporation being the owner
or occupant of any land or premises within the Town of Bethlehem shall
use or permit the use of said land or premises as a trailer camp without
obtaining a permit therefor as hereinafter provided.
The police officers, the Town Health Officer
and the Town Building Inspector and any other duly authorized agent
or employee of the Town of Bethlehem shall have the right at any reasonable
time to enter any trailer camp or other premises used for the parking
or location of house trailers and shall have the right to inspect
all parts of said premises and to inspect the records required to
be kept at any trailer camp.
If any authorized representative of the Town
of Bethlehem finds that any trailer camp 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 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 camp, directing that the conditions therein
specified be remedied within 10 days after the date of service of
such order. If such conditions are not corrected after the expiration
of said ten-day period, the Town Board may cause a notice in writing
to be served upon the holder of said permit or the person in charge
of such trailer camp, requiring the holder of the permit to appear
before the Town Board of the Town of Bethlehem at a time to be specified
in such notice and show cause why such trailer camp permit should
not be revoked. The Town Board may, after a hearing at which the testimony
of witnesses may be taken and the holder of the permit shall be heard,
if he desires to be heard, revoke such permit if said Town Board shall
find that said camp is not being maintained in a clean and sanitary
condition or if it finds 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
purposes of a trailer camp, and all house trailers shall forthwith
be removed therefrom.
Application for the renewal of any trailer camp permit issued pursuant to this chapter must be filed with 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 as required by §
115-6A in the case of an original application for a permit, except that such renewal application need not be accompanied by a plan of the trailer camp unless some change in the plan or layout of the camp 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 camp 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 Health Officer 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 §
115-6D covering the original issuance of trailer camp permits.
This chapter shall apply to all existing trailer camps in the Town of Bethlehem on the date of its adoption, except that trailer camps in existence on or before said date shall not be required to comply with the provisions of §
115-7B hereof. The owner or operator of any existing camp shall have 60 days after this chapter becomes effective to make an application for a permit to operate such camp. Such application shall contain the information required by §
115-6A and shall be accompanied by the fee set forth in §
115-6D. Upon payment thereof, the Town Clerk shall therewith issue a temporary permit to operate such camp until the following December 31. Any additions, extensions or enlargements of existing camps shall comply with all the provisions of this chapter. Applications for permits to construct such additions, extensions or enlargements shall be made as provided in §
115-6. A camp operating under such temporary permit shall be maintained and operated in compliance with all the provisions of this chapter except as they have been heretofore excused.
If any authorized representative of the Town
of Bethlehem finds that any house trailer outside a trailer camp is
not being maintained in a clean and sanitary condition or is not being
maintained in accordance with the provisions of this chapter or is
being maintained in violation of any terms and conditions imposed
by the Town Board, 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 and/or the owner
of the house trailer and/or the owner of the premises, directing that
the condition 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 such permit and/or
the owner of said house trailer and/or the owner of the premises upon
which it is located, requiring the appearance of the person so served
before the Town Board of the Town of Bethlehem at a time to be specified
in such notice, to show cause why such house trailer permit should
not be revoked. The Town Board may, after a hearing at which testimony
of witnesses may be taken and the person so served shall be heard,
if he desires to be heard, revoke such permit if the Town Board shall
find that the said house trailer is not being maintained in a clean
and sanitary condition or if it finds that any provision of this chapter
has been violated or for any other sufficient cause. Upon the revocation
of such permit, the said house trailer shall be disconnected from
its water supply and sewage disposal system and removed forthwith
from the premises.
The provisions of §
115-12B shall apply only to a house trailer parked or placed outside a licensed trailer camp on and after the effective date of this chapter. House trailers parked outside of a duly licensed trailer camp prior to the effective date of this chapter and occupied as a dwelling may remain in the position or place in which they are then parked, subject to the existing ordinances of the Town of Bethlehem; provided, however, that no such house trailer shall be moved to a new location in the Town of Bethlehem except in compliance with the provisions of this chapter, and provided also that any owner or lessee of a house trailer presently parked outside a licensed trailer camp may replace the same with a new house trailer located upon the same plot of ground and in the same location. The owner of an existing house trailer replacing the same with a new house trailer shall file a plot plan with the Town Building Inspector, showing the dimensions of the new trailer and its location upon the building lot.
[Amended 3-23-1988 by L.L. No. 2-1988]
Any person committing an offense against the
provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be punishable by a fine of not more than
$250 or by imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or both, and each
day of continuance of an offense shall constitute a separate violation.
The prosecution for an offense against 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.
The issuance of a trailer camp 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 camp with any statute of the State of New York or ordinance or
health regulation of the Town of Bethlehem or regulation of the New
York State Health Department or the Albany County Health Department.