DEPARTMENT: Development Services
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Michael Shannon, Interim Director
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Mobile Home Parks
SUMMARY:
The post-mortem report for the Oak Hollow Mobile Home Park (Council District 8) identified areas for improvement, one of which focused on proactive annual inspections of mobile home parks. Development Services will discuss possible ordinance amending registration and annual inspections of mobile home parks.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Over the past few years, the conditions of a few mobile home parks have been brought to the City’s attention and resulted in the re-location of residents due to health and safety concerns at some of these parks. Most recently, in 2016, the conditions at the Oak Hollow Mobile Home resulted in the relocation of families due to failures with several septic systems on the property which caused insanitary conditions which have the potential to be harmful to current residents. The concerns were inspected on a “reactive” basis, only after Code Enforcement received complaints about the conditions. Other City departments, to include Metro Health and Human Services, assisted with inspecting the property and placing residents, respectively, into other residential settings.
Currently, mobile home parks are required to register with the Department of Health under City Code Chapter 18 and are subject to inspection. The fee per lot is $35.00 annually and is paid by the park owner for all useable lots, whether they are occupied or not. However, the current model does not entail proactive or routine inspections that focus on meeting compliance with the City’s Property Maintenance Code.
In an effort to improve the overall health and safety at mobile home parks, proposed changes to current City Code provisions could include dedication of staff to conduct proactive inspections to ensure that the density of mobile homes does not increase over time, that electrical, sewer, and water connections are inspected regularly, and that the parks are in compliance with the City’s Property Maintenance Code. It is anticipated that the registration cost per lot will increase from the current fee.
ISSUE:
There are some instances where park owners are not addressing property maintenance issues within these parks. In an effort to proactively address maintenance issues, having a dedicated staff to inspect the mobile home parks and gain familiarity and knowledge about issues at the parks will minimize major health issues that can potentially occur at these locations.
Therefore, as proposed in the post-mortem report for the Oak Hollow Mobile Home Park, City staff recommends beginning the process to amend City Code Chapter 18 which will require annual and proactive inspections by Code Enforcement staff.
ALTERNATIVES:
As an alternative, the Neighborhood and Livability Committee could choose not to move forward with approving actions needed to amend City Code Chapter 18 which currently addresses registration of mobile home parks.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item. This memo is for briefing purposes only.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval by the Neighborhoods and Livability Committee for City staff to begin meeting with impacted stakeholders to develop appropriate amendments to City Code Chapter 18 - Mobile Living Parks.