Mobile Homes

A mobile home is defined as any transportable structure which has the following characteristics: 

1. It is eight (8) body feet or more in width and forty (40) body feet or more in length in the traveling mode or is 320 or more square feet in floor area when erected on-site.
2. It is built on a permanent chassis.
3. It is designed for use as a single-family dwelling or other human occupancy, with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities.
4. It includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems contained in the structure.

Travel trailers and other vehicles not meeting the requirements set out above shall not constitute mobile homes for the purposes of this ordinance and shall not be treated as such; provided, however, that such vehicles and similar structures may be treated as mobile homes only when used as office quarters and sales offices.

Mobile Home Parks

A Building and an Electrical permit are required prior to placing a mobile home in any mobile home park.  The permits are obtained from the Department of Development & Permits, second floor of the City Hall Building, 306 Cedar Road.  You will need to bring the contract from the mobile home park, including the address and/or lot number where the mobile home is being placed. Zoning will give you a computer-generated application, then you will visit Public Utilities to arrange for water and sewer, and then you will meet with the building inspector to obtain the Building Permit.  Lastly, you or your electrician will obtain an electrical permit from the same location.

Free Standing Mobile Homes

A freestanding mobile home is defined as any mobile home (manufactured home) which is not located in a mobile home park.

A freestanding mobile home used as a single-family residence can only be placed on A-1, Agricultural zoned property, must be placed on a permanent foundation on an individual lot or parcel, and shall be permitted in all agricultural zoning districts to the same extent and subject to the same standards and conditions as conventional, site-built single-family dwellings located in agricultural zoning districts.  No other house or residence may be located on the same lot.
 
***Free standing mobile homes are not permitted in any other zoning district including all residential districts.***

Modular homes, which are frequently confused with mobile homes, are designed and constructed to meet all applicable building codes, and are permitted in all residential zoning districts.

Mobile Homes on Farms

A freestanding mobile home less than 19’ wide may be authorized, through issuance of a conditional use permit, on property in agricultural zoning districts on which no residential structure has been erected, if it meets the following requirements, in addition to any other requirements that city council may impose as a condition of the use permit:

1. The mobile home is for providing a residence to the property owner or to members of the owner's immediate family; and
   1. The mobile home is occupied by only one family and is not used for rental purposes; and
   2. The lot on which the mobile home is located is at least twenty (20) acres in size; and
   3. The mobile home is set back a minimum of two hundred (200) feet from any adjoining public street, and four hundred (400) feet from any other residential building existing at the time the mobile home is placed.
   4. The sewage disposal system for the mobile home is approved by the health department.
2. The property is used exclusively for agricultural purposes; and
   1. The mobile home is located upon the property for purposes of providing shelter or office quarters for fulltime farm employees; and
   2. Where used to provide shelter for full-time farm employees, not more than one (1) family (or five (5) unrelated persons, as permitted in the definition of "family" in this zoning ordinance) occupy the mobile home; and
   3. The mobile home is removed from the property upon cessation of farming operations for any period in excess of six (6) months; and
   4. A maximum of two mobile homes, situated at least fifty (50) feet from each other, are located upon any single tract of land; and
   5. The minimum lot size and setback requirements set out in subsection (1) above are met.

Mobile Home on Agricultural Property with an Existing Residence

A freestanding mobile home may be permitted with a conditional use permit, on the same lot with an existing residence in an agricultural zoning district, only if it meets the following requirements, in addition to any other requirements that city council may impose as a condition of the use permit:

1. The lot on which the residence and mobile home are located is a minimum of two (2) acres in size; and
2. The mobile home is located to the rear of the lot and does not encroach upon the required yards for the residence; and
3. The mobile home is located behind the established front yard of each adjoining lot; and
4. The mobile home is located at least four hundred (400) feet from any other residential building existing at the time the mobile home is placed; and
5. The mobile home is occupied only by persons who are members of the same family residing on the property; and
6. The mobile home is not occupied by more than one (1) family; and
7. The method of sewage disposal is approved by the health department;
8. Where the mobile home is placed on the same lot as the principal building for the sole purpose of providing housing for an elderly (sixty years of age or older) or medically disabled member of the family which resides in the principal building, city council may permit the following modifications in the above requirements:
   1. The minimum size of the lot is one (1) acre rather than two (2) acres; and
   2. Where the minimum distance between the mobile home and other residence would necessitate that such mobile home be set back from the residence so far that it would significantly affect the provision of adequate care and supervision to the elderly or medically disabled resident of the mobile home, city council may reduce the required distance to the extent necessary to ensure adequate supervision.
      Such modifications may be made only where city council finds that the arrangement of the home with such modifications is in conformity with the character of the neighborhood. Further, such modifications shall be valid and in effect only for so long as the mobile home is used solely for the purpose stated above. Any applicant seeking such modifications shall provide written evidence of the need for such.

Temporary Use of a Mobile Home after Fire/Natural Disaster

When fire or natural disaster has rendered a single-family residence unfit for human habitation, the zoning administrator may issue a permit to allow the temporary use of a freestanding mobile home located on the single-family lot during rehabilitation of the original residence or construction of a new residence, subject to required water and sanitary facilities being provided to the mobile home. Such permit shall be effective for a period of six (6) months or until a certificate of occupancy is issued for the permanent structure, whichever occurs first.

Revised 9/22/06  AHL