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Gaylord’s Planning and Zoning Commission, next week, will consider proposed updates to the City’s mobile home park ordinance.

Donald Lannoye, attorney with the Schauer Law Office of Winthrop, explained to Gaylord Economic Development Authority Monday, that the commission first looked at the proposed changes last month, but wanted to take time to study it before taking action on it. The commission will meet Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 5:30 p.m.

If approved, the new ordinance will not affect the current mobile home park in Gaylord because it is grandfathered in, according to City Administrator Kevin McCann. Any new mobile home park that is developed would be required to follow the new ordinance, he explained.

Several changes and/or additions are proposed in the ordinance. These changes include:

• Upon issuance of a conditional use permit, the park may be constructed but can only be occupied once it has been inspected by the inspector and an occupancy permit has been issued.

• Minimum lot sizes shall not be less than 6,600 square feet. Minimum lot width shall be 60 feet and have a minimum lot depth of 110 feet. In the past, the minimum lot size was 4,000 square feet.

• All manufactured homes must be located at least 25 feet from any property line abutting upon a public street or highway, or interior streets.

• The area inclusive of manufactured home, off-street parking, accessory buildings and extensions of the manufactured home, shall not exceed 50% of the total area of the lot.

• No building or structure, hereafter erected or altered in a manufactured home park, shall exceed 25 feet or one and one half stories in height.

• Grades and plans for the roads within a mobile home park shall be approved by the City Engineer prior to construction and shall adhere to these conditions:

- All manufactured home lots shall front only on interior roadways with access to roadways provided only on interior roadways.

- Interior roadways shall be constructed no less than six inches of gravel and aggregate that has been stabilized to prevent dust and mud and designed to provide adequate surface drainage.

- All interior roadways shall be privatized streets maintained by the owner of the mobile home park or park manager.

- Every grade of material and mapping plan of internal park roadways within a manufactured home park shall first be approved by the City Engineer prior to construction.

• All the homes manufactured before 6-12-1976 will require an inspection prior to installation or occupancy to confirm compliance with safety criteria as set forth in the ordinance and the Minnesota Building Code requirements. They will also require a conditional use permit and seven safety criteria must be met.

• Any newly installed manufactured home older than 15 years from the time of the building permit will require an inspection to confirm safety criteria.

• The growth of brush, weeds ad grass shall be controlled.

• Portable fire extinguishers rated for electrical and liquid fires shall be kept in all service buildings and other locations conveniently and readily accessible for use by all occupants.

• No recreational camping vehicle shall be occupied as a residence or living quarters from December 1 through March 1 of each calendar year.

• Grounds, buildings and structures shall be maintained free of insects and rodent harborage and infestation.

• Parks shall be maintained free of accumulation and of debris that may provide rodent harborage or breeding places for flies, mosquitoes, and other pests.

• Every manufactured home lot shall be permanently staked and numbered with permanent identification markers for each lot clearly visible from the street.

• All manufactured home lots shall have an area set aside for storage. Boats, boat trailers, hauling trailers and other equipment needed to be stored off each individual manufactured home lot shall be stored in a separate storage facility provided and maintained by the mobile home park owner.

The proposed ordinance also authorizes the zoning administrator or inspector to make such inspections necessary to determine compliance with the regulations with the consent of the property owner or legal authorization.

It also provides for the inspector, Chief of Police, or an authorized representative, to inspect the register containing a record of all residents in the manufactured home park. If deemed necessary, it shall be the duty of all occupants within a manufactured home park to allow the owner, the owner’s agent or an employee access to any part of the manufactured home park at reasonable times for the purpose of making emergency repairs or alterations deemed necessary to be in compliance with the ordinance.