20093ORDINANCE NO. 20,093
2 AN ORDINANCE TO PROVIDE FOR REGULATION OF THE MAINTENANCE OF
3 MOBILE HOMES AND MANUFACTURED HOMES; TO ADD AN ARTICLE IV TO
4 CHAPTER 20 OF THE LITTLE ROCK CODE OF ORDINANCES; TO DECLARE AN
5 EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
6
7 WHEREAS, the City recognizes the importance of maintaining and improving the integrity and
8 value of all of its housing stock, including that segment of housing comprised of manufactured homes
9 and mobile homes, to the benefit of the City's inhabitants and the City as a whole, and
10 WHEREAS, just as with any other form of housing, substantial neglect, improper maintenance
1 1 and lack of maintenance of mobile homes and manufactured homes causes a blight on the aesthetics of
12 the surrounding area and a decrease the value of surrounding homes of all types, whether site - built,
13 modular, or other mobile homes or manufactured homes, and
14 WHEREAS, the neglect, improper maintenance and lack of maintenance of mobile homes and
I5 manufactured homes also may be a health or safety hazard to inhabitants and neighboring residents
16 and property owners, and
17 WHEREAS, the City desires to protect its neighborhoods from blight and depressed home values
18 and protect residents living in a manufactured home or mobile home and those living near such housing
19 from any nuisance or neglect that endangers the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the
20 occupants and the general public, and
21 WHEREAS, an addition to the nuisance code for conditions that constitute substandard
22 maintenance of mobile homes and manufactured homes is necessary and desirable for the public
23 welfare.
24 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF LITTLE
25 ROCK, ARKANSAS:
26 Section 1. A new article, Article IV, shall be added to Chapter 20, Nuisances, to read as follows:
27 ARTICLE IV. SUBSTANDARD MAINTENANCE OF MOBILE HOMES
28 AND MANUFACTURED HOMES
29 20 -71. Application. The provisions of this article shall apply to the maintenance and
30 condition of mobile homes and manufactured homes wherever in the city they are
31 located, whether within or outside of parks for such dwellings, and shall apply to
32 mobile home parks and the installations for supplying fuel gas, water, and electricity
33 to, and the disposal of sewage from, mobile homes and manufactured homes.
34 20 -72. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms have the stated
35 meaning:
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Ordinance
To add a new article concerning substandard maintenance of mobile homes
and manufactured homes to Chapter 20, Nuisances
I Maintenance violation means a violation of this article discovered during a
2 maintenance inspection performed pursuant to this article.
3 Manufactured home means a factory- assembled detached dwelling unit with the
4 following characteristics:
5 (a) Designed for full -time occupancy and containing sleeping, bathroom, and
6 kitchen facilities, and
7 (b) Has connections for utilities systems that are provided on the intended site,
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(c) Designed for highway transport with wheels, chassis, tongue, and other
features related to transportability, and
(d) Conformance with the minimum construction standards of the federal
manufactured home regulations of 42 U.S.C. 5401 -5426.
MH -unit means a mobile home or manufactured home.
MH park means any mobile home park having one or more mobile homes or
manufactured homes within its boundaries.
Mobile home means a factory- assembled detached dwelling unit with the following
characteristics:
(a) Designed for full -time occupancy and containing sleeping, bathroom, and
kitchen facilities, and
(b) Has connections for utility systems that are provided on the intended site,
and
(c) Designed for highway transport with wheels, chassis, tongue, and other
features related to transportability, and
(d) Constructed prior to the adoption of the National Manufactured Housing
Construction and Safety Standards on June 15, 1976.
Owner means the holder of the title to the MH -unit and any person shown in tax
records to be the title holder or owner of the MH -unit.
Responsible party means either of the following:
(a) For MH- park -owned property or facilities, the park owner or operator or an
available person employed by the MH park as a manager of the MH park, and
(b) An owner of an MH -unit.
20 -73. Penalty.
Any person convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of this article shall be
punished as provided in section 1 -9.
20 -74. Substandard MH -unit. It shall be unlawful for any owner, as defined herein, to
permit, or allow to remain, any substandard MH -unit or to fail to take action to
demolish, remove, or correct, any substandard MH -unit. Every substandard MH -unit is
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Ordinance
To add a new article concerning substandard maintenance of mobile homes
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I declared to be a nuisance and shall be abated by repair, rehabilitation, demolition or
2 removal outside the city. An MH -unit shall be deemed substandard and a nuisance when
3 any of the following conditions exist that endanger the life, limb, health, property,
4 safety, or welfare of the occupants or the public:
5 (a) Health hazards or inadequate sanitation that include, but are not limited to,
6 the following:
7 (1) Lack of, inoperable, or malfunctioning water closet, toilet, lavatory,
8 bathtub or shower, and
9 (2) Lack of, inoperable, or malfunctioning kitchen sink, and
10 (3) Lack of hot and cold running water to plumbing fixtures, and
11 (4) Dampness of habitable rooms, and
12 (5) Infestation of insects, vermin, or rodents, and
13 (6) General dilapidation or improper maintenance, and
14 (7) Obstructions in or lack of or improper connection of plumbing fixtures to a
I5 sewage disposal system, and
16 (8) Lack of or malfunctioning of a required smoke detector.
17 (b) Structural hazards include, but are not limited to, the following:
18 (1) Deteriorated or inadequate foundation or stabilizing devices, and
19 (2) Deteriorated flooring or floor supports, and
20 (3) Members of walls, partitions, or other vertical supports that split, lean, list,
21 or buckle, and
22 (4) Members of ceilings, roofs, ceiling and roof supports or other horizontal
23 members which sag, split or buckle.
24 (c) Electrical hazards include, but are not limited to, the following:
25 (1) All electrical wiring that has not been maintained in good and safe
26 condition or is not being used in a safe manner, and
27 (2) Metallic boxes, fittings, or equipment in an electrical wiring system that are
28 not grounded to prevent shock, and
29 (3) Lack of electrical lighting, or electrical lighting that is not maintained in
30 safe condition.
31 (d) Plumbing hazards include, but are not limited to, the following:
32 (1) Plumbing that has not been maintained in good or safe condition, and
33 (2) Lack of effective traps providing a water seal for each plumbing fixture,
34 and
35 (3) Lack of effective venting of plumbing drain piping or hot water heaters, and
36 (4) Broken, unsanitary or leaking plumbing pipe or fixtures, and
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Ordinance
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1 (5) Any fixture, fitting, device or connection installed in such a manner as to
2 permit contamination of the potable water supply.
3 (e) Hazardous mechanical equipment shall include, but not be limited to, the
4 following:
5 (1) Mechanical equipment that has not been maintained in good and safe
6 condition, or is not being used in a safe manner, and
7 (2) Un- vented fuel - burning heating appliances unless their use is permitted by
8 all applicable laws and regulations, and
9 (3) Heating or fuel - burning equipment, including its vent, without adequate
10 clearance from combustible material, and
11 (4) Unsupported, loose, or leaking fuel supply piping, and
12 (5) Lack of, inoperable or malfunctioning heating.
13 (f) Faulty weather protection shall include, but not be limited to the following:
14 (1) Deteriorated or ineffective waterproofing of exterior watts, roof, or floors,
Is including broken windows or doors, and
16 (2) Missing or deteriorated skirting or underpinning. All skirting and
17 underpinning materials shall consist of non - decaying, non - corroding materials that
18 completely enclose the underside of the structure.
19 (g) Any MH -unit or portion thereof, device, apparatus, equipment, or combustible
20 material that is in a condition posing a fire hazard or explosion hazard or provide a
21 ready fuel to augment the spread and intensity of fire or explosion arising from any
22 cause.
23 (h) Materials or construction that has not been adequately maintained in good and
24 safe condition.
25 (i) All MH -units having a blocked exit or not having adequate or safe exit facilities,
26 including doors and properly constructed steps to allow a safe exit of inhabitants.
27 20 -75. Process. When a complaint alleging violation of this article is referred to the
28 city, the code enforcement division of the Department of Housing and Neighborhood
29 Programs will do the following:
30 (a) Make reasonable efforts to contact the complainant to discuss the complaint,
31 and
32 (b) Investigate allegations of violations representing an immediate risk to life,
33 heath, or safety or an unreasonable risk to health or safety.
34 (c) Nothing in this Section 20 -75 shall operate to prohibit the City from initiating
35 action to enforce the provisions of this article without a formal or informal complaint
36 made to the City, a park owner, or to any other person.
Ordinance [PAGE 4 OF 6]
To add a new article concerning substandard maintenance of mobile homes
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20 -76. Requirement to abate violation. The owner of the MH -unit, or MH park owner,
MH park operator or responsible party for an MH -unit or utility connection under the
owner's, operator's or responsible party's ownership or control, that is altered,
converted, used, or maintained in a manner that constitutes a violation of this article,
is required to abate the violation.
20 -77. Notice of violation.
(a) Whenever a city employee designated by the city manager or his duly
authorized representative determines that there are reasonable grounds to believe that
there has been a violation of any provision of this article, he shall give notice of such
alleged violation to the person responsible therefore, that such alleged violation shall
constitute a nuisance. Such notice shall:
(1) Be in writing, and
(2) Include a statement of the reasons why it is being issued and the section of
the code that is alleged to be in violation, and
(3) State the action to be taken, which may include repair, correction,
replacement or removal of the hazardous condition, and
(4) State that if the alleged violation is not corrected within the time set forth
in the notice, the city employee designated by the city manager or his
representative shall institute legal proceedings, charging the owner or responsible
party with a violation of this article.
(b) The owner or responsible party or agent for such person shall be notified by one
or more of the following methods:
(1) By delivery to the owner, agent or responsible party, personally, or
(2) By leaving the notice at the usual place, abode or business of the owner,
agent or responsible party, with a person of suitable age and discretion, or
(3) By depositing the notice in the United States mail, addressed to the owner,
agent or responsible party, at such person's last known address by certified mail,
postage prepaid thereon, or
(4) By depositing the notice in the United States mail, addressed to the owner,
agent or responsible party, at his last known address by regular mail with a
notarized affidavit stating date mailed, postage pre -paid thereon.
(c) Written notice shall be considered to have been served if delivered at, or sent
by certified mail to, the last business or residential address known to the party giving
the notice.
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Ordinance
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20 -78. Tenant responsibility.
(a) It is a violation of this article for any person having care, custody or control of a
rental MH -unit to damage, destroy or tamper with the MH -unit or its utility connections
thereby causing noncompliance with this article.
(b) Before the city can issue a citation under this section, the owner shalt provide
the code enforcement officer with written documentation signed and dated by the
tenant indicating that the condition causing noncompliance did not exist when the
tenant took possession of the MH -unit. This document shall be in a form approved by
the city manager or his designee. Furthermore, the code enforcement officer shall
determine that the tenant in possession of the MH -unit damaged, destroyed or
tampered with the MH -unit or its utility connections, thus causing noncompliance with
this article.
20 -79. Removal. An MH -unit that has been ordered to be removed due to the
existence of violations or a nuisance shall be removed in a manner consistent with law.
Section 2. Severability. in the event any title, section, paragraph, item, sentence, clause,
phrase, or word of this ordinance is declared or adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such
declaration or adjudication shall not affect the remaining portions of the ordinance which shall remain
in full force and effect as if the portion so declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional were not
originally a part of the ordinance.
Section 3. Repealer. All taws, ordinances, resolutions, or parts of the same that are inconsistent
with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
PASSED: March 31, 2009
ATTEST: APPROVED:
Na'4 Wood, City Clerk Mark Stodola, Mayor
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM:
Thomas M. Carpenter, CitV Attorney
Ordinance [PAGE 6 OF 6]
To add a new article concerning substandard maintenance of mobile homes
and manufactured homes to Chapter 20, Nuisances