Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 7962 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7962 November 14, 1995 ` TO To the Mayor and Members of the City Council page 1 of 4 Subject: MOBILE HOME AND RECREATIONAL VEHICLE PARK LICENSING 1879 AND INSPECTION RESPONSIBILITY Purpose This report describes the current practices followed in licensing and inspecting mobile home and recreational vehicle parks in Fort Worth. Staff recommends the transfer of the administration of this activity from the Health Department to the Fire Department. Background The "Mobile Homes and Recreational Vehicle Parks" Chapter of the City Code was adopted by the City Council in 1970 in two main stages. The first stage, Ordinance No. 6293, was adopted on May 17th of that year and regulates mobile home parks. The second stage, Ordinance No. 6372, was adopted on September 28th of that year and regulates recreational vehicle parks. This chapter establishes design, construction, maintenance, and operational standards for mobile home and recreational vehicle parks in the City. It requires permits for the construction, alteration and expansion of the parks, and requires annual licenses for the operation of the parks. Inspection authority, criminal penalties, and license suspension are also provided for. Permitting and Inspection Process Permits to construct, alter or expand a park are issued by the Department of Development. Ten copies of a proposed park's site plan are required to be submitted with a permit application. The site plan is then required to be reviewed by the Public 'Works and Traffic Engineering Divisions of Transportation and Public Works, Water, Police, Fire, Planning, Health Departments, and the Tax Division of the Finance Department before a construction permit is issued. The Department of Development also issues permits for ' ail ,m OFFICIAL Iff SECRETARY i . ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH,TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7962 November 14, 1995 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 2 of 4 Z as-), ( 41 MOBILE HOME AND RECREATIONAL VEHICLE PARK LICENSING X1% Subject: AND INSPECTION RESPONSIBILITY homes for all electrical and gas hook-ups and water and sewer hook-ups that require new underground piping, as required by the "Electricity" and "Plumbing" Chapters of the City Code. The "Mobile Homes and Recreational Vehicle Parks" Chapter assigns the responsibility of issuing operational licenses to the City Health Director. Licenses may not be issued if the applicant does not hold a valid Certificate of Occupancy for the park issued by the Building Official. The Consumer Health staff of the Health Department has been acting primarily as the collector of license revenues. Upon presentation of a valid Certificate of Occupancy by an applicant, the staff issues an annual license. Each year, on or before the anniversary date of the license, licensees apply for renewals. Renewal fees are due annually on the anniversary date, and Consumer Health staff bills the license holders before that date. Thirty day overdue notices are mailed, and sixty day overdue notices are delivered in person. The current fee for mobile home park licenses is $135.00 per park, plus $5.00 per mobile home space. In FY 1993-94, mobile home park revenues totalled $15,770.00 for 33 licensed mobile home parks with 3,239 spaces. There are no licensed recreational vehicle parks in the City. Complaints When complaints are lodged by the public, park inspections are assigned to a Consumer Health Specialist (CHS) even though they are trained in food service inspections and work primarily with the food service industry. Mobile home and recreational vehicle park inspections are not performed routinely because a higher priority is placed on the food protection program. When a CHS performs mobile home or recreational vehicle park inspections, the most common complain ts/findings are lack of skirting around the mobile ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH,TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7962 �nr� November 14, 1995 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 3 of 4 0x" Subject. MOBILE HOME AND RECREATIONAL VEHICLE PARK LICENSING AND INSPECTION RESPONSIBILITY home exteriors, tall grass,junk, poor drainage and poorly maintained streets. Few ordinance violations are health related. The CHS acts primarily as a "referral agent" and directs suspected violations to appropriate City Departments. Consumer Health Division surveys found few Health Departments in other Texas cities that conduct or participate in mobile home park inspections. Mobile home park inspections in Dallas, Houston, North Richland Hills and Grand Prairie are assigned to the Building Department. Code Enforcement performs inspections in Arlington and Community Development does mobile home park inspections in Grapevine. p .Basis for Transfer of Ordiname The critical issues for mobile home and recreational vehicle parks are water and sewage hookups. These issues are addressed by the Development Department when parks are designed and before utilities are connected. Periodic inspections by the Consumer Health staff occupy limited Consumer Health resources unnecessarily since most complaints are not health related. After initial approval of a park plan, complaint investigations should be performed by the appropriate department. For example, swimming pool violations would be addressed by the Consumer Health staff; fire safety violations would be investigated by the Fire Department; high grass and weeds, leaks, trash, junk vehicles, and substandard structures would be handled by Code Enforcement. The City Auditor Report 92-08, November 24, 1992, recommended that: "The City should consider assigning this function to a department better equipped to perform these inspections (possibly the Plumbing Inspection Division of Development, or the Industrial Waste Section of Water"). The Departments of Development, Public Health, and Fire met to discuss which ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH,TEXAS iw INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No, 7962 November 14, 1995 GkWT%Jb To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 4 of 4 am' I JN: MOBILE HOME AND RECREATIONAL VEHICLE PARK LICENSING � Subject: AND INSPECTION RESPONSIBILITY department would be .the most appropriate to administer the ordinance. It was agreed that the Fire Department was the most appropriate for the following reasons: • The Fire Department inspects all business annually, including mobile home parks. 0 The Fire Department has an existing system to collect fees. Recommendation It is proposed that the "Mobile Homes and Recreational Vehicle Parks" Chapter of the City Code be amended to update and clarify the chapter and that the responsibility for licensing and inspecting mobile home parks and recreational vehicle parks be transferred from the Health Department to the Fire Department. The Fire Department currently inspects these parks for Fire Code violations, so the transfer of this responsibility should not substantially impact its operations. Code violations noted in annual fire inspections, as well as complaints about the parks received by the Fire Department, will be referred to the appropriate City Departments for further action. If there is no objection, the staff will prepare an M&C for City Council approval. If you should have any questions on this matter, please let me know. fob Terrell t/ City Manager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH,TEXAS