Fort Edward, N.Y., Code of Ordinances ch. 71 (eCode360 ed. 2026) § 71-4

Any person, partnership, association or corporation being the owner, lessee or occupant of any land within the Town of Fort Edward shall not use or allow the use of such land for a mobile home park unless a license has been obtained as herein provided. A. Issuance of license. Upon satisfaction of the necessary requirements by an applicant, the Town Clerk of the Town of Fort Edward shall issue a mobile home park license, to be effective from the day of issuance to and including December 31 of that same year. B. For a proposed mobile home park not yet in existence, a mobile home park license will not be issued until the Town Clerk has received: (1) A properly completed application form from the applicant. (2) A copy of the deed or ground lease evidencing the applicant's ownership or control over the property on which the proposed mobile home park would be located. (3) Copies of all approvals required and issued by the New York State Department of Health. (4) Payment of the required fee as herein provided. (5) Written confirmation by the Town Building Inspector and/or Zoning Administrator that the proposed mobile home park is located within the Mobile Home Overlay District. (6) Written confirmation that the proposed site was inspected by the Town Building Inspector /Zoning Administrator and meets all pertinent requirements of this chapter. (7) Written confirmation that the proposed site has received site plan approval from the Planning Board in accordance with Chapter 81 of the Town Code and payment of fees as required for site plan review and payment of any other fees specified for mobile home parks in the amount adopted by the Town Board pursuant to Town Code § 50-1 and listed on the Fee Schedule. C. Existing mobile home parks. A mobile home park which is in lawful existence and use as of the effective date of this chapter may continue in use in accordance with the following requirements: (1) The property owner must obtain a mobile home park license for such park by March 31, 2005. The initial license application requirements for such an existing mobile home park are as follows: (a) Submission of a properly completed application form to the Town Clerk, together with: [1] Eleven copies of a suitable current dated map of the mobile home park and surrounding area, including adjacent streets and roads, showing all existing mobile home sites, consecutively numbered; and [2] A copy of a receipt or acknowledgement from the Chief of the Fort Edward Fire Department showing the Department has received a copy of the map described in Subsection C(1)(a)[1] above; and [3] A written statement or report from the Town Building Inspector or Zoning Officer affirming that he or she has inspected the mobile home park and the mobile homes in it within 30 days of the date of application and that both the park and the mobile homes comply with all applicable code provisions, regulations and requirements of law governing fire safety and health and sanitary standards. (b) Payment of the required license fee as provided for below. (2) Such mobile home park must be brought into compliance with all requirements of this chapter applicable to new mobile home parks, except location within the Mobile Home Overlay District, on or before March 31, 2010, as follows: (a) On or before March 31, 2006, the owner of any mobile home park in existence prior to the effective date of this chapter shall either provide notice to the Planning Board in writing that such park will be closed and all mobile homes removed therefrom on or before April 30, 2010, or submit to the Planning Board for approval a written plan detailing the specific steps the owner will take, and the target dates for their completion, to bring such preexisting mobile home park into compliance by March 31, 2010, with the requirements of this chapter governing new mobile parks. Failure to comply with the requirements of this subsection shall be punishable by a fine of up to $750. Following issuance of an initial notice of violation for failure to provide such notice or submit such a plan, each subsequent thirty-day period during which the owner of such a preexisting mobile home park fails to submit such a plan or written notification shall constitute a separate violation punishable by a separate fine of up to $750. If unpaid by the owner, such fine(s) may be levied as a tax upon the property on which the subject mobile home park is located. (b) The Planning Board shall promptly review any plan submitted in accordance with Subsection C to determine whether the plan addresses all necessary requirements for the subject mobile home park to come into compliance with the provisions of this chapter. In the event the plan does not, the Planning Board shall return the plan with its comments and the owner of the subject park shall then have 60 days to submit a revised plan incorporating changes necessary to satisfy the requirements of Subsection C(2)(a) . The Planning Board may engage the services of an engineer and/or other appropriately qualified professional as needed to assist the Board in evaluating any plan or revised plan submitted hereunder. Fees incurred for such assistance shall be paid by the owner of the subject park. (c) If the owner of such a preexisting mobile home park fails to bring the park into compliance with the requirements of this chapter applicable to new mobile home parks, except the requirement of location within a Mobile Home Overlay District, by March 31, 2010, such owner shall close such mobile home park and remove all mobile homes therefrom by April 30, 2010. Failure to comply with this provision shall result in the imposition of a fine of $1,000 for each day thereafter that such mobile home park remains open and/or any mobile home(s) remain(s) therein. In the event the owner of such a noncompliant park timely filed a plan in accordance with Subsection C(2)(a) , above, and made diligent efforts to bring such park into compliance but, due to circumstances beyond the owner's control, the park does not comply by March 31, 2010, the Planning Board may, upon application submitted on or before March 31, 2010, and upon good cause shown, grant an extension of time for compliance. Absent the prior timely filing of the required plan or, if such a plan was timely filed, absent diligent efforts to bring about compliance and a timely application for an extension of time to comply, if the owner of such a preexisting park fails to voluntarily close such park and remove all mobile homes therefrom by June 30, 2010, the Town may do so and charge any expenses it incurs in doing so as a tax against the property. D. Supplemental license. Any person holding a license for a mobile home park and desiring to add additional lots to such park or replace one or more existing mobile homes in such park or make any other modifications to land use within the park or to the site plan for such park shall file an application for a supplemental license. The application for a supplemental license shall be handled according to the procedure established in Subsection B above, except that a mobile home park lawfully in existence prior to the effective date of this chapter shall not require a certification under Subsection B(5) that it is located within such Overlay District. The Planning Board may, in its exercise of reasonable discretion, waive site plan review for a supplemental license application depending upon the nature of the changes proposed to the mobile home park. E. License renewal. An initial license (including any related supplemental license) issued pursuant to the above provisions shall expire on December 31 of the year in which it is issued, Any mobile home park that will continue operating beyond such expiration date shall obtain a renewal license, as follows: (1) An application for the renewal of any mobile home park license which was issued in accordance with the provisions of this chapter must be filed with the Town Clerk on or before December 1 preceding the expiration of the license. The renewal application need not be accompanied by a plan of the park unless changes have been made to it, nor is it necessary that the application be accompanied by a copy of the ground lease (if applicable) unless a new lease or a lease renewal has been entered into subsequent to the time of filing previous application. (2) Upon payment of the required fee and the approval of the Town Building Inspector or Zoning Administrator following an inspection of the park to verify compliance with applicable codes and regulations, the Town Clerk shall issue a renewal license to be effective upon the expiration of the previous license and continue in force for a period of one year. Such renewal license shall not be transferable or assignable. A new owner or lessee of the park must apply for a new license in accordance with the provisions above. (3) The owner and/or lessee of a mobile home park shall be responsible for promptly providing updated information as necessary to insure that the Town has complete and current information, as required in this chapter, on such park at all times. F. License fees. The applicant for an initial license for a new or existing mobile home park, or the renewal thereof, shall pay the Town Clerk a fee in the amount adopted by the Town Board pursuant to Town Code § 50-1 and listed on the Fee Schedule. With regard to the issuance of such a license or its renewal, in the event the Building Inspector or Zoning Administrator provides at least 10 days' advance notice of intent to conduct an inspection of a mobile home park in order to ascertain compliance with applicable codes and regulations, if he or she must visit such mobile home park more than once in order to do a complete code compliance inspection, and such additional visit(s) are necessitated by a failure of the owner or operator of the park, or any of its inhabitants, to cooperate in affording access necessary for such inspection, the license fee shall be multiplied by the number of visits necessary to perform a complete inspection. The applicant for a supplemental license for a mobile home park shall pay the Town Clerk a one-time license fee in the amount adopted by the Town Board pursuant to Town Code § 50-1 and listed on the Fee Schedule. As for the initial issuance of a license, or a renewal thereof, the fee shall be multiplied by the number of visits required for the Building Inspector or Zoning Administrator to perform a complete code compliance inspection if multiple visits are necessitated by the failure of the owner, operator or inhabitants of the park to cooperate in affording access necessary for such an inspection.