Manufactured home elderly community
a. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide for the construction, erection, placement and regulation of manufactured homes for residents in a self-contained retirement community expressly for and specifically limited to the use and residency by elderly persons, which such retirement community shall be no less than 30 contiguous acres in size and shall be reviewed as a major land development in accordance with the land development and subdivision regulations for the town and approved by the town planning board.
b. Definitions.
(1) Manufactured home elderly community: A self-contained retirement community expressly for and specifically limited to use and residency by persons 55 years of age or older in accordance with state and federal regulations. Such retirement community shall have both municipal water and sewerage, comport with the density calculations as set forth in section 3 of article V herein and be constructed on no less than 30 contiguous acres of land and at all times held under single ownership.
(2) Manufactured home assigned area: A parcel of land for the placement of a single manufactured home for the exclusive use of its occupants.
(3) Trailer: The following for the purposes of these regulations shall be considered a trailer and not permitted in or within a manufactured home elderly community.
a) Travel trailer: A vehicular, portable structure built on a chassis, designed as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreation, or vacation, having a body width not exceeding eight feet, and a body length not to exceed 32 feet.
b) Pick-up coach: A structure to be mounted on a truck chassis for use as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreation, or vacation.
c) Motor home: A portable, temporary dwelling to be used for travel, recreation, or vacation, constructed as an integral part of a self-propelled vehicle.
d) Camping trailer: A folding structure, mounted on wheels and designed for travel, recreation, and vacation use.
(4) Manufactured home stand: A manufactured home stand, which is a foundation or concrete pad with adequate anchoring spots, shall be considered as that part of the manufactured home site which is reserved for the manufactured home.
(5) Community building: A building solely for the use of the residents of the park and their guests, which may contain, but is not limited to, a TV room, card room, sewing room, library, pool tables, kitchen, laundry, emergency station, toilet, lavatory, and bathing facilities for men and women, retail convenience store, and such activities as may serve the needs of the residents. Community buildings and other community facilities shall be designed in accord with the most recent Rhode Island standards for accessibility for the handicapped.
(6) Person: The word "person" shall include individuals, corporation, owners, lessees, licensee, and agents for each of them.
(7) Permittee: The term "permittee" shall be deemed to be any person, firm, or corporation conducting, operating, or maintaining a manufactured home elderly community.
(8) Three-season sun room: A structure attached to the manufactured home with roof and screen/glass enclosures. The three-season sun room shall contain no plumbing system, no heating system, or provisions for such future systems and shall not increase the total building coverage beyond the maximum allowable for the assigned area.
(9) Self-contained retirement community: A residential development containing all utilities, roads, and services within its own property lines and with security-gated access/egress.
c. General provisions. A manufactured home elderly community shall be allowed in the R-30, R-60 and HC Zoning Districts subject to the specific requirements and conditions set forth herein, and the review procedures and applicable development standards contained in article XX, development plan review.
d. Requirements. Each manufactured home elderly community shall conform to the following requirements:
(1) Assigned area requirements: Minimum assigned area size shall be 6000 square feet, provided however, that each unit is served by municipal water and sewerage. Each assigned area is to have a minimum of 50 feet of frontage. Adequate surface water drainage is to be provided for each assigned area. There shall be a minimum sideline clearance of 22 feet between each manufactured home with a set back from the road layout of 20 feet. There shall be a minimum side yard requirement for each assigned area of four feet. Maximum building coverage of each assigned area by all structures, including but not limited to the manufactured home, shed(s), roofed-structure(s), shall not exceed 30 percent.
(2) A minimum of two on-site parking spaces together with a driveway shall be required for each manufactured home assigned area.
(3) No manufactured home site shall be located nearer than 200 feet from any arterial street, 100 feet from any collector street, 40 feet from any local street. A buffer shall be provided along the perimeter of the community which shall be a minimum width of 100 feet, up to 20 feet of which may be part of a wetland buffer. Existing vegetation shall be retained within the buffer, which may be enhanced by landscaping if required by the planning board. Fencing or screening shall be an acceptable alternative to natural landscaping within the buffer if approved by the planning board.
(4) No travel trailer, pick-up-coach, motor home, or camping trailer or other manufactured trailer adaptable to living shall be permitted on a manufactured home-site, except in areas specified for such storage.
(5) No manufactured home shall be permitted in a licensed manufactured home community which does not meet the standards set up by the Manufactured Home Manufacturers' Association under U.S.A. standard #A1191-1969, as from time to time updated. It will be the responsibility of the permittee to enforce this regulation.
(6) Each building and manufactured home stand shall be an element of overall plan for site development.
(7) Where possible, manufactured home stands shall be oriented with respect to scenic views, natural landscape features, topography, and natural drainage areas. Development proposals shall include a landscape program to illustrate the proposed treatment of space, roads, paths, service and parking areas. Screening devices shall not impair pedestrian or vehicular safety. Residual open space within the allowable density limits shall be allocated to the recreational amenity and environmental enhancement of the manufactured home elderly community shall be designed as such on the site plan for the proposed development.
(8) All utilities shall be installed underground wherever possible. All transformer boxes, substations, pumping station, and meters shall be located and designed so as not to be unsightly or hazardous to the public.
(9) Each manufactured home shall be skirted. One or more access hatches must be provided through the skirting, but shall be located only in the rear or side(s) of the manufactured home. No foundation of a manufactured home shall extend no more than 24 inches above the finished grade in the front of the manufactured home. Skirting material will be either the same material as the manufactured home siding, or an impregnated or treated wood siding, or masonry, or aluminum.
(10) Enclosed tenant storage must be provided for material which is used only seasonally or infrequently, and which cannot be conveniently stored in a manufactured home. The permittee may provide community storage or may provide storage by constructing individual storage buildings for manufactured home sites. Such individual storage buildings must be uniformly constructed, must be erected on a concrete slab and outside dimensions must be a minimum of five feet by seven feet with a maximum of eight feet by 12 feet. Such storage buildings shall be located at the rear corner of the unit space, and where possible two or four storage buildings may be combined. In the event the permittee elects to combine the storage buildings, the outside dimensions except the height, may be increased by the number of buildings being combined. In this event, side yard requirements for the storage building may be waived. Construction must be of non-ferrous metal, if metal is used.
(11) No additions, such as lean-tos, enclosures or rooms shall be attached to any manufactured home with the exception of three-season sun rooms, as defined herein (section 17.b(8). Open porches/decks with awnings and removable skirting may be installed with permission of the permittee.
(12) A single one-family dwelling for the on-site manager may be permitted within the MHEC. Since said on-site manager and immediate-family shall be exempt from the age restrictions of b(1), the location of said dwelling shall be approved by the planning board. Also, said dwelling shall comply with the building requirements of the town. A portion of such dwelling may be utilized for the management office.
(13) All roads in the manufactured home elderly community shall be constructed and paved to a width in conformance with standards in the land development and subdivision regulations and the right-of-way width shall be the same as the paved width.
(14) At least ten percent of the gross land area of the manufactured home elderly community shall be reserved for recreational and open space usage exclusive of the buffer as set forth in paragraph (3) above.
(15) The maximum area/footprint of a three-season sun room, including ancillary structure(s) such as stairs, shall not exceed 265 square feet with maximum depth not to exceed 12 feet and maximum length not to exceed 27 feet. The three-season sun room structure shall be no closer than 22 feet to an adjacent manufactured home or eight feet to any deck/open porch or roofed-structure on an adjoining assigned area.
e. Responsibilities of manufactured home elderly community permittee.
(1) The permittee shall operate the manufactured home elderly community in compliance with all regulations, and shall provide adequate supervision to maintain the community, its facilities, and equipment in good order and in clean and sanitary condition.
(2) The sale of a manufactured home by the permittee for placement within the manufactured home elderly community may be accomplished only if there is a free and available assigned area in the park on which such manufactured home shall be placed. No manufactured homes shall be allowed unless they are placed on sites for future residence.
(3) All roads in the manufactured home elderly community shall be maintained by the permittee. They shall be kept passable and in good condition at all times. Snow and ice removal shall be done by the permittee at its expense.
(4) The permittee shall insure compliance by all tenants with these rules and regulations and all community rules and regulations to be adopted.
(5) The applicant shall submit to the planning board for review all assigned area rental agreements and elderly community rules and regulations applicable to residents of the manufactured home elderly community.
f. License requirements.
(1) Required: A license issued by the town council shall be required prior to the operation of any manufactured home elderly community within the town.
(2) Issuance: A manufactured home elderly community license may be issued to the permittee by the town council upon final approval of the planning board and the payment of the appropriate fee. Licenses shall be valid for one year, expiring on June 30.
(3) Renewal: The manufactured home elderly community license may be renewed by the town council upon receipt of a report from the building official and approval of the planning board. The building official's report shall note all violations that occurred and corrective actions taken during the previous year. Planning board approval shall be required for modifications to the community within the scope of these regulations. The town council may require performance sureties as a condition for license renewal if it determines, in its sole discretion, that substantial deficiencies exist.
(Ord. of 11-24-97; Ord. of 6-4-01(3); Ord. of 10-28-02; Ord. of 7-28-03; Ord. of 11-24-03; Ord. No. 2025-0006, § 2, 4-21-25)