HomeMy WebLinkAbout#02 - Manufactured Home Ordinance1
LA515-1-874134.v1
STAFF REPORT DATE: 5/9/23
DISCUSSION
TO: City Council Workshop
FROM: Sarah Sonsalla, City Attorney
REVIEWED BY: Kristina Handt, City Administrator
Dustin Kalis, Fire Chief
Sophia Jensen, City Planner
AGENDA ITEM: Cimarron Manufactured Home Park – Review
BACKGROUND: The City has been receiving a number of complaints from residents who live in the
Cimarron Manufactured Home Community. These complaints include: park management not allowing
parking on the streets, electrical service issues, park management not keeping up the streets by repairing
them or plowing the snow, the golf course is not operating, park management is raising rents, water main
breaks, overgrown grass on walking paths, painting on curbs is faded or missing, trees and bushes are
overgrown, the playground is in need of repairs, the pool is often closed during the summer, there are street
lights that are out, and the sidewalk is buckling.
ISSUE BEFORE COUNCIL: What types of complaints does the City have the authority to address and
does the City Council want to address any of these issues? Attached is a memorandum that outlines how
various complaints may be addressed and what the City’s authority is with respect to addressing these
complaints.
FISCAL IMPACT: This is dependent on if the City wishes to address any of these issues, as some of
these issues may have significant fiscal impact (i.e. nuisance abatement, implementing a rental housing
license ordinance) but others may not have as much of an impact.
OPTIONS: The options are laid out in attached the memorandum.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attorney Memo
Cimarron Special Use Permit
Cimarron Variance
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Kennedy Fifth Street Towers, Suite 700
150 South Fifth Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402
&
Graven (612) 337-9300 telephone
(612) 337-9310 fax
http://www.kennedy-graven.com
C H A R T E R E D
M E M O R A N D U M
TO: Mayor Cadenhead and Members of the City Council
FROM: Sarah Sonsalla, City Attorney
DATE: May 9, 2023
RE: Review of Cimarron Issues
Introduction
It is my understanding that the City has been receiving a number of complaints from
residents who live in the Cimarron Manufactured Home Community. These complaints include:
park management not allowing parking on the streets, electrical service issues, park management
not keeping up the streets by repairing them or plowing the snow, the golf course is not operating,
park management is raising rents, water main breaks, overgrown grass on walking paths, painting
on curbs is faded or missing, trees and bushes are overgrown, the playground is in need of repairs,
the pool is often closed during the summer, there are street lights that are out, and the sidewalk is
buckling.
The Cimarron Manufactured Home Community consists of seven tax parcels that are all
owed by MHC Cimarron LLC based out of Chicago, Illinois. The parcels are as follows:
3602921210001 MHC Cimarron LLC
3602921120001 MHC Cimarron LLC
36092921210001 MCH Cimarron LLC
3602921130001 MHC Cimarron LLC
3602921240001 MHC Cimarron LLC
3602921230001 MHC Cimarron LLC
3602921230002 MHC Cimarron LLC
Cimmaron Infrastructure
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With the exception of Lake Elmo Avenue, which runs along the western boundary of
Cimarron, and CSAH 10 along the northern boundary, all of the roads, sidewalks, trails,
wastewater treatment system, wells, and electrical systems are private and owned by MHC
Cimarron. The residents of Cimarron either own their manufactured home and pay rent to MHC
Cimarron for the lot or rent both the home and the lot. The Cimarron Manufactured Home
Community also has a number of private amenities for use by the residents including a pool, golf
course, and a playground. As the owner of the property, MHC Cimarron is responsible for
maintaining and repairing all of the private infrastructure and amenities.
Because all of the infrastructure and amenities within the Cimarron Manufactured Home
Community are privately owned, the City does not have any authority to make any repairs or
improvements to them. The City also does not have the authority to regulate parking on the streets,
(beyond enforcement of the special use permit which just requires there to be on-street parking),
or the removal of snow from the streets or sidewalks.
State Regulation and Licensing
Manufactured home parks are regulated by the State. A manufactured home park owner
must have a license from the Minnesota Department of Health. This license must be conspicuously
displayed in the office of the manufactured home park. A park owner or manager must apply for
this license and the Department of Health must inspect the manufactured home park and grant a
license if all requirements are met. The Department of Health has adopted rules governing
manufactured home parks (Minnesota Rules Chapter 4630). These rules include regulations on
water supply, plumbing, sewage disposal, handling of garbage and refuse, insect and rodent
harborage and infestation control, and street lighting. The Department of Health has the authority
to enforce these rules and related statutes. The City does not have any authority to enforce these
rules and statutes.
Residents of a manufactured home park may form a “resident association” which is
organized for the purpose of resolving matters relating to living conditions in the manufactured
home park. The resident association may request that the Minnesota Department of Health conduct
an inspection for code violations. The inspector must notify the resident association in writing of
any code violations and provide the park owner with a reasonable period of time to correct the
violations. If the violations are not corrected, a tenant or the resident association may bring an
action in district court. The court will hear the matter within seven to 14 days after the action has
been filed. If a violation has not been remedied, the court may issue an order requiring corrective
action including a judgment against the owner for reasonable attorneys’ fees not to exceed $500.
Enforcement by the City through the Abatement of Public Nuisances
The City does have the authority under its Code and state law to abate “public nuisances.”
“Public nuisances” are defined by Section 9.28.030 of the City Code. Public nuisances are
anything that is injurious to the public health, indecent or offensive to the senses, or that obstructs
the free use and comfortable use of life or property. In evaluating how it will respond to nuisances,
the City must first decide whether something is a public or private nuisance. Public nuisances
must affect a considerable number of people; they must violate public rights and produce a
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common or general injury, or they must injure or annoy the portion of the public that comes into
contact with them. Because they harm the general public, they can be addressed through City
action. A private nuisance, on the other hand, produces damages or injuries to only one person or
a select group of people. As such, the prevention or abatement of a private nuisance is generally
the responsibility of the individual(s) injured and not the City.
In this case, because a number of the issues are related to infrastructure that is private (i.e.,
crumbling streets and sidewalks, altering drainage), the City does not have any authority to abate
these types of nuisances as it would have if these facilities were public. Nuisances that the City
might have the authority to abate would be nuisances such as those related to violations of the
City’s noise regulations, failure to control or eradicate all noxious weeds on the property and
diseased trees, abandoned and junk vehicles, fires, smoke, and fumes, animals, hazardous
buildings, the dumping of hazardous waste or garbage, accumulations of junk, refuse, and debris,
as in most situations, are all considered to be “public nuisances.” Therefore, to the extent that any
of these conditions exist with respect to the Cimarron Manufactured Home Community, the City
would have the authority under its Code to abate them as a public nuisance. The City does not
have the authority to abate any private nuisances. The responsibility for prevention or abatement
of private nuisances is the responsibility of those harmed and is not a proper ground for City
actions. Private nuisances caused by the park owner affecting park residents would need to be
abated by the park residents in a private civil action against the park owner.
Enforcement by the City through its Manufactured Home Park Ordinance
The City has imposed minimum standards for manufactured home parks which are set forth
in Section 105.08-VIII of the City Code. The Code requires a permit from the City for
manufactured home parks. It is my understanding that MHC Cimarron LLC has a valid permit
from the City for the Cimarron Manufactured Home Community (see below discussion regarding
the special use permit). The Code also imposes certain design standards for manufactured home
parks (landscaping, size of internal streets, lighting system, etc.). Because the Cimarron
Manufactured Home Community existed prior to the adoption of these design standards by the
City, it is considered a legal nonconforming use and is not subject to these standards.
This Section of the City Code does impose some additional requirements on both new and
existing manufactured home parks related to floodplain management (Section 105.08.370) and
storm shelters (Section 105.08.380). It is my understanding that the Cimarron Manufactured
Home Community is not located in a floodplain district, so Section 105.08.370 does not apply.
With respect to storm shelters, the Fire Chief has confirmed Cimarron Manufactured Home
Community is in compliance with Section 105.08.380. The Fire Department inspects the storm
shelter on the property annually. The City Code also requires that the park owner distribute some
severe weather awareness materials and conduct severe weather drills on an annual basis.
Enforcement by the City through the Special Use Permit
The Cimmaron Manufactured Home Community was originally approved by the Town of
East Oakdale (the predecessor to the City of Lake Elmo) back in 1967 through the issuance of a
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special use permit (a special use permit is now known as a conditional use permit). The special
use permit was issued to “establish, maintain, and operate a trailer coach park.” The special use
permit included the plans for the private drainage system, sanitary sewer system, and water system.
It states that “all roadways and walkways within the development are private requiring no
maintenance from the Township.” The special use permit contained a number of conditions which
included “conformance to the requirements of Section 9 of [Township] Ordinance No. 32.” It is
unknown what the contents of Township Ordinance No. 32 included, however some of the
requirements of Township Ordinance No. 32 are discussed in the variances that were granted by
the Township for the park in 1967.
Since special use permits run with the land and assuming that the special use permit has
never been revoked, the Cimarron Manufactured Home Community is still subject to its
conditions. As stated above, the conditions are not specified in the special use permit, although
the special use permit does reference the variances that were granted as part of the approval of the
park as one of the conditions, so arguably, the conditions in the variance are also conditions of the
special use permit. These conditions include the following:
1. Minimum lot sizes for the trailers.
2. Setback requirements for the trailers.
3. A “green strip” requirement – a “green strip will be placed at the rear of each trailer lot in
order that there not be less than 50 feet between the rear of the trailer and the rear of another
trailer.”
4. The developer was to construct roadways within the park having a driving surface of 30
feet in width which is 10 feet wider than the minimum roadway provided for in the
Township’s ordinance. The variance stated that “by widening the roadways, guests will be
allowed to park on one side of the residential streets.” This condition was granted in lieu
of requiring the developer to maintain a parking lot for guests of occupants to the extent of
one space for every five lots.
5. Parking facilities for each trailer lot must constitute a widened extension of the driveway
over which a carport roof, containing private storage space for each trailer lot occupant,
shall extend from trailer to trailer, thus adding to the appearance and livability of the mobile
home park facilities.
To the extent that the Cimarron Manufactured Home Community is in violation of any of these
conditions of the special use permit, the City could potentially take action to revoke the special
use permit. However, if the City revokes the special use permit, the park would no longer be
allowed and the trailers would need to be removed, which might not be a good result for the
residents.
Other Options
The residents of the Cimarron Manufactured Home Community may want to explore a
cooperative conversion of the park. The national leader in facilitating cooperative conversion of
manufactured homes is ROC (Resident-Owned Communities) USA. In a resident-owned
community (ROC), manufactured homeowners form a non-profit business called a cooperative.
Each household is a member of the cooperative, which owns the land and manages the business
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that is the community. Members continue to own their own homes individually and an equal share
of the land beneath the entire neighborhood. There are many benefits to living in a ROC,
including: control of monthly lot rent, community repairs and improvements; lifetime security
against unfair eviction; liability protection (members are not personally liable for association
loans); and a strong sense of community. Every resident has a say in the way an ROC is run, and
major decisions are made by democratic vote. Members elect a board of directors which appoints
committees to carry out various tasks and manage the day-to-day operations of the organization.
If the residents are interested in starting a cooperative, there is a non-profit organization that can
assist them. It is called Northcountry Cooperative Foundation (www.northcountryfoundation.org).
The residents may also want to consider contacting All Parks Alliance for Change
(www.allparksallianceforchange.com). It is a statewide organization for Minnesota’s
manufactured home park residents. It provides a voice for manufactured home owns to express
their needs and concerns in their parks. All Parks Alliance for Change works to improve the quality
of life in park neighborhoods, to protect the rights of park residents, to advance public policy
change that supports safe, affordable, dignified, and stable park communities, and to preserve
manufactured home parks.
Another option would be for the City to adopt a rental housing licensing ordinance. The
ordinance would need to be drafted so that it applies to all types of rental housing in the City (not
just manufactured home parks). This would be another enforcement tool that the City could use
in order to ensure that the conditions in the manufactured home park are livable. If the City Council
would like to adopt these types of regulations, it should carefully consider that this would require
additional staff and City resources. The additional staff and resources will be needed in order to
inspect the rental housing properties and issue reports, citations, etc. In addition, with the
exception of the Cimarron Manufactured Home Community, it does not appear that there are
widespread problems with other rental housing in the City.
TO :
~--
,•
Board of
The Town
Care of:
ZONING FORM
The Town of East Oakdale, Minn esota
Supervisors
o f East Oakdale, Minnesota
William R. Park, Clerk
2450 Birch Bark Lane
St. Paul 9, Minnesota
Case No. -------
Fee Paid -------
Date Filed
Application for a Permit to Establish, Maintain and Operate a Trai ler
Coach Park Pursuant to Ordinance No. 32 of the Town of East Oakdale.
The undersigned does hereby petition the Board of Supervisors of the
Town of East Oakdale, Minnesota, for the issuance of a permit to
establish, maintain and operate a trailer coach park on the land
hereinafter described .
Name and Address of Applicant: -Pemtom, Inc.
8053 Bloomington Freeway
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Phone: 888-9561
Name and Address of Fee Owners:-Joseph Friedrich and Ila Friedrich,
_..,, husband and wife,
RFD, Lake Elmo, Minnesota
Raymond E. Friedrich and Elvera
Friedrich, husband and wife,
RFD, Lake Elmo, Minnesota
Legal Description of Land to be Used for a Trailer Coach Park:
See the attached Exhibit A, which is hereby made a part hereof.
Location of Land: A part of the Southeast quadrant bounded by County
Road 70 on the North and Lake Elmo Road (CSAH 17)
on the West.
Trailer Coach Park in conformit with Section 8 of
Ordinance:
See the attached Exhibit B, which is hereby made a part hereof.
Preliminary Plans and Specifications of all Buildings, Improvements and
Facilities Constructed or to be Constructed within the Trailer Coach
Park Lands:
See the attached Exhibit C, which is hereby made a part hereof.
Date: -6---J-~ i L
7
Respectfully submitted
BY..J.....:t2~~==-'~.:::.:;.~~~e~b resident
By __ ~ ___ __,._ ____ -.-.---,...-----.-~
ecretary
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LE GA L DESCRIP 7I ON
Mobi le Home Site:
The We st 10 Rods of the NW 1 /4 of the NE 1/4; all
t hat part o f the N 1/2 of the NW 1/4, Section 36,
Town ship 29, Range 21, except the West 700 fe et
of th e North 63 0 feet thereof; all that p art of the
South 1/2 o f the NW 1/4 and the SW 1/4 of th e NE 1/4,
all in Section 36, Township 2 9, Range 21, lyin g
Northerly of the proposed Interstate Highw ay No. 94,
County of Washington, State of Minnesota
EXHIBIT A
Exhibit B: East Oakdale Mobile Home P ark
Drainage: Ultimate drainage of the site will be thru the
natural drainage course to Horseshoe Lake. The development
itself will be pro perly g raded and will contain two ponding areas
not only for e sthe tic reasons, b ut also for partial storage of
the storm water runoff. The drainage system will consist of
concrete storm sewers, manholes, curb inlets, and other appur-
tenances necessary to provide for complete drainage of the site,
according to approved plans and specifications by the Town
Engineer.
Sanitary Sewer and Water Systems: The site will be s erved by
a central sanitary sewer and water system approved by the
Minnesota Health Department and the Town Engineer. The sewage
system will provide for an on-site sewage treatment plant with
an approved method of effluent disposal, and a collection system of
pipes serving each lot. The water system will consist of a deep
well of adequate depth and capacity, pumping facilities, distri-
bution system to serve each lot, hydrants, valves, and other
appurtenances necessary to provide for a complete central water
system.
Lot Size , Setbacks, and Density: The site will consist of
approximately 170 acres, in which 505 mobile home lots will be
developed f or an overall density of approximately three per acre.
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La~d to be us ed for park s a nd recreation wil l exceed the 10 per
c e nt ~e~u ireme n t . The lots will vary in siz e from a minimum
of 4 5 ' x 1 00 ' to 60' x 100 ', all of which w il l back o nto an
open space whi ch will be d e veloped as either parks, parkways ,
o r golf course. Mobile home s wil l be at least 20 feet apart,
be 20 f e et from the front lot line, and be 10 feet from the
rear propert y line. No trailers will be located closer than 125
feet from the edge of the traveled part of a pub lic road and
no closer than 30 fee t to a public road right o f way. All lot
corners will be staked to designate lot,lines.
Roads ~~d Walkwav s: All roadways within the development will
be priv~te, requ i ring no maintenance from the township. The
width of the roadways will be as follows:
Main entrance: 41 feet, back of curb to back of curb
Ring Road and secondary entrances: 36 feet, back of curb
to back of curb
Residential roads : 32 feet, back of curb to back of curb
All roadways will consist of S512 concrete curb and gutter, 2
inches of MHD 2341 bitumi nous pavement, 4 inches of class 5
gravel base and 4 inches of sand sub-base.
Walkways will be con structed throughout the parks, parkways
and adjacent to the curb on one side of the Ring Road. Walkways
will be hard surfaced and be four feet wide •.
Guest parking to be provided for on residential streets on
one side only. Residential streets are 10 feet wider than
required to accomodate guest parking •
. ·.----·,-------~ ----
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E lectrical, Gas, and TV Services: All electrical and gas s e rvice
mains wi ll be buried, i ncluding a .TV cable to each lot. Electrical
servic e wi l l b e at l east 5 0 a mps to each lot.
L o t :=::-,?ro v e:,-.cnts: Each mo bile home lot will have, including
previously listed i mprov ements , the following :
l. Bit~~inous paved parking area for two cars .
2. Co ncrete patio.
~. Outdoor enclosed storage with canopy according to
approved plans.
4. L a ndscaping, varying on each lot but in accordance with
the approved ove rall landscaping plan for the development.
Community Facilities: Provided within the development will be
the following community facilities:
1 . Utility buildings having washer and dryer facilities.
2. Tot lots conveniently located near the utility buildings.
3. Park and parkways within and along the perimeter o f the
development will be landscaped according to approved
plans, with secu rity lighting and walkways throughout.
4. Nine hole, 2345 y ard, golf course along the north and
west perimeter of the development.
5. Community center to include recreational rooms, mobile
home park office, swimming pool, tennis court, and
putting green all according to approved plans •
. ---------, -----·--·-----·-· ----~-----·-·----·-------. --------.-.--~----~~---------.or
/s/BAT
/s/RRW
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Special Conditions or Restrictions as I mposed:
l -Submi ssion of final p l ans a nd spe cifications in substantial
compliance with sai d preliminary plans an d specifications of
all build ings , imp rovements and faciliti es con structe d or to
be constructed wi thin the Trailer Coach Park;
2 -Execution o f Development Agreement between the Tow n of East
Oakdale and Pem tom, Inc. providing for :
a. A development performance bond in a moun t s a nd with sureties
satisfactory to the Town Board; and
b, Prov ision for a limitation of .24 schoo l -age c hildren per
mobile home.
3 -Conformance to the requirements of Section 8 of Ordinance No. 32 ,
subject to granted variances thereto.
4. The permit shall outline a nd de tail oper ationa l requirements necessary to
fu lfill the inten t of Orci, #2 and O rd. #32 su t.hen• 14Ji l l be n o mis under-
standing. S uch permit mu st be r eapplied for and ~eneqot ied sixty days
prior to expirat i on o f any c urrent p ermit in t't fec t. (Pe rmit s are issued
Approved -Denied f or on e yea r a nd run conc urren t with Minnesota Dept.
By the Planning Commission of the of Heal th '" "lobile Home Pe rmit.)
Town of East Oakdale on _______ , 1967.
Approved -&~
By the Board of Supervisors of the
Town of East Oakdale on June 2 9 -------, 1967.
ls/Robert R . Wat s o n
Chairman fawn Board
East Oak d ,, le
ATTEST: /s/ William R. Park
Clerk, Town of Eas t ·)akda le
STATE OF MINNES OTA )
COUNTY O F WASHINGTON ) ss
TOWN OF EA<-;T ~KDALE )
I, The undersigned, be i n g the rl ul y qualified and a ctin g C:l e rk of the
Town of East Oakdale, Minne sota , ~l HER FRY CE RTIFY that I hav~ carefully
compared the attached and for e~Joi n g e xtract z o ning form, find that the same
is a full, true, and complete tran script therefrom.
WITNES S my hand as such C lerk a n rl the corporate seal of the Town this
11th day of July, 1967.
Town Cler k, Wi l liam R. Park
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