Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Water supply.
(1) Quality and source. Whenever possible,
the source of water supply to serve the mobile home development should be from
an existing public drinking water system. When an existing public water system
is not available, the source and development of the water supply system shall
be planned, installed, and operated in accordance with the Texas Department of
Health Resources' "Rules and Regulations for Public Water Systems' and
applicable state statutes. In either case and at all times, an adequate supply
of water under pressure which meets the bacteriological, chemical, and physical
requirements of the Texas Department of Health Resources regarding drinking
water shall be provided in each mobile home development.
(2) Location of mains. Water lines shall not
be installed closer than 10 feet to septic tank open-jointed drainfields nor
closer than nine feet to sanitary sewers. Where drainage is toward the water
line or where the soil has rapid percolation, e.g., sand, or lateral fissures,
consideration should be given to increasing the minimum separation distance
from septic tank open-jointed drainfields. Where the nine feet minimum distance
between a water line and a sanitary sewer cannot be obtained, the sanitary
sewer shall be constructed of pressure type cast iron pipe or the equivalent of
150 psi pressure pipe with water-tight joints used in water main construction
for the nine-foot clearance.
(b) Service connections.
(1) Individual water riser pipes should be
located within the confined area of the mobile home stand at a point where the
water connection will approximate a vertical position.
(2) Water riser pipes should extend at least
four inches above the ground elevations. The pipe should be at least 3/4 inch
in diameter. The pipe shall be capped when a mobile home does not occupy the
lot.
(3) Adequate provisions should
be made to prevent freezing of service lines, valves, and riser pipes. Adequate
protection of riser pipes against freezing is especially important where septic
tanks are used because the practice of leaving a small stream of water running
during freezing weather will result in more effluent in the drainfield than the
soil can absorb. Surface drainage should be diverted from the location of the
riser pipe.
(4) A shutoff valve
should be provided on the water riser pipe for each mobile home.
(5) Underground stop and waste valves should
not be installed on any water service.
(6) All water piping fixtures should be
installed and maintained in accordance with current National Plumbing Code or
equivalent.
(c) Sewage
disposal.
(1) General. A properly designated
and constructed sewerage system shall be provided in all mobile home
developments for conveying and disposing of sewage or wastewater from mobile
homes and other facilities such as laundry rooms, bath houses, etc. If
feasible, the mobile home development sewage system should be connected to a
public sewerage system. If public sewers are not available within a reasonable
distance of the mobile home development, adequate treatment facilities meeting
the standards of the Texas Department of Health Resources and approved by the
local health department or licensing authority shall be installed to dispose of
the sewage. In the absence of public sewers, two acceptable alternatives should
be considered. The first is a sewage collection system and central treatment
plant, and the second is individual septic tank systems. A sewage collection
system and central treatment plant, in general, will provide more satisfactory
service than septic tanks, which are subject to more operational
difficulties.
(2) Sewage systems.
Plans for sewage collection systems and central treatment plants must be
prepared under the direction of a registered professional engineer and
submitted to the Texas Department of Health Resources for approval. Possession
by the treatment plant owner of a waste control order from the Texas Water
Quality Board prior to discharging plant effluent into a stream or drainageway
is also mandatory.
(3) Septic
tanks. Any septic tank system should be designed and constructed in accordance
with the Texas Department of Health Resources' publication "A Guide to the
Disposal of Household Sewage.' The system shall also comply with local
ordinances or with orders issued by local licensing authorities. The local
health department or other licensing authority should be contacted further
information. The tendency to design mobile home parks for a high density of
units is frequently not compatible with septic tank systems. Adequate ground
area and percolation for the drainfield, without undue encroachment upon
neighboring facilities, is essential. Another basic difficulty with septic
tanks in mobile home parks has resulted from the failure to design septic tank
systems with adequate capacities. An individual system for each mobile home,
built by the same design criteria as for conventional housing, is strongly
recommended. A septic tank should not be considered if the lot size is under
15,000 square feet. If a drinking water system is on the property, the minimum
lot size for a septic tank consideration is 20,000 square feet provided
percolation is satisfactory.
(4)
Individual sewer connections.
(A) Each mobile
home stand should be provided with at least a four-inch diameter sewer riser
pipe. The sewer riser pipe should be so located on each stand that the sewer
connection to the mobile home drain outlet will approximate a vertical
position.
(B) The sewer connection
should have an inside diameter of at least three inches, and the slope of any
portion thereof should be at least 1/4 inch per foot. The sewer connection
should consist of one pipe only without any branch fittings. All joints should
be watertight.
(C) All materials
used for sewer connections should be semirigid, corrosion resistant,
nonabsorbent, and durable. The inner surface of pipes and fittings should be
smooth.
(D) Provision shall be made
for plugging or capping the sewer riser pipe when a mobile home does not occupy
the lot. Surface drainage should be diverted away from the riser. The rim of
the riser pipe should extend at least four inches above ground
elevation.
(d) Electrical distribution system. If any
electrical wiring system is provided, the complete electrical system and all
parts thereof should comply with local codes and ordinances. In the absence of
local codes and ordinances, installations should comply with appropriate
provisions of the American National Standards Institute standard for mobile
homes and the current edition of the National Electric Code.
(e) Solid waste disposal. The storage,
collection, and disposal of solid waste shall be performed in accordance with
applicable State statutes and the "Municipal Solid Waste Regulations' of the
Texas Department of Health Resources. The regulations generally provide that
the storage, collection, and disposal of solid waste shall be so conducted as
to create no environmental health hazard, rodent harborage, insect breeding
area, or safety or fire hazard. Safeguards required by the above regulations in
regard to disposal are more stringent for heavily populated areas and for areas
within 300 yards of a public highway than for unurbanized areas.
(f) Insect and rodent control. No standing
water shall be allowed in a mobile home development and the premises shall be
kept free of refuse and debris which may provide harborage for rodents or
contribute to mosquito or fly breeding. When rats or other rodents are known to
be on the premises, the owner or operator shall take definite action for their
eradication.
(g) Restriction of
animals. No owner or person in charge of a dog, cat, or other pet animal should
permit said animal to run at large or cause any nuisance within the limits of
any mobile home development. Kennels, pens, or other facilities provided for
such pets should be maintained in a sanitary condition at all times.
(h) Site location. Sites hereinafter selected
for mobile home developments should be well drained and free from topographical
or other conditions unfavorable to a proper residential environment.
(i) Streets and parking facilities.
(1) Accessibility. All mobile home
developments hereinafter constructed should be provided with safe and
convenient vehicular access from abutting public streets or roads to each
mobile home stand. The street system should provide convenient circulation by
means of minor streets and properly located collector streets.
(2) Widths. Pavement should be of adequate
widths to accommodate the contemplated parking and traffic load in accordance
with the type of street, with 10 feet minimum moving lanes for minor streets,
seven feet minimum lane for parallel parking, and should also meet the
following minimum requirements:
(A) Collector
streets with guest parking allowances-34 feet.
(B) Collector streets and all other streets
except minor streets without parking allowances-24 feet.
(C) Minor streets serving less than 40 mobile
home stands (no parking)-18 feet.
(D) One-way minor streets serving less than
20 mobile home stands (no parking) -14 feet.
(3) Off-street parking. Off-street parking in
the form of parking bays or individual parking spaces on each lot should be
provided within 200 feet of each mobile home stand. Exposed ground surfaces in
all parts of every parking area should be paved or covered in such a manner as
to prevent soil erosion and objectionable dust.
(j) Separation between structures. Mobile
homes in mobile home developments hereafter constructed should be separated
from each other and from other structures, except their own accessory
structures, by at least 10 feet, and should be located at least 25 feet from
any mobile home development property line abutting upon a public street or
highway, 10 feet from all other property lines, and 10 feet from any area such
as a mobile home development street or a common parking area. Where individual
water wells or septic tank systems or both are to be installed, special care in
site planning will be needed to allow the incorporation of recommended minimum
separation distances into the design of each individual water and sewerage
system.
(k) Outdoor living area.
Each mobile home lot or space should be provided with an outdoor living and
service area. Such area should be improved as necessary to assure reasonable
privacy and comfort. The minimum area should be not less than 300 square feet
with a least dimension of 15 feet.
(l) Recreation areas. Mobile home
developments hereinafter constructed which accommodate 25 or more mobile homes
should be provided with at least one easily accessible outdoor or indoor
recreation area except that recreation areas may not be needed in a mobile home
development if each mobile home lot therein contains 5,000 or more square feet
of area. Recreation areas should otherwise be provided in a ratio of not less
than 100 square feet of space per mobile home stand. Each outdoor recreation
area should contain at least 2,500 square feet of area to assure adequate space
for all activities. Swimming pools which comply with Texas Department of Health
Resources design standards for swimming pools, recreation buildings, and child
play areas can be considered as fulfilling part of the total requirement for
recreation areas.
(m) Mobile home
stand. Stand construction and anchorage requirements are under the jurisdiction
of the Texas Department of Labor and Standards, Austin, Texas.
