Connoquenessing Township to add teeth to mobile home ordinance
CONNOQUENESSING TWP — The township board of supervisors is taking more direct action against the operators of chronically troubled mobile home parks by strengthening its related ordinance to add additional means of enforcement.
The amendment to the mobile home ordinance would increase the fine for a violation, which is currently “no more than $500.” Supervisors voted to advertise the amended ordinance at its meeting on Wednesday night, Nov. 4.
While there are multiple mobile home parks in Connoquenessing Township, Supervisor Angela Fleeger said the changes are mostly meant to address Rolling Valley Estates, a property owned by Stackhouse Management which has been in the spotlight in recent months for frequent water quality issues.
“We asked our solicitor to review the existing mobile home ordinance and we felt that it was not sufficient enough for the current issues that we are having with some of the mobile home parks, specifically (those) managed by Stackhouse Management,” Fleeger said.
The amendment provides a range of fine levels, rather than the flat rate.
“It’s going to be on a sliding scale from $500 to $1,000 that the township would be able to enforce if (property owners) are not following through with the requirements of the ordinance,” Fleeger said.
The amended ordinance would also give the township greater ability to inspect mobile home parks and, if necessary, deny them the annual renewal of their required permits until they achieve compliance with the ordinance.
Under the amended ordinance, mobile home parks not in compliance would not be allowed to add new mobile homes or bring in residents.
“What these amendments will do is clarify some of the provisions regarding the annual permit that the applicants or the operators are required to have,” said township solicitor Andrew Menchyk. “It also streamlines some of the enforcement provisions by removing some of the impediments to enforcement.”
Supervisors also voted to advertise an amendment to the township’s subdivision and land development ordinance intended to address any future data center proposals.
“(The ordinance) addresses all of the topics that come up with data centers,” Menchyk said. “For instance, dimensional standards, setbacks, buffering, road access, noise and vibration, lighting, emergency management plans, water infrastructure, groundwater impacts, stormwater, decommissioning, financial security … basically everything that you would like to have addressed in terms of those types of developments.”
For township residents, the issue of data centers is particularly relevant, as a developer has proposed building one at a currently unused farm on Prospect Road in neighboring Forward Township. Since the data center proposal became public, anti-data center yard signs have popped up throughout Connoquenessing Township.
“There are some data centers that have been proposed, some nearby,” Menchyk said. “Certainly, we want to be in a position, if and when one is proposed for our township, that we have ordinances to address the proposed development.”
During the meeting, supervisors discussed the possibility of making amendments to the data center ordinance to include additional protections for emergency responders, as well as specific language regarding containment of potential chemical spills.
The board of supervisors is expected to take action on the ordinance at its next meeting on Dec. 2.
