Senate File 306
SENATE FILE
BY HATCH
Passed Senate, Date Passed House, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to the construction, location, and accessibility
2 of storm shelters at manufactured home communities and mobile
3 home parks.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
5 TLSB 2043SS 80
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 331.301, subsection 15, paragraph a,
1 2 Code 2003, is amended to read as follows:
1 3 a. A county may adopt and enforce an ordinance requiring
1 4 the construction of a storm shelter at a manufactured home
1 5 community or mobile home park which is constructed after July
1 6 1, 1999. In lieu of requiring construction of a storm
1 7 shelter, a county may require a community or park owner to
1 8 provide a plan for the evacuation of community or park
1 9 residents to a safe place of shelter in times of severe
1 10 weather including tornadoes and high winds if the county
1 11 determines that a safe place of an adequately constructed and
1 12 sized shelter is available within a reasonable distance of one
1 13 thousand five hundred feet of the furthest manufactured or
1 14 mobile home space in the manufactured home community or mobile
1 15 home park for immediate and twenty=four=hour use by community
1 16 or park residents as determined by the local emergency
1 17 management agency. Each evacuation plan prepared pursuant to
1 18 this subsection shall be filed with, and approved by, the
1 19 local emergency management agency. If construction of a storm
1 20 shelter is required, an ordinance adopted or enforced pursuant
1 21 to this subsection shall not include any of the following
1 22 requirements:
1 23 (1) That the size of the storm shelter be larger than at
1 24 least the equivalent of seven twenty=two square feet for each
1 25 manufactured or mobile home space in the manufactured home
1 26 community or mobile home park.
1 27 (2) That the storm shelter may include a restroom if the
1 28 shelter is used exclusively as a storm shelter.
1 29 (3) That the storm shelter exceed the construction
1 30 specifications approved by a licensed professional engineer
1 31 and presented by the owner of the manufactured home community
1 32 or mobile home park be constructed in accordance with the
1 33 latest guidelines for community storm shelters adopted by the
1 34 federal emergency management agency.
1 35 (4) That the shelter be located any closer no farther than
2 1 one thousand three two hundred twenty feet from any
2 2 manufactured or mobile home in the manufactured home community
2 3 or mobile home park.
2 4 (5) That residents of the manufactured home community or
2 5 mobile home park shall have immediate twenty=four=hour access
2 6 to the shelter during severe weather.
2 7 Sec. 2. Section 364.3, subsection 8, paragraph a, Code
2 8 2003, is amended to read as follow:
2 9 a. A city may adopt and enforce an ordinance requiring the
2 10 construction of a storm shelter at a manufactured home
2 11 community or mobile home park which is constructed after July
2 12 1, 1999. In lieu of requiring construction of a storm
2 13 shelter, a city may require a community or park owner to
2 14 provide a plan for the evacuation of community or park
2 15 residents to a safe place of shelter in times of severe
2 16 weather including tornadoes and high winds if the city
2 17 determines that a safe place of an adequately constructed and
2 18 sized shelter is available within a reasonable distance of one
2 19 thousand five hundred feet of the furthest manufactured or
2 20 mobile home space in the manufactured home community or mobile
2 21 home park for immediate and twenty=four=hour use by community
2 22 or park residents as determined by the local emergency
2 23 management agency. Each evacuation plan prepared pursuant to
2 24 this subsection shall be filed with, and approved by, the
2 25 local emergency management agency. If construction of a storm
2 26 shelter is required, an ordinance adopted or enforced pursuant
2 27 to this subsection shall not include any of the following
2 28 requirements:
2 29 (1) That the size of the storm shelter be larger than at
2 30 least the equivalent of seven twenty=two square feet for each
2 31 manufactured or mobile home space in the manufactured home
2 32 community or mobile home park.
2 33 (2) That the storm shelter may include a restroom if the
2 34 shelter is used exclusively as a storm shelter.
2 35 (3) That the storm shelter exceed the construction
3 1 specifications approved by a licensed professional engineer
3 2 and presented by the owner of the manufactured home community
3 3 or mobile home park be constructed in accordance with the
3 4 latest guidelines for community storm shelters adopted by the
3 5 federal emergency management agency.
3 6 (4) That the shelter be located any closer no farther than
3 7 one thousand three two hundred twenty feet from any
3 8 manufactured or mobile home in the community. However, this
3 9 restriction shall not prohibit the adoption or enforcement of
3 10 an ordinance that requires a minimum of one shelter to be
3 11 located in a manufactured home community or mobile home park.
3 12 (5) That residents of the manufactured home community or
3 13 mobile home park shall have immediate twenty=four=hour access
3 14 to the shelter during severe weather.
3 15 EXPLANATION
3 16 This bill provides that counties and cities who adopt an
3 17 ordinance requiring the construction of a storm shelter within
3 18 a manufactured home community and mobile home park, or
3 19 requiring an evacuation plan to a shelter outside of the
3 20 community or park, must ensure immediate 24=hour access to the
3 21 shelter by residents during severe weather. The bill rescinds
3 22 the restriction that counties and cities may only regulate
3 23 communities or parks constructed after July 1, 1999. The bill
3 24 specifies that if an evacuation plan is required, the shelter
3 25 designated in the plan shall be no more than 1,500 feet from
3 26 the furthest manufactured or mobile home space in the
3 27 community or park and must be adequately constructed as
3 28 approved by the local emergency management agency. The bill
3 29 increases the required maximum size of a shelter from seven
3 30 square feet to 22 square feet for each manufactured or mobile
3 31 home space within the community or park. The bill decreases
3 32 the required maximum distance between a shelter and any
3 33 manufactured or mobile home within the community or park from
3 34 1,320 feet to 1,200 feet. The bill provides that restrooms
3 35 may be built in the shelter instead of not requiring restrooms
4 1 where the shelter is exclusively used as a storm shelter. The
4 2 bill provides that the shelter must be constructed according
4 3 to the latest standards adopted by the federal emergency
4 4 management agency rather than the specifications of a licensed
4 5 engineer and the owner of the community or park.
4 6 LSB 2043SS 80
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