Welcome to the Town of Indian Lake.

We hope the following information will be helpful to you.

 

            The number of household pets is limited to two dogs or two cats or one of each. Pets must be walked on a leash and not be allowed to roam freely.  When you walk your pets, you must keep them off of other people’s property and clean up their waste.

            Other than routine maintenance or small repairs, building permits are required before any construction, plumbing, or electrical work is begun. There is a $25 fine for starting work without obtaining a permit and you may be asked to undo your work in addition to stopping it. Construction drawings and site plans are part of the building permit process. Please allow for the extra time this can take before giving your workers a starting date.

            All improvements including but not limited to driveways, sidewalks, patios, garages, carports, storage buildings, residences and mobile homes must conform to a maximum percent impervious coverage of 70%. All residences must be parallel to the street or the property lines and must be at least 15 feet from the front property line and at least 5 feet inside the rear and side property lines. Carports may be within five feet of the front property line, provided the carport has no sides within the 15 foot setback.

            Parking on the street is forbidden. Our streets are too narrow for this to be safe. Driving and parking on the grass is not permitted except for short term visits of 72 hours or less. Your driveway must be large enough to hold any vehicles parking on your property on a permanent basis. Driveways must be asphalt or concrete. The owner of a lot must construct a driveway before the home can be occupied.

            Storage buildings must be at least 48 square feet. No storage-type building may be used as a dwelling, or for business use, except for cottage-type business, on either a temporary or permanent basis. If a structure on a lot is used for uninterrupted continuous storage of a motor vehicle for any period of time less than four consecutive months, a driveway from the street easement to the structure is required.

            Visitors of residents may park a travel trailer or RV weighing less than 20,000 lbs on the resident’s property for a period of up to four weeks under a permit issued by the Town Office. The fee for this permit is $5.00 and the permit must be displayed at all times.

            Self-contained trailers and any other HUD-Code manufactured home smaller than a minimum width of 14’ and a minimum length of 40’ are to be used only as temporary housing under a permit issued by the Town Permit Department for a period not to exceed 180 days in any twelve month period. The fee for this permit is $10.00 and the permit must be displayed at all times.

            One travel trailer or RV shall be allowed per lot with its own water meter. All such travel trailers/RVs shall be wholly self-contained or connected to its own septic system and set back 15ft from the front property line and 5ft from the side and rear property lines. Each travel trailer or RV must be placed on a concrete or asphalt parking area no smaller than the travel trailer or RV and the lot must have a driveway no smaller than 10’x15’adjacent to the street right-of-way. There will be no rooms, screened-in rooms, or other additions attached to travel trailers or RVs.

            All fences must be a minimum of one inch inside the lot lines. No fence may cross or enclose land that is designated by the Town as a utility right-of-way. No fence may extend in front of, or be closer to the road than the inhabited portion of the permanent residence, or be closer than fifteen feet to the front property line. Front yards may not be fenced. Side and back yards may be fenced but fences may not exceed a height of 5 feet measured from the ground up. The supporting posts must be inside the fence and not visible from the outside of the property. All lots and homes in the Town of Indian Lake will be for residential use only. No open storage of any household appliance, indoor furniture, leftover building rubbish, water heaters or inoperable motor vehicles is allowed.

            Grass and weeds must be mowed on a regular basis. The office maintains a list of yard maintenance services. If you will be away from home for more than a few weeks, please let the office know who will be taking care of your yard so that they can be contacted if there is a problem with tall grass or storm debris.

            There are two Town-wide patio sales held each year in March and December. Permits are required if you want to take part and may be purchased at the Town office the week before each sale. The Town of Indian Lake has a full time police department. You may contact the officers 24 hours a day to report suspicious activity by calling 233-8559 or their pager number at 574-3176. Someone will return your call if you use the pager number.

            The Town Council meets in the Community Hall building on the 2nd Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. You are encouraged to attend these meetings.

 

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Removing and/or Replacing a Mobile Home

In the Town of Indian Lake

 

Removing a mobile home:

1.  As part of the removal process, you must contract with a licensed electrician and licensed plumber who will obtain one electrical move-out permit and one plumbing move-out permit from the office.  The mover must furnish proof of insurance and a copy of their operating license, including business address and phone number.

2.  CP&L must be notified so that they can disconnect power.

3.  If you are replacing with a new mobile home, Cameron County Health Department needs to inspect and certify the septic system before your move-in permits can be issued. You will also need an OSSF permit authorization form and letter from the Town Office to take with you when you set up the appointment with the Health Department. The Health Department phone number is (956) 427-8109 and they are located at 1122 Morgan Blvd in Harlingen. Take the Ed Carey exit, turn left onto Old Highway 77, bear to the right at the Y and you will see the Health Department office across the street from K-Mart.

 

Bringing in a mobile home:

1. The street frontage of your lot(s) must have a minimum width of 50 feet.  We require a 15 foot setback from the front property line and a 5 foot setback from each lot line.  You must locate and uncover the four iron survey pins.

2.  Prepare a drawing to scale of your lot(s) showing the location of the new home.  Any other structures, driveways, or parking pads must also be shown. All of these items together cannot exceed the 70% impervious rate (leaving 30% green space). Give a copy of the drawing to the delivery company.  They will need to furnish a copy to us when they apply for the move-in permit.

3.  You must furnish us with proof showing it is a “HUD-Code Manufactured Home; the size (our minimum width is 14 feet; our minimum length is 40 feet); the age (not older than 1976); and the hurricane rating of the home.

4.  As part of the move-in process, you must contract with a licensed electrician and licensed plumber who will obtain one electrical move-in permit and one plumbing move-in permit from the office.  The mover will be required to furnish proof of insurance, a copy of their operating license along with their business address and phone number, and a copy of your drawing.

5.  Cameron County Health Department needs to inspect and certify the septic system before your move-in permit can be issued. You will need an OSSF permit authorization form and letter from the Town Office to take with you when you set up the appointment with the Health Department. The Health Department phone number is (956) 427-8109 and they are located at 1122 Morgan Blvd in Harlingen, across the street from K-Mart.

6.  A main cutoff for water located near the home should be installed at this time if one doesn't already exist.  When the electrical and plumbing work is completed, call the office for an inspection.  After a successful inspection, we will notify CP&L.  The homeowner will need to call CP&L to set up a new account and to ask for the final hookup to be made.

7.  The home must be skirted and the lot must have a concrete or asphalt driveway before occupancy. The driveway must be large enough to accommodate all vehicles parking on a permanent basis and at least large enough to hold a single vehicle.