For the purposes of this title, the definitions set forth in this chapter shall be used. Words used in the present tense include the future; the singular number includes the plural number; and the plural number includes the singular. The word "shall" is mandatory, the words "should" or "may" are permissive. Any words not defined in this chapter shall be presumed to have the customary definitions.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Accessory structure" means a structure serving a purpose subordinate and customarily incidental to the principal structure on the same parcel. Included are storage sheds, boxes or containers of more than fifty (50) feet ³ (exterior measurements).

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

(Ord. No. 2012-4, § 1, 3-12-2012)

"Accessory use" means a use or activity carried out on the same parcel as, but serving a purpose subordinate and customarily incidental to, the principal use of a structure, land, or water.

(Ord. No. 2012-4, § 2, 3-12-2012)

"Alley" means a special public right-of-way affording only secondary access to abutting properties.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Alterations," as applied to a building or structure, means a change or rearrangement in the parts, or an enlargement, whether by extending on a side or by increasing in height, or the moving from one location or position to another. For the purpose of this title, alterations shall include all exterior changes with the exception of painting and other normal maintenance activities.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Basement" means a story partly underground, but having one-half or more of its height (measured from floor to ceiling) above the average level of the adjoining ground.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Bed and breakfast" means an owner-occupied residence where no more than four guest rooms, limited amenities, and breakfast are furnished for compensation to tourist or transient overnight guest only.

(Ord. 2007-4 § 3, 2007)

"Boardinghouse" means an owner-occupied structure where no more than five rooms and daily meals are furnished for compensation to persons other than tourists or transients who are not members of the homeowner's family.

(Ord. 2007-4 § 4, 2007)

"Building" means any structure having a roof supported by columns or walls used or intended to be used for the shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, equipment, machinery or materials.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Building area" means the total living area bounded by the exterior walls of a building at the floor levels, but not including basement, utility rooms, garages, porches, breezeways, and unfinished attics.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Building height" means the vertical distance measured from the mean elevation of the finished lot grade along the street yard face of the structure to the highest point of flat roofs, to the mean height level between the eaves and ridges of gable, gambrel, hip, and pitch roofs, or to the deck line of mansard roofs.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

References in this title to class 1 and class 2 notices refer to Chapter 985 of the Wisconsin Statutes.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Common open space" means publicly or privately owned undeveloped open space intended for aesthetic, recreational, or other conservation purpose, to be used by the owners or residents of a particular development or the public in general.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

A "condominium" or "cooperative" is an ownership arrangement and not a land use, therefore it is allowed in any district and under the same restrictions of the residential land use that comprises it.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Density" is a measure of the number of dwelling units per unit of area. It shall be expressed in dwelling units per acre. There are forty-three thousand five hundred sixty square feet per acre of land.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Duplex dwelling" means a structure containing two dwelling units with only one wall in common with another dwelling unit.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Dwelling" means a structure designed or used exclusively as a residence or sleeping place, but does not include a boardinghouse, hotel, motel, inn, bed and breakfast, cabin, tent, camper, or mobile home.

(Ord. 2007-4 § 2, 2007: Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Multiple-family dwelling" means a residential building designed for or occupied by two or more families, with the number of families in residence not to exceed the number of dwelling units provided.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Dwelling unit" means any room or group of rooms located within a residential building and forming a single habitable unit with facilities which are used or intended to be used for living, sleeping, cooking, and eating by one family.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Efficiency" refers to a dwelling unit consisting of one principal room with no separate sleeping room.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Family" means any number of persons related by blood, adoption, or marriage, or not to exceed four persons not so-related, living together in one dwelling as a single housekeeping entity.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

The "floodfringe" is that portion of the floodplain outside of the floodway, which is covered by floodwaters during the one-hundred-year flood; it is generally associated with standing water rather than rapidly flowing water.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"One-hundred-year flood" means a flood that, on the average, has a one percent chance of occurring in any given year; also referred to as the regulatory flood.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

The "floodway" is the channel of a river or stream and those portions of the floodplain adjoining the channel required to carry and discharge the flood-water or flood flows associated with the one-hundred-year flood.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Government uses" includes all public uses and facilities including parks.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Gross floor area" means the sum of the areas of the several floors of a building structure including areas used for human occupancy, basements, attics, and penthouses as measured from the exterior faces of the walls. It does not include elevators, cellars, unenclosed porches, attics not used for human occupancy, or any floor space in accessory buildings or in the main building intended and designed for the parking of motor vehicles in order to meet the parking requirements of this title, or any such floor space intended and designed for accessory heating and ventilating equipment.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Impervious surfaces" mean those surfaces which do not absorb rain. All buildings, parking areas, driveways, roads and sidewalks, whether paved or not, and any areas in concrete and asphalt, shall be considered impervious surfaces within this definition. In addition, other areas determined by the engineer to be impervious within the meaning of this definition will also be classed as impervious surfaces.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Impervious surface ratio" means a measure of the intensity of use of a tract of land. It is measured by dividing the total area of all impervious surfaces within the site by the site area.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Institutional uses" include, but are not limited to, the operation of a health center for the provision of medical, surgical, dental, psychiatric and behavioral care, whether inpatient or outpatient, and related uses, including, without limitation, a hospital, outpatient surgery center, urgent care, medical offices, health club, pharmacy, laboratory, ancillary uses such as temporary housing for medical personnel, and complementary retail uses, such as gift shop, food and beverage and similar uses.

(Ord. No. 2018-1, § 1, 2-19-2018)

"Loading area" means a completely off-street space or berth on the same lot for the loading or unloading of freight carriers, having adequate ingress and egress to a public street or alley.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Lot" means a parcel of land having frontage on a public street, occupied or intended to be occupied by a principal structure or use and sufficient in size to meet the lot width, lot frontage, lot area, yard, parking area, and other open space provisions of this title.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Average lot area per dwelling unit" means the average lot area for all dwelling units of a single type. Individual lots may be smaller or larger than the average; provided, that the average size is maintained and that all other standards of this title are met.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Lot lines and area" mean the peripheral boundaries of a parcel of land and the total area lying within such boundaries.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Lot types" shall be as shown in the following diagram:

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Lot width" means the width of a parcel of land measured at the rear of the specified street yard.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Mobile home" means a dwelling unit designed and built to be towed on its own chassis and used as living quarters.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Motel" means a series of attached, semi-attached, or detached sleeping units for the accommodation of transient guests.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Open space" is land used for recreation, resource protection, amenity, or buffers, is freely accessible to all residents, and is protected by the provisions of this title to ensure that it remains in such uses. Open space does not include land occupied by buildings, roads, or road rights-of-way, nor does it include the yards or lots of single-family or multifamily dwelling units or parking areas required by the provisions of this title.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Parking space" means a graded and surfaced area of not less than one hundred and eighty square feet in area either enclosed or open for the parking of a motor vehicle, having adequate ingress and egress to a public street or alley.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 part, 1981)

"Rear yard" means a yard extending across the full width of the lot, and depth of which shall be the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and a line parallel thereto through the nearest point of the principal structure. This yard shall be opposite the street yard or one of the street yards on a corner lot.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Remand" means to send back to the plan commission for further action.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

An "FCC antenna" is an antenna subject to the Federal Communications Commission's Over-the-Air Reception Devices rule (47.C.F.R. 1.4000, as amended) and includes the following:

A.

A "dish" antenna that is one meter (39.37") or less in diameter and is designed to receive direct broadcast satellite service, including direct-to-home satellite service, or to receive or transmit fixed wireless signals via satellite;

B.

An antenna that is one meter or less in diameter or diagonal measurement and is designed to receive video programming services via broadband radio service (wireless cable) or to receive or transmit fixed wireless signals other than via satellite; and,

C.

An antenna that is designed to receive local television broadcast signals.

(Ord. No. 2008-1, § 5, 8-18-2008)

"Side yard" means a yard extending from the street yard to the rear yard of the lot, the width of which shall be the minimum horizontal distance between the side lot line and a line parallel thereto through the nearest point of the principal street.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

The "site" shall be defined as a parcel or parcels of land intended to have one or more buildings or intended to be subdivided into one or more lots.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

The "site area" is determined by subtracting from the total site area the land area of existing and future road and utility rights-of-way, land area which is not contiguous or cut from the parcel by road or railroad, or land area shown in previous subdivisions or land development plans as reserved from development for natural resources reasons such as floodplain lands.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Private swimming pool" means a permanent or temporary outdoor structure capable of containing water at a depth of thirty-six (36) inches or more, used or intended to be used for swimming, diving, bathing, or similar water recreation, and including all related walks or paved areas, adjacent accessory structures, structural facilities, equipment and other items used or intended to be used for the pool's operation and maintenance. Spas, hot tubs, and whirlpools with a capacity of ten (10) or fewer persons are not included.

(Ord. No. 2009-4, § 2, 6-15-2009)

"Story" means that part of a building located between a floor and the floor or roof next above. The first story of a building is the lowest story having fifty percent or more of its height and at least four feet of its wall area above finished grade level.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Half story" means a story under a gable, hip or gambrel roof, the wall plates of which on at least two opposite exterior walls are not more than two feet above the floor of such story.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Street" means a public or private way used or intended to be used for passage or travel by automotive vehicles. If private, such street must be used or be intended to be used as the principal means of access to the abutting lot(s) or to more than two dwellings on a lot for which the private way is exclusively used.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Street yard" means a yard extending across the full width of the lot, the depth of which shall be the minimum horizontal distance between the existing or proposed street or highway line and a line parallel thereto through the nearest point of the principal structure. Corner lots shall have two such yards.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

"Structure" means a combination of materials installed on, above or below the ground or attached to something located on the ground and generally used at a determined location.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

(Ord. No. 2012-4, § 3, 3-12-2012)

"Use" means any activity, occupation, business or operation carried on, or intended to be carried on, in a building or other structure or on a tract of land.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 2021-1(11-15-2021), § 2, adopted November 15, 2021, repealed § 20.40.465 which pertained to vacation rentals and derived from Ord. 2007-4, adopted 2007.

"Yard" means an open space on the same lot with a structure, unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward except for vegetation. The street and rear yards extend the full width of the lot.

(Ord. 81-3 § 1 (part), 1981)