The purpose of this chapter is to promote the health, safety, prosperity, aesthetics and general welfare of the town.

(Code 2006, § 13-1-3)

Effective on: 1/1/1901

The town board has been granted village powers pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 60.22 and pursuant to the zoning authority confirmed by Wis. Stats. § 62.23(7), it is the general intent of this chapter to:

1. A.
   Regulate the use of all structures, lands and waters;
2. B.
   Regulate lot coverage, population distribution and density, and the size and location of all structures so as to lessen congestion in and promote the safety and efficiency of the streets and highways;
3. C.
   Secure safety from fire, flooding, panic and other dangers;
4. D.
   Provide adequate light, air, sanitation and drainage;
5. E.
   Prevent overcrowding; avoid undue population concentration;
6. F.
   Facilitate the adequate provision of public facilities and utilities;
7. G.
   Stabilize and protect property values;
8. H.
   Further the appropriate use of land and conservation of natural resources;
9. I.
   Preserve and promote the beauty of the town;
10. J.
    Implement the town comprehensive plan or plan components;
11. K.
    Provide for the administration and enforcement of this chapter and to provide penalties for its violation.

(Code 2006, § 13-1-4)

Effective on: 1/1/1901

It is not intended by this chapter to repeal, abrogate, annul, impair or interfere with any existing easements, covenants, deed restrictions, agreements, ordinances, rules, regulations or permits previously adopted or issued pursuant to law. However, wherever this chapter imposes greater restrictions, the provisions of this chapter shall govern.

(Code 2006, § 13-1-5)

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Accessory building or use means a detached building or part of the principal building or a use on the same lot that is subordinate to the principal building or use and customarily incidental thereto. A mobile home or other vehicle or part thereof or other building or part thereof used as a temporary or permanent dwelling or lodging place is not an accessory building or use.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Accessory use means a use subordinate in nature, extent or purpose to the principal use of the building or lot.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Adjacent property owner means the owner of property located within 300 feet of a subject property under this Code.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Administrator, zoning, means the person designated by the town board to administer the provisions of this chapter.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Adult-oriented establishment means any premises including, without limitation, "adult bookstores," or "adult motion picture theaters." It further means any premises to which public patrons or members are invited or admitted and which are so physically arranged so as to provide booths, cubicles, rooms, compartments, or stalls separate from the common area of the premises for the purposes of viewing adult-oriented motion pictures, or wherein an entertainer provides adult entertainment to a member of the public, a patron, or a member, whether or not such adult entertainment is held, conducted, operated, or maintained for a profit, direct or indirect. The term "adult-oriented establishment" further includes, without limitation, any premises physically arranged and used as such whether advertised or represented as an adult entertainment studio, rap studio, exotic dance studio, encounter studio, sensitivity studio, modeling studio, or any other term of like import.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Aircraft landing strip means a site maintained for occasional use by manned aircraft for landing or take off.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Airport, public, means any airport which complies with the definition contained in Wis. Stats. § 114.013 or any airport which serves or offers to serve common carriers engaged in air transport.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Alley means a public or private way which affords only secondary vehicular access to abutting property.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Animal hospital/veterinary services means a place where animals or pets are given medical or surgical treatment and are cared for during the time of such treatment. Use of a kennel shall be limited to the short-term boarding and shall be only incidental to such hospital use.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Apartment means a portion of a residential or commercial building used as a separate housing unit.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Apartment house. See Dwelling, multiple.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Arterial street means a public street or highway used or intended to be used primarily for fast or heavy through traffic. Arterial streets and highways shall include freeways and expressways as well as arterial streets, highways and parkways.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Automobile wrecking yard means any premises on which three or more automotive vehicles, not in operating condition, are stored in the open.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Basement or cellar means a story partly underground but having at least one-half of its height, or more than five feet, below the mean level of the adjoining ground. See Wis. Admin. Code chs. Comm 20, 21 and 22.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Bi-level means a two-level dwelling with one level above grade and the other level half above grade and half below grade.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Boardinghouse means a building other than a hotel where meals or lodging and meals are served for compensation for not more than six persons.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Boathouse means any accessory structure designed only for the purpose of protecting or storing boats for noncommercial purposes. Boathouses shall not be used for human habitation.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Building means any structure used, designed or intended for the protection, shelter, enclosure or support of persons, animals or property, except a mobile home unit when located in a mobile home park.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Building, alterations of, means any change or rearrangement of the supporting members such as bearing walls, beams, columns or girders of a building, an addition to a building, or movement of a building from one location to another.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Building, front line of, means a line parallel to the street intersecting the foremost point of the building, excluding uncovered steps.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Building, height of, means the vertical distance from the mean elevation of a finished grade along the front of the building to the highest point of a flat roof, or to the deck line of a mansard roof, or to the mean height between eaves and ridge for gable, hip or gambrel roofs.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Building permit means a permit given by a local government to construct a building or make improvements.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Building, principal, means a building in which is conducted the main use of the lot on which said building is located.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Business includes the commercial, limited industrial and general industrial uses and districts as herein defined.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Campground means any public or private grounds or premises established for the overnight camping of persons using equipment designed for the purpose of temporary camping.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Camping unit means any camping vehicle or structure intended for or capable of human habitation or designed primarily for sleeping purposes, mounted on wheels or jacks, and/or capable of being moved from place to place, either by its owner power or on power supplied by some vehicle used or to be used, and which has a maximum width of eight feet.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Carport. See Garage.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Centerline means a line connecting points on highways from which setback lines shall be measured, at any point on the highway.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Channel means a natural or artificial watercourse of perceptible extent, with definite bed and banks to confine and conduct continuously or periodically flowing water. Channel flow thus is that water which is flowing within the limits of the defined channel.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Clinic means an establishment for the medical, psychiatric or surgical care and treatment of human patients, but without provision for keeping such patients overnight on the premises. For the purposes of this chapter, a doctor's office in his own home, when it complies with the other requirements of this chapter, shall not be considered a clinic, but any doctor's office which is not a part of his own home, and the office of two or more doctors, whether in a residence or not, shall be considered a clinic.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Club means a building owned, leased or hired by a nonprofit association of persons who are bona fide members, the use of which is restricted to said members and their guests.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Community living arrangement means the following facilities, licensed, operated or permitted, under the authority of state statutes: child welfare agencies under Wis. Stats. § 48.60; group foster homes for children under Wis. Stats. § 48.02(7m); and community-based residential facilities under Wis. Stats. § 50.01, but does not include nursing homes, general hospitals, special hospitals, prisons and jails. The establishment of a community living arrangement shall be in conformity with applicable sections of state law, including Wis. Stats. §§ 46.03(22), 62.23(7)(i), and 62.23(7a), and the Wisconsin Administrative Code.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Conditional use means a use of land, water or building which is allowable only after the issuance of a special permit by the town board under conditions specified in this chapter.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Conforming use means any lawful use of a building or lot which complies with the provisions of this chapter.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Court means an open, unoccupied space other than a yard, on the same lot with a building, and which is bounded on two sides by the building.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Cul-de-sac means a street having but one end open to traffic and the other end permanently terminated in a vehicular turnaround.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Curb break means any interruption or break in the line of a street curb in order to connect a driveway to a street or otherwise to provide vehicular access to abutting property.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Curb level means the level of the established curb in the front of the building measured at the center of such front.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Day care center, family, means a place or home which provides care for eight or more children under the age of seven years for less than 24 hours a day and is licensed as provided for in Wis. Stats. § 48.65.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Day care center, group, means a dwelling or center that provides care and supervision for nine or more children and is licensed by the state department of health and social services.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Deck means any covered or uncovered landing of a hard surface material.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

District means a part or parts of the town for which the regulations governing the height, location and use of buildings and the size of lots and open spaces are uniform.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Dwelling group means a group of two or more multifamily dwellings occupying a lot in one ownership with any two or more dwellings having any yard or court in common.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Dwelling, multiple, means a building or portion thereof used or designated as a residence for three or more families as separate housekeeping units, including apartments, attached townhouses and condominiums.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Dwelling, one-family, means a detached building designed, arranged or used for and occupied exclusively by one family, including a garage, whether attached, detached or semi-attached. The term shall include specially designed buildings covered by earth and manufactured homes.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Dwelling, two-family, means a building designed, arranged or used for, or occupied exclusively by, two families living independently of each other.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Dwelling unit means a building or portion thereof used exclusively for human habitation, including single-family, two-family and multifamily dwellings, but not including hotels, motels or lodginghouses.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Electronic equipment means sales and service of television, radio, computer, telephone, satellite dish and other electronic equipment.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Emergency shelters means public or private enclosures designed to protect people from aerial, radiological, biological or chemical warfare; fire; flood; windstorm; riots; or invasions.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Family means one or more persons immediately related by blood, marriage, adoption or guardianship and living as a single housekeeping unit in one dwelling unit shall constitute a family.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Farm means land consisting of five acres or more on which produce, crops, livestock or flowers are grown primarily for off-premises consumption, use or sale.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Farm, factory, means an agricultural operation meeting the definition of "factory farming" promulgated by the state department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Farm operating unit means contiguous or adjacent lands owned and/or operated by one management group, upon which a self-sustaining agricultural business is being operated.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Flood lands means those lands, including the floodplains, floodways, and channels subject to inundation by the 100-year recurrence interval flood or, where such data is not available, the maximum flood of record.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Floor area means floor areas which are measured from the outside edge of the exterior walls of a residential structure meeting the following criteria:

1. (1)
   All finished, safe and sanitary flood levels of a residential building at or above grade level.
2. (2)
   All finished, safe and sanitary floor levels of a residential structure below grade level in which the walls for said floor levels are:

   1. a.
      Exposed four feet or more above grade level on all sides and contains two outside entrances; or
   2. b.
      Exposed by one-third of their area fully at grade and contains an outside entrance at said lowest floor level.
3. (3)
   Excluded from this calculation are unenclosed porches and unfinished basements and attics.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Foster family home means the primary domicile of a foster parent which is for four or fewer foster children and which is licensed under Wis. Stats. § 48.62 and amendments thereto.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Frontage means all the property abutting on one side of a street measured along the street line.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Fur farm means any property comprising land or buildings or both used for the purpose of raising or harboring fur-bearing animals, including those defined in Wis. Stats. § 29.873 and also including chinchillas and other fur-bearing animals, whether the animals are kept for breeding, slaughtering, pelting or lab experimental purposes.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Garage means an accessory building or portion thereof used exclusively for parking or temporary storage of not more than four automobiles or light trucks on a residentially zoned parcel.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Garage, public, means a building other than a private or storage garage used for the care, repair or storage of self-propelled vehicles or where such vehicles are left for remuneration, hire or sale. This includes premises commonly known as gasoline stations or service stations.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Garage, storage, means any building or premises used for the storage only of motor-driven vehicles or motor-driven machinery, pursuant to previous arrangements and not to transients, and where no equipment, parts, fuel, grease or oil is sold.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Gasoline station means any area of land, including structures thereon, that is used for the sale of gasoline or other motor vehicle fuel and oil and other lubricating substances; sale of motor vehicle accessories; and which may include facilities used or designed to be used for polishing, greasing, washing, spraying, dry cleaning or otherwise cleaning or servicing such vehicles.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Gravel pit means an open land area where sand, gravel, and rock fragment are mined or excavated including such on-site processing that are related to the mining or excavation of the sand, gravel, and rock fragment such as stockpiling of materials, blending mineral material aggregates or nonmetallic minerals, crushing, screening, scalping and dewatering.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Group foster home means any facility operated by a person required to be licensed by the state under Wis. Stats. § 48.62 for the care and maintenance of five to eight foster children.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Home industry business means a home industry business operated exclusively by family members and no more than three non-family member employees which involves either occasional sale of products not produced on the premises, or involves fabricating on the premises, either within the dwelling unit or in an accessory structure, some product which is not included in the definition of home occupation.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Home occupation means any occupation meeting the requirements of section 60-109, and is customarily incidental to the use of the dwelling as a residence, such as crafts, dressmaking, tailoring, handicrafts and other occupations which are not detrimental to the health, safety and general welfare of, or annoying or offensive to, neighbors or the community, provided that:

1. (1)
   The occupation is conducted within the dwelling unit by only resident family members or no more than two nonresident employees;
2. (2)
   Not more than 25 percent of the floor area of only one story of the dwelling unit is used for such occupation;
3. (3)
   No stock in trade is kept or sold except that which is made in connection with such occupation; and
4. (4)
   A home occupation does not involve the outside display of any goods.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Hotel means a building occupied as the more or less temporary abiding place of individuals who are lodged, with or without meals, and in which there are more than six sleeping rooms, usually occupied singly, and there is no provision made for cooking in the individual apartments.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

House trailer means a non-self-propelled vehicle, containing living or sleeping accommodations, which is designed and used for highway travel.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Junk yards means any premises on which there is an accumulation of scrap metal, paper, rags, glass, lumber, inoperable machinery, tires or other materials stored or customarily stored for salvage, buying, selling, exchanging, dealing, disassembling, packing, bailing, wrecking or handling, including the accumulation of more than two inoperable vehicles unless such accumulation shall be housed in a completely enclosed building.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Kennel means any facility where dogs or cats are kept for 24 hours or more for boarding, training, or similar purposes for compensation, except that the term "kennel" does not include any of the following:

1. (1)
   An animal shelter.
2. (2)
   A facility owned or operated by a veterinarian licensed under Wis. Stats. ch. 453 where animals are boarded only in conjunction with the provision of veterinary care.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Livestock means domesticated four-legged animals and fowl raised for food or fiber.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Living area means the total area bounded by the exterior walls of a building at the floor levels but not including basements, garages, porches, breezeways, and unfinished attics.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Loading space means an off-street space or berth on the same lot with or contiguous to a building or group of buildings which it serves, and abutting on or having direct access to a street or alley, for the temporary parking of a commercial vehicle while loading or unloading cargo. A loading space is not a parking space.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lodginghouse means a building other than a hotel where rooms without board or kitchen facilities either in or in connection with such rooms are rented to persons not members of the resident family.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

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 chapter.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot, corner, means a lot located:

1. (1)
   At the junction of and abutting two or more intersecting streets;
2. (2)
   At the junction of and abutting a street and the nearest shoreline or high-water line of a stormwater or floodwater runoff channel or basin;
3. (3)
   At the junction of and abutting two or more stormwater or floodwater runoff channels or basins; or
4. (4)
   At and abutting the point of abrupt change of a single street where the interior angle is less than 135 degrees and the radius of the street is less than 100 feet.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot depth means the average distance from the front to the rear lot lines measured in the general direction of the side lot lines.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot, interior, means a lot other than a corner lot.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot lines and area means the peripheral boundaries of a parcel of land and the total area lying within such boundaries. For purposes of open space and lot area computation, the lot area shall not include public road right-of-way, nor include any road width area as established by state statute or an officially established county or town street and highway width map.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot, reversed corner, means a corner lot, the street side lot line of which is substantially a continuation of the front lot line of the front lot to its rear.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot, through, means a lot having a pair of opposite lot lines along two or more parallel public streets and which is not a corner lot. On a through lot both street lines shall be deemed front lot lines.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot, width, means the distance between side lines of the lot at the building setback line. In the case of a shoreland lot, the lot width is the width of the lot 75 feet from the waterline.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Lot, zoning, means a single tract of land located within a single block which, at the time of filing for a building permit, is designated by its owner or developer as a tract to be used, developed, or built upon as a unit under single ownership or control.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Manufactured home means a structure, formerly defined as a mobile home, certified and labeled as a manufactured home under 42 USC 5401—5426 which, when placed on the site:

1. (1)
   Is set on an enclosed continuous foundation in accordance with Wis. Stats. § 70.43(1) and Wis. Admin. Code ch. Comm 21, subchs. III, IV, and V, or is set on a comparable enclosed continuous foundation system approved by the building inspector, who may require a plan for such foundation to be certified by a registered architect or engineer to ensure proper support for such structure;
2. (2)
   Is installed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions;
3. (3)
   Is properly connected to utilities; and
4. (4)
   Meets other applicable standards of this chapter.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Manure pit means a structure or earthen pond located outside of a barn or shelter and used for containment of manure and other wastes from livestock and poultry.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Mini-storage/warehouse structure means a structure where self-contained sections thereof are rented for storage purposes, typically serving residential and small business clientele.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Mobile home (See also Manufactured home) means:

1. (1)
   That which is, or was as originally constructed, designed to be transported by any motor vehicle upon a public highway, and designed, equipped and used primarily for sleeping, eating and living quarters, or is intended to be so used; including any additions, attachments, annexes, foundations and appurtenances. In the purpose of this section, a mobile home shall remain classified as a mobile home regardless of whether its wheels or other rolling devices have been removed or not, and even though assessable value of additions, attachments, annexes, foundations and appurtenances or other added investments to the mobile home equal or exceed 50 percent of the assessable value of the mobile home. Excluded from this definition are manufactured homes as defined above.
2. (2)
   Mobile homes have been required to follow construction standards, including heating, electrical and plumbing, since 1976 through a Federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program. In Wisconsin this is administered under contract by the division of safety and buildings, state department of commerce. The current proper and legal term for mobile homes is "manufactured homes." While the manufactured home itself is not covered by the state uniform dwelling code (UDC), any site-built addition to that home, such as a basement, crawl space or room addition attached to the home, does have to be constructed to meet the requirements of the UDC if the manufactured home was built after June 1, 1980.
3. (3)
   While manufactured homes are constructed to the HUD construction standards, "manufactured dwellings" must meet the UDC standards. Such non-HUD factory-built homes are referred to as "manufactured dwellings." However, double-wide manufactured mobile homes often are similar in appearance to modular homes. For purposes of identification, a manufactured or mobile home is identified with a red metal rectangular label affixed to the rear of each full or half unit. This indicates the home has been constructed in accordance with the HUD manufactured home standards. In contrast, a modular home or manufactured dwelling will be identified with a red plastic sticker, called a "Wisconsin Insignia", imprinted with the outline of the state. It will usually be affixed to the electrical panel, vanity base cabinet or kitchen cabinet. Inspectors must first identify what they are looking at before applying the applicable code regulations.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Mobile home park means any plot or tract of ground upon which two or more mobile homes, occupied for dwelling or sleeping purposes are located, regardless of whether or not a charge is made for such accommodations.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Mobile home unit means any vehicle or structure intended for or capable of human habitation which is mounted on wheels or jacks and is capable of being moved from place to place along a public highway in its complete, habitable form either by its own power or by power supplied by some towing vehicle, being more than 30 feet in length. A modern mobile home can also be a manufactured home.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Modular home (manufactured dwelling) a current list of approved dwelling manufacturers can be found in Wis. Admin. Code § Comm 20.13 of the uniform dwelling code (UDC).

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Motel means a building or group of buildings in which lodging, with or without meals, is offered to transient guests for compensation and with not less than one off-street parking space provided for each such room or apartment.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Motor freight terminal means a building or area in which freight brought by motor truck is assembled and/or stored for routing in intrastate and interstate shipment by motor truck.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Motor vehicle means any passenger vehicle, truck, truck-trailer, trailer or semi-trailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Nonconforming building or structure means any building or structure which does not comply with all of the regulations of this chapter or of any amendment hereto regulating any building or structure for the zoning district in which such building or structure is located.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Nonconforming lot means a lot whose width, area or other dimension did not conform to the regulations when this chapter became effective.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Nonconforming use means any use of land, buildings or structures which does not comply with all of the regulations of this chapter or of any amendment hereto governing use for the zoning district in which such use is located.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Nonmetallic mining means operations or activities for the extraction from the earth for the sale or use by the operator of mineral aggregates or nonmetallic minerals such as stone, sand, gravel, asbestos, beryl, clay, feldspar, peat, talc, topsoil, including such operations or activities such as excavation, grading, and dredging.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Nuisance means an injurious effect on the safety, health, or morals of the public, or use of property which works some substantial annoyance, inconvenience, or injury to the public and which causes hurt, inconvenience or damage.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Nursery means any building or lot, or portion thereof, used for the cultivation or growing of plants and including all accessory buildings.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Nursery school means any building used routinely for the daytime care and education of preschool age children and including all accessory buildings and play areas other than the child's own home or the homes of relatives or guardians.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Nursing home means any building used for the continuous care, on a commercial or charitable basis, of persons who are physically incapable of caring for their own personal needs.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Operating farm means a farm for which satisfactory proof can be supplied to show that the farm is producing a farming product as defined by the state department of agriculture.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Outlot means a portion of a recorded lot/parcel divided further by metes and bounds clearly defining the portion being divided, typically a small, substandard lot that is not buildable.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Park, private, means a privately owned area which may contain active amusement and recreation facilities and devices, other than playgrounds and open spaces for passive recreation, and soft drink and snack stands, whether operated for profit or not.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Park, public, means an area owned by the United States, state, county or a municipality within the county, and operated for the convenience and recreation of the public and containing such facilities as the owning government body shall see fit.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Parking space means an unobstructed space in a parking lot designed for the temporary storage of one automobile. Each such parking space shall be not less than nine feet in width and 180 square feet in area, exclusive of the means of access from and to the public street. A loading space is not a parking space.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Place means an open unoccupied space other than a street or alley, permanently reserved as the principal means of access to abutting property.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Planned unit development means a tract of land which contains or will contain two or more principal buildings, developed under single ownership or control, the development of which is unique.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Porch means a roofed-over structure projecting out from the main wall of a main structure.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Professional office means the office of a doctor, salesman, insurance agent, practitioner, dentist, minister, architect, landscape architect, professional engineer, lawyer, author, musician, real estate broker or other recognized professional. When established in a residential or agricultural district, a professional office is incidental to the residential occupation, and not more than 50 percent of the floor of only one story of a dwelling unit is occupied by such office and not more than two persons who are not a member of the resident family is employed on the premises.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Property lines means the lines bounding a platted lot as defined herein.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Public way means any sidewalk, street, alley, highway or other public thoroughfare.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Quarry means a mineral extraction site where bedrock is removed and crushed for use as aggregate.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Racetrack means a facility or track operated where vehicles of any type competitively race, whether for compensation or not.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Recreational cabin means a building or structure used for human habitation or occupancy on a temporary and/or seasonal basis for the purpose of recreational activities.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Recycling center means a facility designed to be a collection point where only recyclable materials are sorted and temporarily stored prior to shipment to others who will use those materials for reuse and/or processing into new products. This shall not include junk yards.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Right-of-way means a strip of land dedicated to the public intended for access or highway/street purposes.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Roadside stand means a structure not permanently fixed to the ground that is readily removable in its entirety covered or uncovered and not wholly enclosed, and used solely for the sale of farm products produced on the premises. No such roadside stand shall be more than 50 square feet in ground area and there shall not be more than one roadside stand on any one premises.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Salvage yard means a facility whose primary purpose is the storage, recycling and/or reprocessing of junk or salvage materials, including vehicles, machinery and/or other equipment.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sand pit. See Gravel pit.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sanitary landfill means a land disposal facility where solid waste is disposed on land by utilizing the principles of engineering to confine the solid waste to the smallest practical area, to reduce it to its smallest practical volume, and to cover it with a layer of earth or other approved material as required.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Sanitary sewer means a constructed conduit for the collection and carrying of liquid and solid sewage wastes from two or more premises, other than stormwater, to a sewage treatment plant, and which is approved by the state department of natural resources.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

School, commercial, means a school limited to special instruction such as business, art, music, trades, handicraft, dancing or riding.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

School, private, means an elementary or intermediate school other than a parochial school giving regular instruction capable of meeting the requirements of state compulsory education laws and approved as such and operating at least five days a week for a normal school year and supported by other than public funds, but not including a college or other institution of higher learning.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Service station means a business whose primary purpose is providing fuel and/or repair services to motor vehicles.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Setback means lines established along highways at specified distances from the right-of-way or road centerline, which permitted buildings or structures shall be set back of, or outside of, and within which they may not be placed except as hereinafter provided. The term "within the setback lines" means between the setback line and the highway.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Stable means a structure used primarily for the housing and boarding of horses.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Story means that portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it or, if there is no floor above it, then the space between such floor and the ceiling next above it.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Story, half, 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 four feet above the floor of such story.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Street means a public or private thoroughfare which affords the principal means of access to an abutting property.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Street line means a dividing line between a lot, tract or parcel of land and a contiguous street.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Structural alteration means any change in the bearing walls, columns, beams, girders, or supporting members of a structure; any change or rearrangement in the floor area of a building; any enlargement of a structure whether by extending horizontally or by increasing in height; and/or any movement of a structure from one location or position to another.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Structure means anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires a more or less permanent location on or in the ground. Includes but is not limited to objects such as buildings, factories, sheds, cabins, wells, septic tanks and disposal fields.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Subdivider means a person who divides land, typically for development purposes, by plat or certified survey map under Wis. Stats. ch. 236.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Subdivision means a division of a lot, parcel or tract of land by the owner thereof or the owner's agent for the purpose of sale or of building development where:

1. (1)
   The act of division creates five or more parcels or building sites of 1½ acres each or less in area; or
2. (2)
   Five or more parcels or building sites of 1½ acres each or less in area are created by successive divisions within a period of five years.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Temporary structure means a structure which is built of such materials and in such a way that it would commonly be expected to have a relatively short useful life, or is built for a purpose that would commonly be expected to be relatively short-term and not to be habitable.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Traffic lane means a strip of roadway intended to accommodate a single lane of moving vehicles.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Trailer park means any lot on which are parked two or more house trailers or mobile homes for longer than 48 hours.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Use means the use of property is for the purpose or activity for which the land or building thereon is designed, arranged or intended, or for which it is occupied or maintained, and shall include any manner of standards of this chapter.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Use, conditional. See Conditional use.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Use, permitted, means a use which may be lawfully established in a particular district or districts, provided it conforms with all requirements, regulations and performance standards, if any, of such districts.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Use, principal, means the main use of land or buildings as distinguished from a subordinate or accessory use. A principal use may be permitted or conditional.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Utility building or structure means an accessory building used for storage of gardening or home-related supplies of limited size not exceeding ten by 14 feet and no greater than nine feet in height.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Utility room means a room or area in the home used for the mechanicals of the home (e.g., furnace, water heater, water softener).

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Value, market, means that value at which a seller willing to sell, but not forced to sell, would sell to a buyer willing to buy, but not forced to buy.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Variance means a special exception granted from the requirements of this chapter by the board of appeals due to unique undue hardship.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Vending machine means a retail business device, electrically or manually operated, used by the general public to obtain dairy products, cigarettes, foodstuffs or other merchandise without entering a public shop, store, market or other such building.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Vision setback area means an unoccupied triangular space at the intersection of highways or streets with other highways or streets or at the intersection of highways or streets. Such vision clearance triangle shall be bounded by the intersecting highway or street lines and a setback line connecting points located on such right-of-way lines by measurement from the intersection as specified in this chapter.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Wind generator means a device, typically tower mounted, whose primary purpose is the generation of energy from a wind-powered source.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

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

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Yard, corner side, means a side yard which adjoins a public street.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Yard, front, means a yard extending the full width of the lot between the front lot line adjacent to the road and the nearest wall of the principal building. On lots comprising five acres or more, the front yard minimum lot width requirement on the principal building shall be allowed to shift from side to side provided side-yard setback requirements are met. Cul-de-sacs are exempt from this standard but must have 60-foot minimum front yard frontage at the road setback line and comply with all side-yard setback requirements.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Yard, interior side, means a side yard which is located immediately adjacent to another zoning lot or to an alley separating such yard from another zoning lot.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Yard, rear, means a yard extending the full width of the lot between the rear lot line and the nearest wall of the principal building. In the case of irregular or triangular lots, where none of the lines bounding the rear of the lot are parallel or approximately parallel to the front line, the rear lot line for the purposes of this chapter shall be a line ten feet long, wholly within the maximum distance from the front lot line.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Yard, side, means a yard extending from the front yard to the rear yard between the side lot line and the nearest wall of the principal building.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Yard, street, means a yard abutting a street.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Yard, transitional, means that yard which must be provided on a zoning lot in a business district which adjoins a zoning lot in a residential district, or that yard which must be provided on a zoning lot in an industrial district which adjoins a zoning lot in either a residential or business district.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Zoning district means an area or areas within the corporate limits for which the regulations and requirements governing use, lot and bulk of buildings and premises are uniform.

Effective on: 1/1/1901

Zoning permit/verification means a document signed by the zoning administrator, as required in this chapter, as a condition precedent to the commencement of a use or the erection, construction, reconstruction, restoration, alteration, conversion, or installation of a structure or building which document acknowledges that such use, structure, or building complies with provisions of this chapter or an authorized variance therefrom. It is essentially a verification of zoning status.

(Code 2006, § 13-1-8; Ord. of 10-15-2013)

Effective on: 1/1/1901