(a)

Unless specifically defined, words and phrases in this chapter shall have their common law meaning and shall be applied in accordance with their common usage. Words used in the present tense include the future; the singular number includes the plural number; and the plural number includes the singular number. The word "shall" is mandatory.

Accessory structure or use shall mean a facility, structure, building or use which is accessory to or incidental to the principle use of a property, structure, or building.

Adult establishments shall mean and include but are not limited to adult bookstores, adult motion picture theaters (indoor or outdoor), adult mini-motion picture theaters, adult video stores, adult bath houses, adult motels, adult theatres, adult novelty shops, adult massage parlors, adult modeling studios, adult body painting studios, and adult cabarets.

Adult family home shall mean A place licensed by the state under Wis. Stats. § 50.033(1m).

Agricultural structure shall mean a structure designed to house farm implements, hay, grain, poultry, livestock or other agricultural products. For the purpose of this definition, this structure shall not contain habitable space or a place of employment where agricultural products are processed or treated or packaged; nor shall it be a place used by the public.

Alteration shall mean an enhancement, upgrading or substantial change or modifications other than an addition or repair to a dwelling or to electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilating, air conditioning and other systems within a structure.

Animated sign shall mean any sign or part of a sign that changes physical position or light intensity by any movement or rotation or that gives the visual impression of such movement or rotation.

Antenna means communications equipment that transmits and receives electromagnetic radio signals and is used in the provision of mobile services.

Arterial street shall mean 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.

Banner shall mean any sign of lightweight fabric, plastic, coated paper, or similar material not enclosed in a rigid frame that is mounted to a pole or a structure at one (1) or more edges. Flags or pennants are not considered banners.

Basement shall mean any enclosed area of a building having its floor sub-grade (i.e., below ground level, on all sides).

Berm shall mean a mound or embankment of earth typically installed to provide screening or for aesthetic effect.

Billboard shall mean a sign that directs attention to a business, commodity, service, or entertainment conducted, sold, or offered at a location other than the premises on which the sign is located.

Brewpub shall mean a place where fermented malt beverages are manufactured and those beverages, along with other beverages and food, are offered for retail sale and on-site consumption.

Bufferyard shall mean a linear strip of undeveloped land, along with landscaping and/or a fence, that is located between two different zoning districts that have potentially incompatible characteristics. Bufferyards are intended to create separation between incompatible land uses and eliminate or lessen the impacts (e.g., noise, dust, glare of lights, outdoor activities) of the more intrusive land use on the other.

Building shall mean a 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.

Building area shall mean 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.

Building height shall mean the vertical height of a building from the mean elevation of the finished grade along the front of the building to the highest point of all roofs. Depending on the context, the term may refer to the height of an existing, proposed, or permitted building.

Canopy sign (awning sign) shall mean any sign that is a part of or attached to an awning, canopy, or other fabric, plastic, or structural protective cover. A marquee is not a canopy. The overhead protective cover used for fuel pumps is considered a canopy.

Cargo container shall mean standardized reusable vessels that were:

(2)

Originally designed for or used in the packing, shipping, movement or transportation of freight, articles, goods or commodities; and/or

(3)

Originally designed for or capable of being mounted or moved by rail, truck, or ship by means of being mounted on a chassis or similar transport device. This definition includes the terms "freight containers" and "shipping containers".

Certificate of compliance shall mean a certification that the construction and the use of land or a building is in compliance with all of the provisions of this Section.

Changeable copy sign shall mean a sign or portion thereof with characters, letters, or illustrations that can be changed or rearranged without altering the face or the surface of the sign not more than once every eight (8) seconds or the minimum standards set by the Federal Highway Administration, whichever is longer. Each change of message shall be accomplished in one second or less. A sign on which the only copy that changes is an electronic or mechanical indication of time, date, or temperature is considered a "time and temperature" portion of a sign and not a changeable copy sign or traveling message sign.

Channel shall mean a natural or artificial watercourse with definite bed and banks to confine and conduct normal flow of water.

Clear cutting shall mean the removal of an entire stand or area of trees or shrubs.

Cluster development shall mean a development design technique that concentrates buildings in specific areas on a site to allow remaining lands to be used for recreation, common open space, or the preservation of historically, agriculturally or environmentally sensitive features. The size of individual lots may be reduced to gain such common open space.

Community Living Arrangement, 8 or Fewer Residents shall mean any one of the following with 8 or fewer residents (1) a residential care center for children and youth as defined in Wis. Stats. § 48.02(15d), operated by a child welfare agency licensed under Wis. Stats. § 48.60; (2) a group home for children as defined in Wis. Stats. § 48.02(7); and (3) a community-based residential facility as defined in Wis. Stats. § 50.01(lg). The term does not include adult family homes, as defined in Wis. Stats. § 50.01.

Community Living Arrangement, 9 to 15 Residents shall mean any one of the following with more than 8 but fewer than 16 residents (1) a residential care center for children and youth as defined in Wis. Stats. § 48.02(15d), operated by a child welfare agency licensed under Wis. Stats. § 48.60; (2) a group home for children as defined in Wis. Stats. § 48.02(7); and (3) a community-based residential facility as defined in Wis. Stats. § 50.01(lg). The term does not include adult family homes, as defined in Wis. Stats. § 50.01.

Community Living Arrangement, More Than 15 Residents shall mean any one of the following with 16 or more residents (1) a residential care center for children and youth as defined in Wis. Stats. § 48.02(15d), operated by a child welfare agency licensed under Wis. Stats. § 48.60; (2) a group home for children as defined in Wis. Stats. §Wis. Stats. § 48.02(7); and (3) a community-based residential facility as defined in Wis. Stats. § 50.01(lg). The term does not include adult family homes, as defined in Wis. Stats. § 50.01.

Community-Scale Solar Energy System shall mean a commercial solar energy system that converts sunlight into electricity for the primary purpose of serving electric demands off-site from the facility, either retail or wholesale. Community-scale systems are principal uses and projects typically cover less than 1 acre.

Deck shall mean an unenclosed exterior structure that has no roof or sides but has a permeable floor which allows the infiltration of precipitation.

Development shall mean any artificial change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, the construction of buildings, structures or accessory structures; the construction of additions or alterations to buildings, structures or accessory structures; the repair of any damaged structure or the improvement or renovation of any structure, regardless of percentage of damage or improvement; the placement of buildings or structures; subdivision layout and site preparation; mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations; the storage, deposition or extraction of materials or equipment; and the installation, repair or removal of public or private sewage disposal systems or water supply facilities.

Directional sign shall mean any auxiliary sign that is limited to directional messages principally for assisting in the flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, such as enter, exit, and one way. Directory sign shall mean a sign listing the tenants or occupants of a building or group of buildings and that may indicate their respective professions or business activities.

District, basic use, shall mean a part or parts of the Village for which the regulations of this chapter governing the use and location and land and buildings are uniform (such as the residential, business, industrial, or farming district classifications).

District, overlay, shall provide for the possibility of superimposing certain additional requirements upon a basic use zoning district without disturbing the requirements of the basic use district. In the instance of conflicting requirements, the more strict of the conflicting requirement shall apply.

Dwelling shall mean a detached building designed or used exclusively as a residence or sleeping place, but does not include boardinghouses or lodging houses, motels, hotels, tenements, cabins or mobile homes.

Elevation shall mean the height in feet above National Geodetic Datum of 1929, also known as mean sea level datum.

Essential services shall mean services provided by public and private services, necessary for the exercise of the principal use or service of the principal structure. These services include underground, surface, or overhead gas, electrical, steam, water, sanitary sewerage, stormwater drainage and communication systems and accessories thereto, such as poles, tower, wires, mains, drains, vaults, culverts, laterals, sewers, pipes, catch basins, water storage tanks, conduits, cables, fire alarm boxes, police call boxes, traffic signals, pumps, lift stations and hydrants, but not including buildings used or intended to be used for human habitation.

Expressway shall mean a divided arterial street or highway with full or partial control of access and with or without grade separated intersections.

Fall zone means the area over which a mobile support structure is designed to collapse.

Flag shall mean any fabric or bunting containing distinctive colors, patterns, or symbols, used as a symbol of a government, political subdivision, school, or to indicate membership in a non-profit organization.

Flashing sign shall mean any directly or indirectly illuminated sign on which the natural or artificial light is not maintained stationary or constant in intensity and color at all times when such sign is in use. This definition includes parts that move while the light remains constant, giving the impression of changing or flashing lights. Intermittent signs only providing information such as time, date, and temperature and changeable copy signs as defined herein are not considered "flashing signs."

Foster Home and Treatment Foster Home shall mean A place licensed by the state for the care of foster children and which is operated by a corporation, child welfare agency, church, or other such entity. Note: See Wis. Stats. § 48.62. A foster home and treatment foster home can either be a principal use or an accessory use. If the operator lives in the residence with the children, it is considered an accessory use.

Freeway shall mean an expressway with full control of access and with fully grade separated intersections.

Frontage shall mean the portion of a lot abutting a public street measured along the street line. On corner lots, this shall be interpreted as the portion of the public street by which the structure is addressed.

Ground sign (monument sign) shall mean any permanent free-standing sign, other than a pole sign, in which the entire bottom is in contact with or is close to the ground and which does not exceed fifteen (15) feet in height.

Habitable structure shall mean any structure or portion thereof used or designed for human habitation.

Highest adjacent grade shall mean the highest natural elevation of the ground surface prior to construction next to the proposed walls of a structure.

Home occupation shall mean any gainful occupation or profession engaged in by an occupant of a dwelling unit.

In-law suite shall mean a physical arrangement of a dwelling unit in such a fashion that a separate living quarters is created within a dwelling unit for the sole purpose of allowing related persons to live in the secondary living area while that owner and his or her family resides in the principal living area. The secondary living area may contain a bedroom, bathroom and kitchenette which permit a limited degree of independence but does not create a separate housekeeping entity.

Interchange shall mean a grade separated intersection with one (1) or more turning lanes for travel between intersection legs.

Landscaped buffer shall mean an area of landscaping separating two (2) distinct land uses, or a land use and a public right-of-way or private road, and acts to soften or mitigate the effects of one (1) land use on the other.

Large-Scale Solar Energy System shall mean a commercial solar energy system that converts sunlight into electricity for the primary purpose of wholesale sales of generated electricity. A large-scale solar energy system will have a project size greater than 1 acre and is the principal land use for the parcel(s) on which it is located.

Light manufacturing shall mean the manufacturing, predominately from previously prepared materials, of finished products or parts, including processing, fabrication, assembly, treatment, and packaging of such products, and incidental storage, sales and distribution of such products, but excluding basic industrial processing and custom manufacturing, provided all manufacturing activities are contained entirely within a building and noise, odor, smoke, heat, glare, and vibration resulting from the manufacturing activity are confined entirely within the building.

Loading area shall mean 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.

Lot shall mean a parcel of land having frontage on a public street, or other means of access that was in existence prior to the original adoption of this zoning ordinance and which has been approved by the Village, 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, lot yard, parking area, and other open space provisions of this chapter.

Lot lines and area shall mean the peripheral boundaries of a parcel of land and the total area lying within such boundaries exclusive of any highway right-of-way or road easement.

Lot width shall mean the width of a parcel of land measured at the front of the specified street yard. Depending on the context, the term can refer to the required width of a lot, actual width of a lot, or proposed width. Lot width is measured along an imaginary line generally parallel to the front lot line at the street yard building setback line. Such measurement may not be interrupted by any feature, as in the case of a lot with two areas on the same street.

Lowest adjacent grade shall mean the elevation of the lowest ground surface that touches any of the exterior walls of a building.

Marquee shall mean any permanent roof-like structure projecting beyond a building or extending along and projecting beyond the wall of the building, generally designed and constructed to provide protection from the weather. Marquee sign shall mean any sign attached to, in any manner, or made a part of a marquee.

Minor structures shall mean any small, movable accessory erection or construction such as birdhouses, tool houses, pet houses, play equipment and arbors.

Municipality or municipal shall mean the county, city, or village governmental units enacting, administering, and enforcing this zoning ordinance.

Nonconforming uses or structures shall mean any structure, land or water lawfully used, occupied or erected at the time of the effective date of this chapter or amendments thereto which does not conform to the regulations of this chapter or amendments thereto. Any such structure conforming in respect to use but not in respect to frontage, width, height, area, yard, parking, loading or distance requirements shall be considered a nonconforming structure and not a nonconforming use.

Normal maintenance and repair shall mean cleaning, painting, replacing broken and vandalized non-structural parts; replacing light bulbs; and other like minor routine repairs in a manner that does not change or alter the basic copy area, design, or structure of the sign.

Nuisance shall mean a public nuisance as defined in Chapter 38 — Public Nuisances of the Raymond Code of Ordinances.

Obsolete sign shall mean any sign that no longer correctly directs or exhorts any person or advertises a business, service, product, tenant, or activity no longer conducted, available, or in existence on the premises where such sign is displayed.

Off-road vehicle shall mean a motorized vehicle designed for use on a variety of non-improved surfaces including, but not limited to, dune buggies, four-wheel drive vehicles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), dirt bikes, minibikes, motor bikes, mopeds and trail bikes. Agricultural equipment (such as farm tractors, seeders, combines, cultivators, etc.) used in the operation of a farm, garden tractors and riding lawnmowers are not a type of off-road vehicle.

Pennant shall mean any lightweight plastic, fabric, or other material, whether or not it contains a message of any kind, suspended from a rope, wire, or string, usually in series that typically streams in the wind.

Pergola shall mean a structure of parallel colonnades supporting an open roof of crossing rafters or trelliswork.

Pond shall mean a natural or artificial (manmade) body of standing water smaller than a lake which generally retains water year-round.

Pole sign (freestanding sign, self-supporting sign) shall mean any sign that is mounted on one (1) or more poles.

Principal structure shall mean a structure used or intended to be used for the principal use as permitted on such lot by the regulations of the district in which it is located.

Private sewage system shall mean a sewage treatment and disposal system serving one structure with a septic tank and soil absorption field located on the same parcel as the structure. It also shall mean an alternative sewage system approved by the department of commerce, including a substitute for the septic tank or soil absorption field, a holding tank, a system serving more than one structure or a system located on a different parcel than the structure.

Projecting sign shall mean any sign that is wholly or partly dependent upon a building for support and which projects more than twelve (12) inches from the side(s) of such building.

Rear yard shall mean a yard extending across the full width of the lot, the depth of which shall be the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and a line parallel thereto through the nearer point of the principal structure. This yard shall be opposite the street yard or one (1) of the street yards on a corner lot.

Recreational vehicle shall mean a vehicular unit designed as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or travel use which either has its own motive power or is mounted on or drawn by another vehicle. The basic entities are: travel trailer, camping trailer, truck camper, or motor home.

Roadside stand shall mean an accessory structure having a ground area of not more than three hundred (300) square feet, not closer than twenty-five (25) feet to any street right-of-way line, not permanently fixed to the ground, readily removable in its entirety, not fully enclosed and to be used solely for the sale of farm products produced on the premises (or adjoining premises).

Roof sign shall mean any sign that is mounted on the roof of a building or which is wholly dependent upon a building for support and which projects above any point of a building with a flat roof, the deck line of a building with a mansard roof, or the eave line of a building with a gambrel, gable, dome or hip roof.

Screening shall mean a method of visually shielding or obscuring one abutting or nearby structure or use from another by fencing, walls, berms, or densely planted vegetation.

Self-service storage facility shall mean any structure designed and used for the purpose of renting or leasing individual storage spaces to tenants who are to have access to such space for the purpose of storing and removing personal property; also known as a mini warehouse.

Setback shall mean the minimum required distance between a building and one or more lot lines, the actual distance, or the proposed distance.

Shore yards shall mean a yard extending across the full width or depth of a lot, the depth of which shall be the minimum horizontal distance between a line intersecting both side lot lines at the same angle and containing the ordinary highwater mark of a lake, pond, flowage, river, stream or wetland nearest the principal structure and a line parallel thereto containing the point of the principal structure nearest the ordinary highwater mark.

Shorelands shall mean those lands within the following distances from the ordinary highwater mark of navigable waters: one thousand (1,000) feet from a lake, pond, or flowage, and three hundred (300) feet from a river or stream or to the landward side of the floodplain, whichever distance is greater.

Shorelines shall mean the intersection of the land surfaces abutting lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, flowages, and wetland with the ordinary highwater mark.

Side yard shall mean 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 structure.

Sign shall mean any object, device, display, or structure, or part thereof, situated outdoors or indoors, that is used to advertise, identify, display, direct, or attract attention to an object, person, institution, organization, business, product, service, event, or location by any means, including words, letters, figures, design, symbols, fixtures, colors, illumination, or projected images.

Solar Energy System — Accessory Use shall mean solar energy systems which are not a principal use are a permitted accessory use in all zoning districts where structures of any sort are allowed, subject to certain requirements as set forth in Section 25-14-4 (a). Solar carports and associated electric vehicle charging equipment are a permitted accessory use on surface parking lots in all districts regardless of the existence of another building. Solar energy systems that do not meet the design standards in Section 25-14-4 (a) will require a conditional use permit.

Street shall mean a public or private right-of-way providing primary access to abutting properties.

Street yard shall mean 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 (2) such yards.

Structural alterations shall mean any change in the supporting members of a structure, such as foundations, bearing walls, columns, beams or girders.

Structure shall mean any manmade object with form, shape and utility, either permanently or temporarily attached to, placed upon or set into the ground, stream bed or lake bed, including, but not limited to, roofed and walled buildings, gas or liquid storage tanks, bridges, dams and culverts.

Substantial improvement shall mean any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceeds fifty (50) percent of the present equalized assessed value of the structure either before the improvement or repair is started, or if the structure has been damaged and is being restored, before the damage occurred. The term does not however, include either: (a) any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which are solely necessary to assure safe living conditions, or (b) any alteration of a designated historical structure or site documented as deserving preservation by the Wisconsin State Historical Society or listed on the National Register of Historic Places provided the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation as an historical structure. Ordinary maintenance repairs are not considered structural repairs, modifications, or additions; such ordinary maintenance repairs include internal and external painting, decorating, paneling, and the replacement of doors, windows, and other nonstructural components. "Substantial improvement" begins when the first alteration of any wall, ceiling, floor, or other structural part of the building commences, whether or not that alteration affects the external dimensions of the structure.

Substantial work shall mean a considerable amount of work done towards completing the project that received approval, that may include obtaining necessary plot plans, surveys, engineering data, easements, deed restrictions, approvals, permits, and physically starting the project. For typical building construction projects, the site work must progress beyond grading and completion of structural foundations, and construction must be occurring above grade to be considered substantial work.

Temporary sign shall mean any sign intended for a limited or intermittent period of display.

Total height shall mean, when referring to a wind turbine, the distance measured from ground level to the blade extended at its highest point.

Traveling message sign shall mean any characters, letters, or illustrations (see changeable copy sign) that appear to move, change, or flash on a sign more than once every eight (8) seconds, excluding a "time and temperature" portion of a sign.

Unnecessary hardship shall mean that circumstance where special conditions, which are not self-created, affect a particular property and make strict conformity with the restrictions governing dimensional standards (such as lot area, lot width, setbacks, yard requirements, or building height) unnecessarily burdensome or unreasonable in light of the purpose of the ordinance.

Services shall mean public and private facilities such as water wells, water and sewage pumping stations, water storage tanks, power and communication transmission lines, electrical power substations, static transformer stations, telephone and telegraph stations, but not including sewage disposal plants, municipal incinerators, warehouses, shops and storage yards.

Telecommunication Collocation (Class 1) shall mean the placement of a new mobile service facility on an existing support structure which constitutes a substantial modification. Note: This definition is based on the corresponding definition in Wis. Stats. § 66.0404.

Telecommunication Collocation (Class 2) shall mean the placement of a new mobile service facility on an existing support structure which does not constitute a substantial modification.

Telecommunication Tower shall mean a free-standing tower with or without an equipment compound that is intended for the placement of one or more mobile service facilities. Note: This definition is based on the corresponding definition in Wis. Stats. § 66.0404.

Utility pole means a structure owned or operated by an alternative telecommunications utility, public utility, telecommunications utility, county, municipality, or cooperative associate, all as defined under current law or under the proposal, and that is specifically for and used to carry lines, cables, or wires for telecommunications service, video service, or for electricity or to provide light.

Variance shall mean an authorization granted by the zoning board of appeals to construct, alter, or use a building or structure in a manner that deviates from the dimensional standards of this ordinance.

Wall sign shall mean any sign fastened to or painted on the wall of a building or structure in such a manner that the wall becomes the supporting structure for or forms the background surface of the sign and which does not project more than twelve (12) inches from such building or structure.

Watershed shall mean the entire region contributing runoff or surface water to a watercourse or body of water.

Well shall mean an excavation opening in the ground made by digging, boring, drilling, driving or other methods, to obtain groundwater regardless of its intended use.

Wetlands shall mean those areas where water is at, near or above the land surface long enough to be capable of supporting aquatic or hydrophytic vegetation and which have soils indicative of wet conditions.

Window sign shall mean any sign that is placed inside a window or upon the windowpanes or glass and is readable from the street or highway.

Yard shall mean the area of a lot that is required to be unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except by trees, shrubbery, or as otherwise provided in this chapter. The street and rear yards extend the full width of the lot.

Zoning administrator shall mean a person recommended by the Village to administer and enforce this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2024-6-24, 10-28-2024)