Town of Barton, WI Part 2 Scope; General Requirements

Article II Scope

§ 500-12 Purpose.

The purpose of this article is to define the scope of this chapter.

§ 500-13 Jurisdiction.

The jurisdiction of this chapter shall apply to all structures, lands, water, and air within the corporate limits of the Town of Barton.

§ 500-14 Compliance.

A. General compliance. No structure, development, land, water, or air shall hereafter be used and no structure or part thereof shall hereafter be located, erected, moved, reconstructed, substantially improved, extended, enlarged, converted, or structurally altered without a building or zoning permit and without full compliance with the provisions of this chapter and all other local, county, and state regulations. In addition, the following general provisions shall be complied with:

(1) Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Rules of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, as amended, setting water quality standards for preventing and abating pollution and for regulating development within floodland, wetland, and shoreland areas.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).

(2) Comprehensive plans or master plans. Comprehensive or master plans, plans prepared by state, regional, county, or municipal agencies duly adopted by the Plan Commission, or components of such plans, as amended.

(3) All other applicable Town and county ordinances.[2]

[2] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).

(4) Wisconsin Administrative Code. All applicable rules contained in the Wisconsin Administrative Code, as amended, not listed in this section.

(5) United States Army Corps of Engineers and United States Environmental Protection Agency. Rules of the United States Army Corps of Engineers and United States Environmental Protection Agency, as amended.

(6) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines. The requirements of the "Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities," as documented in the Federal Register, Vol. 56, No. 144, July 26, 1991, as amended.

(7) Other applicable federal and state laws and regulations. All other applicable federal and state laws and regulations, as amended.

B. Zoning compliance. The following specific zoning provisions shall be complied with:

(1) Changes in structures or use. Except as may otherwise be provided in Article XIII, Nonconforming Buildings, Structures and Uses, all buildings erected hereafter, all uses of land or buildings established hereafter, all structural alterations or relocation of existing buildings occurring hereafter, and all enlargements of or additions to existing uses occurring hereafter, shall be subject to all regulations which are applicable to the zoning districts in which such buildings, uses, or land shall be located.

(2) Nonconforming buildings, structures, and uses. Any lawfully established building, structure, or use existing at the time of enactment of this chapter may be continued, even though such building, structure, or use does not conform to the provisions of the zoning district in which it is located. Whenever a zoning district is changed thereafter, the then-existing lawful use may be continued, subject to the provisions of Article XIII of this chapter.

(3) Site suitability. No land shall be used or structure erected where the land is held unsuitable for such use or structure by the Plan Commission by reason of flooding, concentrated runoff, inadequate drainage, adverse soil or rock formation, erosion susceptibility, or any other feature likely to be harmful to the health, safety, prosperity, aesthetics, and general welfare of this community. The Plan Commission, in applying the provisions of this chapter, shall, in writing, recite the particular facts upon which it bases its conclusion that the land is not suitable for certain uses. The applicant shall have an opportunity to present evidence contesting such unsuitability if so desired. Thereafter, the Plan Commission may affirm, modify, or withdraw its determination of unsuitability.

(a) Lots abutting public streets with inadequate street right-of-way dedication or improvements. No building permit shall be issued for a lot which abuts a public street dedicated to only a portion of its proposed width and located on that side thereof from which the required dedication has not been secured.

(b) Must meet private water and on-site sewage disposal system requirements. In any district where a public water supply or public sewage service is not available, each lot or dwelling unit shall be capable of meeting the requirements of Chs. SPS 383 and 385, Wis. Adm. Code, and Chapter 25, titled "Sanitary Code," of the Washington County Code, and any other applicable agency regarding the construction of an on-site sewage disposal system. In addition:

[1] Soil boring and percolation tests shall be made by or under the direction and control of an architect, engineer, land surveyor, or sanitarian registered in Wisconsin, or master plumber or master plumber restricted licensed in Wisconsin to install private sewage disposal systems.

[a] The person supervising the tests shall certify as to the correctness of procedure and results.

[b] Blank forms supplied by the Washington County Planning and Parks Department Administrator shall be used for reporting results and providing certification.

[2] Sufficient borings shall be made to portray adequately the character of the soil, groundwater levels, and depths to bedrock.

[a] The borings shall be distributed as uniformly as possible, and their locations shall be shown on a site plan, as required under the provisions of Article XX of this chapter.

[b] The number of such tests initially made shall not be less than one test per three acres or one test per lot, whichever is greater.[3]

[3] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).

[c] When borings show marked variation in soil, depth to water or depth to bedrock, at least one boring per acre of area shall be made.

[d] All borings shall extend to a depth of five feet, unless bedrock is at a lesser depth.

[e] Where deep absorption systems are proposed, bore holes shall extend three feet below the expected depth of the absorption system.

(c) Lots abutting more restricted district boundaries. Lots abutting more restricted district boundaries shall provide side and rear yards not less than those required in the more restrictive abutting district and shall provide for buffer yards as are required under Article XVIII of this chapter. The street yards in the less restrictive district shall be modified for a distance of not more than 60 feet from the district boundary line so as to equal the average of the street yards required in both districts.

(d) Land or lot divisions. All land divisions shall conform to the provisions of this chapter.

Article III General Requirements

§ 500-15 Use and bulk regulations.

A. Use. No building, structure, or land shall hereafter be used or occupied, and no building or part thereof, or other structure, shall be erected, raised, moved, reconstructed, extended, enlarged, or altered except in conformity with the regulations specified for the district in which it is located.

B. Bulk. All new buildings and structures shall conform to the building regulations established for the district in which each building is located, except that parapet walls, chimneys, cooling towers, elevator bulkheads, fire towers, stacks, and necessary mechanical appurtenances shall be permitted to exceed the maximum height provisions when erected in accordance with all other ordinances of the Town of Barton. (Also see Article XII of this chapter.)

§ 500-16 Lot coverage.

All new buildings, structures, and off-street parking and loading areas shall conform to the various lot coverage regulations set forth in this chapter.

A. Maintenance of yards, courts, and other open spaces. The maintenance of yards, courts, and other open space and minimum lot area required under the provisions of this chapter for a building shall be a continuing obligation of the owner of such building or of the property on which it is located as long as the building is in existence. Furthermore, no legally required yards, courts, or other open space or minimum lot area allocated to any building shall, by virtue of change of ownership or for any other reason, be used to satisfy yard, court, other open space, or minimum lot area requirements of any other building.

B. Division of zoning lots. No improved zoning lot shall be divided into two or more zoning lots unless all improved zoning lots resulting from each division conform with all the applicable bulk regulations of the zoning district in which the property is located. However, with respect to the resubdivision of improved zoning lots in R-9 and R-10 Residential Districts, side yard requirements shall not apply between attached buildings.

C. Location of required open space. All yards, courts, and other open spaces allocated to a building or dwelling group shall be located on the same zoning lot as such building or dwelling group.

D. Required yards for existing buildings. No yards, now or hereafter provided for an existing building, shall subsequently be reduced below, or further reduced below, if already less than, the minimum yard requirements of the district in which it is located. (Also see § 500-164 of this chapter regarding variances.)

E. Permitted obstructions in required yards. The following are not considered to be obstructions when located in the required yards specified:

(1) In all yards. Handicapped ramps; open terraces not over four feet above the average level of the adjoining ground, but not including a permanently roofed-over terrace or porch; awnings and canopies; steps, four feet or less above grade, which are necessary for access to a permitted building or for access to a zoning lot from a street or alley; chimneys projecting 18 inches or less into the yard; recreational equipment; laundry-drying equipment; arbors and trellises; and flagpoles. Open fences having a height of six feet or less may be used to locate property lines within the required side or rear yards in the residential districts. Closed fences having a height of six feet or less shall be placed three feet from property lines within the required side or rear yards in the residential districts.

(2) In front yards. One-story bay windows projecting three feet or less into the front yard; overhanging eaves and gutters projecting three feet or less into the yard.

(3) In rear yards. Accessory garages, sheds, tool rooms, and similar buildings or structures for domestic or agricultural storage not less than five feet from a rear yard lot line; balconies; breezeways and open porches; one-story bay windows projecting three feet or less into the yard; overhanging eaves and gutters projecting three feet or less into the yard. In any residential district, no accessory building shall be constructed within 10 feet of a principal building on the same lot.

[Amended 11-1-1995 by Ord. No. 95-2]

(4) In side yards. No exceptions except as hereinbefore stated in Subsection E(1) of this section.

§ 500-17 Setback requirements.

Base setback lines are hereby established for all streets and highways in the Town of Barton as follows, unless otherwise specified by action of the Town Board:

A. Setback from ultimate street and highway right-of-way line. On all streets or highways for which the ultimate width has been heretofore established by Washington County, the Town of Barton Comprehensive Plan (or component thereof), the Town Official Map, and/or subsequent amendments thereto to those documents, the base setback line shall be located at a distance from such established ultimate street and/or highway right-of-way line as prescribed by this chapter.

B. Determination of average front yard setback in areas where greater than required front yard setback is provided. Where 40% or more of the frontage on one side of a street between two intersecting streets, or for a distance of 600 feet in each direction from the lot being considered, is developed with buildings that have a front yard greater in depth than herein required (with a variation of five feet or less), new buildings shall not be erected closer to the street than the average front yard so established by the existing buildings.

C. Determination of average front yard setback in areas where less than required front yard setback is provided. Where 40% or more of the frontage on one side of a street between two intersecting streets, or for a distance of 600 feet in each direction from the lot being considered, is developed with buildings that have not observed a front yard as required herein, then:

(1) Where a building is to be erected within 100 feet of existing buildings on both sides, the minimum front yard shall be a line drawn between the closest front corners of the two existing buildings.

(2) Where a building is to be erected within 100 feet of an existing building on one side only, the minimum front yard shall be the average of the setback of the existing building and the setback required normally.

D. Corner lot setbacks. Corner lot setback requirements on a side street shall meet the requirements set forth in this chapter. However, in no case shall a corner lot have a side setback on an abutting street of less than 75% of the required front yard setback on the frontage street.

§ 500-18 Access to public streets. [1]

Except as otherwise provided herein, every lot less than 40,000 square feet in area shall front or abut for a distance of at least 40 feet on a dedicated public street. Every lot 40,000 square feet or greater in area shall front or abut for a distance of at least 66 feet on a dedicated public street, except all lots that abut a cul-de-sac shall abut no less than 45 feet. Access to public streets shall also meet all of those requirements set forth in Article XVI of this chapter and, where applicable, those requirements set forth under Chapter 340, Land Division, of this Code and any other applicable Town of Barton ordinance.

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).

§ 500-19 Lot area and dimension.

A. Contiguous parcels. When two or more parcels of land, each of which lacks adequate area and dimension to qualify for a permitted use under the requirements of the zoning district in which they are located, are contiguous and are held under one ownership, they shall be used as one zoning lot.

B. Lots or parcels of land of record. Any single lot or parcel of land, held in one ownership, which is a lot of record and does not meet the requirements for minimum lot width and area, may be utilized for a permitted use, provided that yards, courts, or usable open spaces are not less than 75% of the minimum required dimensions or areas as required by this chapter.

§ 500-20 Principal buildings.

All principal buildings shall be located on a zoning lot, and only one principal building shall be located, erected, or moved onto a lot in the R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5, R-6, R-7, and R-8 Residential Zoning Districts. The Plan Commission may permit more than one principal building per lot other than in the above-stated zoning districts where more than one principal building is needed for the orderly development of the parcel. When additional structures are permitted, the Plan Commission may impose additional yard requirements, floor area ratio limitations, residential density requirements, land use intensity requirements, landscaping requirements or parking requirements or may require a minimum separation distance between principal buildings.

§ 500-21 Rezoning of public and semipublic areas.

An area indicated on the Town of Barton Official Zoning Map as a public park, public recreation area, public school site, cemetery, or other similar public or semipublic open space shall not be used for any other purpose than that designated. When the use of the specific area is discontinued, it shall be considered by the Town of Barton Plan Commission and Town Board for potential rezoning to a zoning district which is consistent with the land use district set forth for that area in the Town of Barton Comprehensive Plan.

§ 500-22 Hazard abatement.

The hazard abatement performance standards set forth in Article XIV of this chapter shall apply to all zoning districts.

§ 500-23 Existing special uses.

When a use is classified as a special use under this chapter and exists as either a permitted use or special use at the date of the adoption of this chapter, it shall be considered a legal use, without further action of the Town Board, the Zoning Administrator, or the Zoning Board of Appeals.

§ 500-24 Uses not specifically permitted.

When a use is not specifically listed as a permitted use, special use or accessory use, it shall be assumed that such a use is expressly prohibited, unless, by a written decision of the Plan Commission, it is determined that said use is similar to, and not a more measurably intense use than, the use listed.

§ 500-25 Unlawful acts.

It shall be unlawful to construct or use any structure, land, or water in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter. In case of any violation, the Town Board, the Plan Commission, the Town Attorney, the Zoning Administrator, or any property owner who would be specifically damaged by such violation may institute appropriate actions or proceedings to enjoin a violation of this chapter.

§ 500-26 Municipalities and state agencies regulated.

Unless specifically exempted by law, all cities, villages, towns, counties, and other municipal corporations are required to comply with this chapter and obtain all required permits. State agencies are required to comply as applicable.