These regulations are adopted under the authority granted by §§ 60.10 and 62.23(7), Wis. Stats.
This chapter shall be known as, referred to or cited as the "Zoning Code, Town of Lowell, Dodge County, Wisconsin."
The purpose of this chapter is to promote the health, safety, prosperity, aesthetics and general welfare of the Town of Lowell.
It is the general intent of this chapter to:
A. 
Regulate and restrict the use of all structures, lands and waters;
B. 
Regulate and restrict 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;
C. 
Secure safety from fire, flooding, panic and other dangers;
D. 
Provide adequate light, air, sanitation and drainage;
E. 
Prevent overcrowding; avoid undue population concentration;
F. 
Facilitate the adequate provision of public facilities and utilities;
G. 
Stabilize and protect property values;
H. 
Further the appropriate use of land and conservation of natural resources;
I. 
Preserve and promote the beauty of the Town of Lowell;
J. 
Implement the Town Land Use Plan or plan components;
K. 
Provide for the administration and enforcement of this chapter and to provide penalties for its violation.
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 the chapter shall govern.
In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this chapter shall be held to be minimum requirements and shall be liberally construed in favor of the Town and shall not be deemed a limitation or repeal of any other power granted by the Wisconsin Statutes.
A. 
General terms. For the purposes of this chapter, certain words and terms are defined as follows. 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 "building" includes the word "structure"; the word "shall" is mandatory and not directory.
B. 
Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall be used:
ACCESSORY USES OF STRUCTURE
A use or detached structure subordinate to the principal use on a structure, land, or water and located on the same lot or parcel serving a purpose customarily incidental to the principal use or the principal structure. Accessory uses include, but are not limited to, incidental repairs; gardening; guests', servants', owners', itinerant agricultural laborers' quarters not for rent; private swimming pools; and private emergency shelters.
ADULT-ORIENTED ESTABLISHMENT
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 such adult entertainment is held, conducted, operated, or maintained for a profit, direct or indirect. "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.[1]
ADVERTISING STRUCTURE, OUTDOOR
Anything constructed or erected, either freestanding or attached to the outside of a building, for the purpose of conveying information, knowledge or ideas to the public about a subject either related or unrelated to the premises upon which located.
AGRICULTURAL STRUCTURES
A structure designed and constructed to store farm implements or hay, grain, poultry, livestock, fruit, and other raw agricultural products directly associated with permitted uses of the same parcel upon which the structure is located. Controlled atmosphere and cold storage warehouses are not agricultural structures. The term "agricultural structure" shall not include storage buildings used for any nonagricultural business or industry; the storage of vehicles or personal items other than farm implements; structures used for retail sales and services; or those structures to be used for human habitation. A structure designed for personal storage and agricultural use shall not be included in the term "agricultural structure."
[Added 4-9-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-3 (Attachment A)]
AIRPORT, PUBLIC
Any airport which complies with the definition contained in § 114.002(7), Wis. Stats., or any airport which serves or offers to serve common carriers engaged in air transport.
ALLEY
A way which affords only a secondary means of access to abutting property and which is not more than 24 feet wide.
ANIMAL UNIT
A unit of measure used to determine the total number of a single animal type or a combination of animals types which are allowed to be kept, fed, confined or stabled on a property located in the RC-1: Rural Cluster Residential Overlay District and AG-1: Agricultural Zoning Districts (but not applicable in the AE: Agricultural Enterprise District), where one animal unit equals the following:
[Added 3-10-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-01 (Exhibit "B")]
Animal Type
Number of Animals Equal to One Animal Unit
Cattle, buffalo or other livestock
1
Horse, mule or donkey
1
Pony or small horse (less than 35 inches at withers)
3
Swine
5
Goat, sheep, llama, alpaca, emu or ostrich
5
Poultry
50
Mink, rabbit or other fur-bearing animals
50
APARTMENT
A portion of a residential or commercial building used as a separate housing unit.
APARTMENT HOUSE
See "dwelling, multiple."
ARTERIAL STREET
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.
ASSESSED VALUE
The full market value placed upon the structure or lot by the Town Assessor as of the date that the nonconformity came into being. Such valuation by the Town Assessor shall be prima facie evidence of the assessed value of the structure or lot.
AUTOMOBILE WRECKING YARD
Any properly zoned premises on which any inoperable or unlicensed automotive vehicles are stored in the open.[2]
BANNER
A nonilluminated, elongated fabric used for temporary display for the announcement of a coming event.
BASEMENT or CELLAR
A story partly underground but having at least 1/2 of its height, or more than five feet, below the mean level of the adjoining ground. See Chs. SPS 320, 321 and 322, Wis. Adm. Code.
BOARDINGHOUSE
A building other than a hotel or restaurant where meals or lodging are regularly furnished by prearrangement for compensation for four or more persons not members of a family, but not exceeding 12 persons and not open to transient customers.
BOATHOUSE
Any structure designed for the purpose of protecting or storing boats for noncommercial purposes. Boathouses shall not be used for human habitation.
BUILDING
Any structure have 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
The total living area bounded by the exterior walls of a building, all the floor levels, but not including basement, utility areas, garages, porches, breezeways, and unfinished attics.
BUILDING, ALTERATIONS OF
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.
BUILDING, FRONT LINE OF
A line parallel to the street intersecting the foremost point of the building, excluding uncovered steps.
BUILDING, HEIGHT OF
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 deckline of a mansard roof, or to the mean height between eaves and ridge for gable, hip or gambrel roofs.
BUILDING, PRINCIPAL
A building in which is conducted the main use of the lot on which said building is located.
BULKHEAD LINE
A boundary line established along any section of the shore of any navigable waters by a municipal ordinance approved by the State Department of Natural Resources, pursuant to § 30.11, Wis. Stats. Filling and development is only permitted to the landward side of such bulkhead line.
BUSINESS
Includes the commercial, limited industrial and general industrial uses and districts as herein defined.
CARPORT
See "garage."
CENTER LINE
A line connecting points on highways from which setback lines shall be measured at any point on the highway.
CHANNEL
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.
CLINIC
A building used by a group of doctors for the medical examination or treatment of persons on an outpatient or nonboarding basis only.
CLUB
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.
COMMUNITY LIVING ARRANGEMENT
The following facilities licensed or operated, or permitted under the authority of Wisconsin Statutes: Child welfare agencies under § 48.60, Wis. Stats., group homes under § 48.02(7), Wis. Stats., and community-based residential facilities under § 50.01, Wis. Stats.; 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 the Wisconsin Statutes, including §§ 46.03(22), 62.23(7)(i), and 62.23(7a), Wis. Stats., and amendments thereto, and also the Wisconsin Administrative Code.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
CONDITIONAL USE
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.
CONFORMING USE
Any lawful use of a building or lot which complies with the provisions of this chapter.
COURT
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.
CURB BREAK
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.
CURB LEVEL
The level of the established curb in the front of the building measured at the center of such front.
DAY-CARE CENTER
A place or home which provides care for four or more children under the age of seven years for less than 24 hours a day and is licensed as provided for in § 48.65, Wis. Stats.
DISTRICT BASIC
A part or parts of the Town for which the regulation of this chapter governing the use and location of land and buildings are uniform.
DOG
A canine five months or older is considered a "dog."
DOG SHELTER
A structure with four sides, a waterproof roof, and a floor used for keeping dogs.
DWELLING EFFICIENCY
A dwelling unit consisting of one principal room with no separate sleeping rooms.
DWELLING GROUP
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.
DWELLING UNIT
One or more rooms in a dwelling, which is designed, occupied, or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters, with an individual entrance, cooking, sleeping and sanitary facilities provided within the dwelling unit for the exclusive use of one household.
[Amended 3-10-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-01 (Exhibit "B")]
(1) 
DWELLING UNIT, ACCESSORY (ATTACHED)A second dwelling unit, including separate kitchen, sleeping and sanitation facilities, and entrance, within or on a lot with a primary residence. The second unit shares one or more common or abutting walls, and is created auxiliary to and is always smaller than the primary residence.
(2) 
DWELLING UNIT, ACCESSORY (DETACHED)A second dwelling unit, including separate kitchen, sleeping, and sanitation facilities, on a lot with a primary residence. The second unit is created auxiliary to and is always smaller than the primary residence.
DWELLING, MULTIPLE
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.
DWELLING, ONE-FAMILY
A building designed, arranged or used for and occupied exclusively by one family, whether attached, detached or semiattached. Shall include specially designed buildings covered by earth and manufactured homes.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
DWELLING, TWO-FAMILY
A building designed, arranged or used for, or occupied exclusively by, two families living independently of each other.
EMERGENCY SHELTERS
Public or private enclosures designed to protect people from aerial, radiological, biological or chemical warfare; fire; flood; windstorm; riots; or invasions.
ESSENTIAL SERVICES
Services provided by public and private utilities, 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 sewage, stormwater drainage, and communication systems and accessories thereto, such as service poles, 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.
FAMILY
The body of persons related by blood, marriage or adoption, or not more than four unrelated persons who live together in one dwelling unit as a single housekeeping entity.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
FAMILY, IMMEDIATE
Persons related by blood, adoption or marriage, and extending to parents and children, brothers and sisters, and grandparents.
FARM
Land consisting of 35 acres or more on which produce, crops, livestock or flowers are grown primarily for off-premises consumption, use or sale, or are rented to others for such purposes or are enrolled in federal or state conservancy or set-aside programs.
FARM OPERATOR
Any person who owns land and raises crops or livestock on that land; or a person who rents land to another for agricultural purposes and who lives on the land having day-to-day contact with the farm operation; or a person who lives on land that he/she has historically farmed. For the purpose of this chapter, any person who has farmed land for five consecutive years is deemed to have farmed it historically.
FARMETTE
A small farm of over five acres but less than 35 acres, created by a land division involving existing farm buildings as part of a farm consolidation, and typically used for hobby farming or other small-scale agricultural endeavors.
FLAGS or PENNANTS
Devices generally made of flexible materials, such as cloth, paper, or plastic and displayed on strings or wires.
FLOOR AREA
The sum of the gross horizontal areas of the several floors of a dwelling unit, exclusive of porches, balconies, garages, basements and cellars, measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls or from the center lines of walls or portions separating dwelling units. For uses other than residential, the floor area shall be measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls or from the center line of walls or partitions separating such uses, and shall include all floors, lofts, balconies, mezzanines, cellars, basements and similar areas devoted to such uses.
FOSTER FAMILY HOME
The primary domicile of a foster parent which is for four or fewer foster children and which is licensed under § 48.62, Wis. Stats., and amendments thereto.
FRONTAGE
The smallest dimension of a lot abutting on a public street measured along the street line.
GARAGE
An accessory building or portion thereof used exclusively for parking or temporary storage of self-propelled vehicles.
GARAGE, PUBLIC
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."
GARAGE, STORAGE
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.
GASOLINE STATION
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.
GROUP FOSTER HOME
Any facility operated by a person required to be licensed by the State of Wisconsin under § 48.62, Wis. Stats., for the care and maintenance of five to eight foster children.
HOME OCCUPATION
Any business or profession carried on only by a member of the immediate family residing on the premises, carried on wholly within the principal building thereto and meeting the standards of § 295-39.
HORSE BOARDING FACILITY
An establishment to operate a facility housing horses where grooming, breeding, boarding, training, or selling of horses is conducted as a business.
HOTEL
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 no provision made for cooking in the individual apartments.
HOUSE TRAILER
A non-self-propelled vehicle, containing living or sleeping accommodations which is designed and used for highway travel.
JUNKYARD
An open space where waste, used or secondhand materials are bought, sold, exchanged, stored, baled, packed, disassembled or handled, including, but not limited to, scrap iron and other metals, paper, rags, rubber, tires and bottles. A junkyard also includes an auto wrecking yard, but does not include uses established entirely within enclosed buildings.
KENNEL
(1) 
Commercial. An establishment licensed to operate a facility housing dogs, cats or other household pets where grooming, breeding, boarding, training, or selling of animals is conducted as a business.
(2) 
Private. Any building(s) or land designated or arranged for the care of dogs and cats belonging to the owner of the principle use, kept for purpose of show, breeding, hunting, or as pets.
(3) 
Boarding kennel. A facility housing dogs, cats or other household pets where boarding, grooming, breeding or training is conducted, either for profit or not, primarily for animals not owned by the operator.
LOADING AREA
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
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.
LOT CORNER
A lot located:
(1) 
At the junction of and abutting two or more intersecting streets; or
(2) 
At the junction of and abutting a street and the nearest shoreline or high-water line of a storm or floodwater runoff channel or basin; or
(3) 
At the junction of and abutting two or more storm or floodwater runoff channels or basins; or
(4) 
At and abutting the point of abrupt change of a single street where the interior angle is less than 135° and the radius of the street is less than 100 feet.
LOT DEPTH
The average distance from the front to the rear lot lines measured in the general direction of the side lot lines.
LOT INTERIOR
A lot other than a corner lot.
LOT LINES AND AREA
The peripheral boundaries of a parcel of land and the total area lying within such boundaries.
LOT WIDTH
The distance between side lines of the lot at the building line. In the case of a shoreland lot, the lot width is the width of the lot 75 feet from the waterline.
LOT, REVERSED CORNER
A corner lot, the street side lot line of which is substantially a continuation of the front lot line of the first lot to its rear.
LOT, THROUGH
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.
LOT, ZONING
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.
MANUFACTURED DWELLING
A dwelling structure or component thereof as is defined in the Wisconsin Administrative Code Uniform Dwelling Code § SPS 320.07(52m), which bears the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services insignia, certifying that it has been inspected and found to be in compliance with Subchapter V of said Uniform Dwelling Code.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
MANUFACTURED HOME
A dwelling structure or component thereof fabricated in an off-site manufacturing facility for installation or assembly at the building site which is certified and labeled as a manufactured home under 42 U.S.C. §§ 5401 to 5426, which, when placed on the site:
(1) 
Is set on an enclosed continuous foundation in accordance with Ch. SPS 321, Subchapters III, IV, and V, Wis. Adm. Code, 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;
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
(2) 
Is installed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions;
(3) 
Is properly connected to utilities; and
(4) 
Meets other applicable standards of this chapter.
MARQUEE or CANOPY
A rooflike structure of permanent nature which projects from the wall of a building.
MINOR STRUCTURES
Any small, movable accessory erection or construction, such as birdhouses, toolsheds, pet houses, play equipment, arbors, walls and fences under four feet in height, and name, occupation and warning signs less than four square feet in area.
MOBILE HOME
A transportable, factory-built structure, being eight feet or more in width (not including roof overhang) or 32 feet or more in length (not including roof overhang), designed for long-term occupancy, built prior to enactment of the Federal Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974,[3] which became effective June 15, 1976, and 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 chapter, 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% of the assessable value of the mobile home. Excluded from this definition are manufactured homes as defined above.
MOBILE HOME PARK
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.
MOTEL
A series of attached, semiattached or detached sleeping units for the accommodation of transient guests.
MOTOR FREIGHT TERMINAL
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.
MOTOR VEHICLE
Any passenger vehicle, truck, truck-trailer, trailer or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power.
NONCONFORMING BUILDING OR STRUCTURE
Any building or structure lawfully erected at the time of the enactment of this chapter 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.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
NONCONFORMING LOT
A "nonconforming or substandard lot" is defined as a parcel of land legally created prior to the effective date of this chapter or subsequent amendments thereto having frontage on a public street or approved way, or intended to be occupied by a principal building or structure, together with accessory buildings and uses having insufficient size to meet the lot width, lot area, or other related provisions of this chapter.
NONCONFORMING USE
Any use of land, buildings or structures lawfully in use at the time of the enactment of this chapter 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.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
NUDITY
The showing of the human male or female genitals, pubic area or buttocks with less than a full opaque covering, or the showing of the female breast with less than a fully opaque covering of any portion thereof below the top of the areola, or the human male genitals in a discernible turgid state even if completely or opaquely covered.
NUISANCE
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.
NURSERY
Any building or lot, or portion thereof, used for the cultivation or growing of plants, and including all accessory buildings.
NURSERY SCHOOL
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.
NURSING HOME
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.
OFF-PREMISE DIRECTION/SALES
Signs which are intended to advertise places of business not located on the same parcel or landownership as the off-premises sign.
OVERLAY ZONE/DISTRICT
Zoning requirements that are described in this chapter's text, mapped, and is imposed in addition to those of the underlying district. Developments within the overlay zone must conform to the requirements of both zones or the more restrictive of the two.
PARKING AREA, SEMIPUBLIC
An open area other than a street, alley or place used for temporary parking of more than four self-propelled vehicles and available for public uses, whether free, for compensation, or as an accommodation for clients or customers.
PARKING SPACE
An off-street space available for the parking of a motor vehicle and which is exclusive of passageways and driveways, appurtenant thereto and giving access thereto.
PARTIES IN INTEREST
Includes all abutting property owners, all property owners within 500 feet, and all property owners of opposite frontages.
PIERHEAD LINE
A boundary line established along any section of the shore of any navigable waters by a municipal ordinance approved by the State Department of Natural Resources, pursuant to § 30.13, Wis. Stats. Piers and wharves are only permitted to the landward side of such pierhead line unless a permit has been obtained pursuant to § 30.12(3), Wis. Stats.
PLACE
An open unoccupied space other than a street or alley, permanently reserved as the principal means of access to abutting property.
PLANNED RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
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 and of a substantially different character than that of surrounding areas.
PRINCIPAL USE OR STRUCTURE
The main use of land or structure as distinguished from a secondary or accessory use. Such use could be a dwelling in a residential district, a store in a business district, a factory in an industrial district, or crops or farm buildings or farm dwellings in an agricultural district. A principal use may be permitted or conditional.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
PROFESSIONAL HOME OFFICE
The office of a doctor, practitioner, clergy, dentist, architect, landscape architect, professional engineer, lawyer, author, musician, beauty parlor or barbershop or other recognized profession meeting the standards in § 295-39. When established in a commercial district, a beauty parlor shall be limited to three licensed operators working at any one time, and a barbershop to two licensed barbers operating in not to exceed two barber chairs at any one time; and provided further that a beauty parlor or barbershop shall not occupy over 500 square feet of floor area, including lavatories and waiting room, and only one unlighted name plate not exceeding four square feet in area, containing the name and profession of the occupant of the premises shall be exhibited.
PROPERTY LINES
The lines bounding a platted lot as defined herein.
PUBLIC WAY
Any sidewalk, street, alley, highway or other public thoroughfare.
RAILROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY
A strip of land with tracks and auxiliary facilities for track operation, but not including freight depots or stations, loading platforms, train sheds, warehouses, car or locomotive shops, or car yards.
RECREATIONAL VEHICLE
Any of the following, whether it is dependent (requires camp facilities for toilet and lavatory) or self-contained (can operate independent of connections to sewer, water and electrical systems:
(1) 
Camping trailer. A canvas or folding structure mounted on wheels and designed for travel, recreation and vacation use.
(2) 
Motor home. A portable temporary dwelling to be used for travel, recreation and vacation, constructed as an integral part of a self-propelled vehicle.
(3) 
Pickup coach. A structure designed to be mounted on a truck chassis for use as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreation and vacation.
(4) 
Travel trailer. A vehicular, portable structure built on a chassis, designed to be used as a temporary dwelling for travel, recreational and vacation uses and permanently identified as a "travel trailer" by the manufacturer of the trailer.
(5) 
Tent. A portable lodge of canvas or strong cloth stretched and sustained by poles.
(6) 
Unclassified uses. Any similar vehicle, unit, etc., which is less than 45 feet in length.
RETENTION BASIN
A pond-type facility which provides for storage of stormwater runoff and controlled release of this runoff during and after a flood or storm.
ROAD
A public right-of-way, not less than 50 feet wide, providing primary access to abutting properties.
ROADSIDE STAND
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.
SANITARY SEWER
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 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
SCHOOL, COMMERCIAL
A school limited to special instruction, such as business, art, music, trades, handicraft, dancing or riding.
SCHOOL, PRIVATE
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 school for mentally disabled persons or a college or other institution of higher learning.
SETBACK
Lines established along highways at specified distances from the center line, 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. "Within the setback lines" means between the setback line and the highway.
SHORE YARD
A yard extending across the full width of the lot, the depth of which is the minimum horizontal distance between the high-water mark of the lake or stream upon which the lot abuts and a line parallel thereto through the nearest point of the principal structure.
SHORELAND LOT
A lot abutting a lake or stream. Normally the lot abuts a street on one side, the lake or stream on the opposite side, and the remaining lot lines are side lot lines. The aforedescribed lot has no rear lot line. If, however, the lake or stream abuts the lot on the lot line perpendicular to the street, that lot has only one side lot line and a rear lot line opposite the lot line abutting the street.
SIGN
Any structure or device for visual communication that is used for the purpose of bringing the subject thereof to the attention of the public, but not including any flag, badge, or insignia of any government or governmental agency, or any civic, charitable, religious, patriotic, fraternal or similar organization, or any sign indicating address. Each display surface of a sign shall be considered a sign. Signs are further defined in § 295-52.[4]
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
SIGNABLE AREA
The signable area of a building is estimated as the area of the facade of the building facing or abutting upon a street right-of-way up to the ceiling line of the top floor and which is free of windows and doors or major architectural detail on which signs may be displayed.
SOIL MAPPING UNIT LINES
The boundaries of soils shown on the operational soil survey maps prepared by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
STABLE
An accessory building or structure in which horses are kept for commercial use, including boarding, training, riding, hire, and sale.
STORY
That portion of a building included between the surface of any floor and the surface of the floor next above it or, if there be no floor above it, then the space between such floor and the ceiling next above it.
STORY, HALF
A story under a gable, hip or gambrel roof, the wall plates of which on at least two opposite exterior walls are not more than two feet above the floor of such story.
STREET
A public or private thoroughfare which affords the principal means of access to abutting property.
STREET LINE
A dividing line between a lot, tract or parcel of land and a contiguous street.
STRUCTURAL ALTERATION
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.
STRUCTURE
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.
TEMPORARY STRUCTURE
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.[5]
TRAFFIC LANE
A strip of roadway intended to accommodate a single lane of moving vehicles.
TRAILER PARK
Any lot on which are parked two or more house trailers or mobile homes for longer than 48 hours.
USE
The use of property is 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.
USE, CONDITIONAL
See "conditional use," above.
USE, PERMITTED
A use which may be lawfully established in a particular district or districts, provided it conforms to all requirements, regulations and performance standards, if any, of such districts.[6]
VENDING MACHINE
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.
YARD
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.
YARD, CORNER SIDE
A side yard which adjoins a public street.
YARD, FRONT
A yard extending along the full length of the front lot line between the side lot lines.
YARD, INTERIOR SIDE
A side yard which is located immediately adjacent to another zoning lot or to an alley separating such yard from another zoning lot.
YARD, REAR
A yard extending along the full length of the rear lot line between the side lot lines.
YARD, SIDE
A yard extending along a side lot line from the front yard to the rear yard.
YARD, STREET
Yard abutting a street.
YARD, TRANSITIONAL
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.
ZONING DISTRICT
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.
[1]
Editor's Note: The original definition of "advertising sign, outdoor" of the 2004 Code, which immediately followed this definition, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
[2]
Editor's Note: The original definition of "awning sign" of the 2004 Code, which immediately followed this definition, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
[3]
Editor's Note: See 42 U.S.C. § 5401 et seq.
[4]
Editor's Note: The original definitions of "sign area" and "sign, directional" of the 2004 Code, which immediately followed this definition, were repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
[5]
Editor's Note: The original definition of "total sign structure" of the 2004 Code, which originally followed this definition, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
[6]
Editor's Note: The original definition of "use, principal" of the 2004 Code, which immediately followed this definition, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).