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Town of Lowell, WI
Dodge County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Lowell as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-1-2004 (Title 8, Ch. 1, of the 2004 Code of Ordinances)]
The Town Board may make reasonable and general rules for the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter and for the prevention of the creation of health nuisances and the protection of the public health and welfare and may, where appropriate, require the issuance of licenses and permits. All such regulations shall have the same effect as ordinances, and any person violating any of such regulations and any lawful order of the Town Board shall be subject to the general penalty provided for in this Code.
A.ย 
Defined. A "health nuisance" is any source of filth or cause of sickness.
B.ย 
Duty to abate. The Town Board shall abate health nuisances pursuant to Ch. 823, Wis. Stats., which is adopted by reference and made a part of this section.
No person shall deposit or cause to be deposited in any public street or on any public ground or on any private property not his/her own any refuse, garbage, litter, waste material or liquid or any other objectionable material or liquid. When any such material is placed on the person's own private property, it shall be properly enclosed and covered so as to prevent the same from becoming a public nuisance.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See also ยงย 243-1, Burning or deposit of rubbish on highway rights-of-way prohibited, of Ch. 243, Streets and Highways.
A.ย 
Unless delegated to the county, the Town Clerk shall annually on or before May 15th publish as required by state law a notice that every person is required by law to destroy all noxious weeds on lands in the Town which he/she owns, occupies or controls. A joint notice with other towns or municipalities may be utilized.
B.ย 
If the owner or occupant shall neglect to destroy any weeds as required by such notice, then the Weed Commissioner of the Town shall give five days' written notice by mail to the owner or occupant of any lands upon which the weeds shall be growing to the effect that the said Weed Commissioner after the expiration of the five-day period will proceed to destroy or cause to be destroyed all such weeds growing upon said lands and that the cost thereof will be assessed as a tax upon the lands upon which such weeds are located under the provisions of ยงย 66.0407, Wis. Stats. In case the owner or occupant shall further neglect to comply within such five-day notice, then the Weed Commissioner shall destroy such weeds or cause them to be destroyed in the manner deemed to be the most economical method and the expense thereof, including the cost of billing and other necessary administrative expenses, shall be charged against such lots and be collected as a special tax thereon.
A.ย 
Definitions. The following definitions shall be applicable in this section:
A RODENT-PROOF CONTAINER
A container constructed of concrete or metal, or the container shall be lined with metal or other material that is impervious to rodents, and openings into the container, such as doors, shall be tight-fitting to prevent the entrance of rodents.
HARDWARE CLOTH
Wire screening of such thickness and spacing as to afford reasonable protection against the entrance of rodents.
OWNER or MANAGER
Whenever any person or persons shall be in actual possession of or have charge, care or control of any property within the Town, as executor, administrator, trustee, guardian of agent, such person or persons shall be deemed and taken to be the owner or owners of such property within the true intent and meaning of this article and shall be bound to comply with the provisions of this article to the same extent as the owner, and notice to any such person of any order or decision of the Building Inspector or his/her designee shall be deemed and taken to be a good and sufficient notice as if such person or persons were actually the owner or owners of such property, except that whenever an entire premises or building is occupied as a place of business, such as a store, factory, warehouse, rooming house, junkyard, lumberyard or any other business under a single management, the person, firm or corporation in charge of such business shall be considered the owner or manager.
RODENT
All nuisance animals.
RODENT HARBORAGE
Any place where rodents can live and nest without fear of frequent molestation or disturbance.
RODENT-PROOFING
Closing openings in building foundations and openings under and around doors, windows, vents and other places which could provide means of entry for rodents, with concrete, sheet iron, hardware cloth or other types of rodent-proofing material approved by the Town.
B.ย 
Elimination of rodent harborages. Whenever accumulations of rubbish, boxes, lumber, scrap metal, car bodies or any other materials on nonagricultural property provide rodent harborage, the person, firm or corporation owning or in control of such materials shall cause the materials to be removed or the materials shall be stored so as to eliminate the rodent harborage. Lumber boxes and similar materials shall be neatly piled. These piles shall be raised at least a foot above the ground.
C.ย 
Elimination of rodent-feeding places. No person, firm or corporation shall place, or allow to accumulate, any materials on nonagricultural property that may serve as a food for rodents in a site accessible to rodents. Any waste material that may serve as food for rodents shall be stored in rodent-proof containers.
D.ย 
Extermination. Whenever rodent holes, burrows or other evidence of rodent infestation are found on any premises or in any nonagricultural building within the Town, it shall be the duty of the owner or manager of such property to exterminate the rodents or to cause the rodents to be exterminated. Within 10 days after extermination, the owner or manager shall cause all of the rodent holes or burrows in the ground to be filled with earth or other suitable material.
E.ย 
Rodent-proofing. It shall be the duty of the owner or manager of any nonagricultural building in the Town of Lowell to make such building reasonably rodent-proof, to replace broken basement windows and, when necessary, to cover the basement window openings with hardware cloth or other suitable material for preventing rodents from entering the building through such window openings.
[Adopted 4-1-2004 (Title 8, Ch. 3, of the 2004 Code of Ordinances)]
It is the intent of this article to use performance standards for the regulation of uses to facilitate a more objective and equitable basis for control and to ensure that the community is adequately protected from potential hazardous and nuisancelike effects. The standards contained in this article shall not be applicable to properties zoned agricultural. This chapter permits specific uses in specific districts, and these performance standards are designed to limit, restrict and prohibit the effects of those uses outside their premises or district. No structure, land or water shall hereafter be used except in compliance with the district regulations and with the following environmental performance standards.
No operation or activity shall transmit any noise exceeding 75 dBA from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and 70 dBA from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. beyond the property line. The following noises are exempt from the regulations:
A.ย 
Noises not directly under the control of the property owner.
B.ย 
Noises from temporary construction or maintenance activities during daylight hours.
C.ย 
Noises from emergency, safety or warning devices.
A.ย 
No operation or activity shall transmit any physical vibration that is above the vibration perception threshold of an individual at or beyond the property line of the source. "Vibration perception threshold" means the minimum ground- or structure-borne vibrational motion necessary to cause a normal person to be aware of the vibration by such direct means as, but not limited to, sensation by touch or visual observation of moving objects.
B.ย 
Vibrations not directly under the control of the property user and vibrations from temporary construction or maintenance activities shall be exempt from the above standard.
No unsanctioned activity shall emit glare or heat that is visible or measurable outside its premises, except activities in the industrial district which may emit direct or sky-reflected glare which shall not be visible outside their district. All operations producing intense glare or heat shall be conducted within a completely enclosed building. Exposed sources of light shall be shielded so as not to be visible outside their premises.
No operation or activity shall emit any substance or combination of substances in such quantities that create an objectionable odor as defined in ยงย NR 429.03, Wisconsin Administrative Code.
All activities involving the manufacturing, utilization, processing or storage of inflammable and explosive material shall be provided with adequate safety devices against the hazard of fire and explosion, and with adequate firefighting and fire-suppression equipment and devices that are standard in the industry. All materials that range from active to intense burning shall be manufactured, utilized, processed and stored only in completely enclosed buildings which have incombustible exterior walls and an automatic fire extinguishing system.
A.ย 
No operation or activity shall emit into the ambient air from any direct or portable source any matter that will affect visibility in excess of the limitations established in Chapter NR 415, Wisconsin Administrative Code.
B.ย 
No activity or operation shall be established or maintained which by reason of its nature causes emission of any fly ash, dust, fumes, vapors, mists or gases in such quantities as to cause soiling or danger to the health of persons, animals, vegetation or property. In no case shall any activity emit any liquid or solid particles in concentrations exceeding 0.3 grains per cubic foot of the conveying gas, nor any color visible smoke equal to or darker than No. 2 on the Ringlemann Chart described in the United States Bureau of Mines' Information Circular 7718 in any industrial district. Fugitive emissions shall not exceed the ambient standards for respiratorial dust, as established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, currently known as the "PM Standard."
A.ย 
Pollutants. No operation or activity shall emit any hazardous substances in such a quantity, concentration or duration as to be injurious to human health or property, and all emissions of hazardous substances shall not exceed the limitations established in Ch. NR 445, Wis. Adm. Code.
B.ย 
Liquid or solid wastes. No activity shall discharge at any point onto any land or into any water or public sewer any materials of such nature, quantity, noxiousness, toxicity or temperature which can contaminate, pollute or harm the quantity or quality of any water supply; can cause the emission of dangerous or offensive elements; can overload the existing municipal utilities; or can injure or damage persons or property.
No activity shall emit radioactivity or electrical disturbances outside its premises that are dangerous or adversely affect the use of neighboring premises.
All waste material, debris, refuse or garbage not disposed of through the public sanitary sewerage system shall be kept in an enclosed building or properly contained in a closed container designed for such purposes. The owner of vacant land shall be responsible for keeping such land free of refuse.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]
Any person who shall violate any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a penalty as set forth in Chapter 1, General Provisions, ยงย 1-3.