For the purpose of administering and enforcing this chapter,
the terms or words used herein shall be interpreted as follows:
A.
Words used in the present tense include the future.
B.
Words in the singular number include the plural number.
C.
Words in the plural number include the singular number.
D.
The word "shall" is mandatory, not permissive.
E.
The word "building" includes the word "structure."
F.
All distances, unless otherwise specified, shall be measured horizontally.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A detached subordinate building, portion of a building, structure,
or a use which is clearly incidental to and customarily found in connection
with, the principal structure or use to which it is related and which
is located on the same lot as that of the permitted principal structure
or use.
Agricultural uses include farming, dairying, pasturage, agriculture,
horticulture, floriculture, viticulture, and animal and poultry husbandry,
and the necessary accessory uses for packing, treating, or storing
the produce; provided, however, that the operation of any such accessory
uses shall be secondary to that of the normal agricultural activities.
A street or thoroughfare affording only secondary access
to abutting property.
That portion of any structure located partly below the average
adjoining lot grade.
The person designated by the owner as the person in charge
of such establishment and whose identity shall be filed, in writing,
with the zoning official at least five days prior to a designated
agent taking charge.
Any place of lodging that satisfies all of the following:
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
Provides eight or fewer rooms for rent to no more than a total
of 20 tourists or transients.
Provides no meals other than breakfast and provides the breakfast
only to renters of the place.
Is the owner’s personal residence.
Is occupied by the owner at a time of rental.
Was originally built and occupied as a single-family residence
or, prior to use as a place of lodging, was converted to use occupied
as a single-family residence.
As defined in § 30.01(1d), Wis. Stats., means a structure
with one or more walls or sides that has been used for one or more
years for the storage of watercraft and associated materials, regardless
of the current use of the structure.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
Any structure used, designed, or intended for the protection,
shelter, enclosure or support of persons or property.
The vertical distance from the average curb level in front
of the lot or the finished grade at the building line, whichever is
higher, to the highest point of the roof.
A geographic line along a reach of navigable water that has been adopted by a municipal ordinance and approved by the Department of Natural Resources pursuant to § 30.11, Wis. Stats., and which allows limited filling between this bulkhead line and the original ordinary high-water mark, except where such filling is prohibited by the floodway provisions of this chapter and Chapters 546 and 559 of this Code.
Any vehicle designed, used, or so constructed as to permit
its being used as a conveyance upon the public streets or highways
and constructed in such a manner that will permit occupancy thereof
as a residence or sleeping place for one or more persons.
A natural or artificial watercourse with definite bed and
banks to confine and conduct the normal flow of water.
Publication of a public hearing notice under Chapter 985,
Wis. Stats., in a newspaper of circulation in the affected area; publication
being required for one week at least seven days prior to the hearing.
Publication of a public hearing notice under Chapter 985,
Wis. Stats., in a newspaper of circulation in the affected area; publication
being required on two consecutive weeks, the last at least seven days
prior to the hearing.
A use of land, water,
or building which is allowable only after the issuance of a special
permit by the Plan Commission under conditions specified in the Village
Ordinance.
A lot abutting two or more streets at their intersection.
An enclosed area below the first usable floor of a building,
generally less than five feet in height, used for limited access to
plumbing and electrical utilities.
Family day care: A place where regular day care is provided
to not more than eight children and is licensed pursuant to Chapter
48, Wis. Stats. Group day care: A place where regular day care is
provided to nine or more children and is licensed pursuant to Chapter
48, Wis. Stats.
Number of living units per acre allowable under the schedule
of district regulations.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
A structure surrounded by open space on the same lot.
Any man-made 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 substantial
alterations to buildings, structures or accessory structures; the
placement of buildings or structures; ditching, lagooning, dredging,
filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations; and the
deposition or extraction of earthen materials.
One or more artificial ditches, tile drains, pipes, or similar
devices which collect surface runoff or groundwater and convey it
to a point of discharge.
A vehicular access route which is above the regional flood
elevation and which connects land located in the floodplain to land
outside the floodplain, such as a road with its surface above regional
flood elevation and wide enough for wheeled rescue and relief vehicles.
A building or portion thereof designed for and occupied by
two or more families.
A detached building designed for or occupied exclusively
by one family. Excludes mobile home units.
A building or portion thereof designed for and occupied by
two families.
Any fill, structure, building, use or development in the
floodway.
Any facility, temporary or permanent, which is reasonably
expected to abate, reduce or aid in the prevention, measurement, control
or monitoring of noises, air or water pollutants, solid waste and
thermal pollution, radiation or other pollutants, including facilities
installed principally to supplement or to replace existing property
or equipment not meeting or allegedly not meeting acceptable pollution
control standards or which are to be supplemented or replaced by other
pollution control facilities.
A group of persons related by blood or marriage or not to
exceed four persons not so related, living together in one dwelling
as a single housekeeping entity.
The federal agency that administers the National Flood Insurance
Program. This agency was previously known as the "Federal Insurance
Administration (FIA)" or the "Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD)."
Defined in § 30.01(1r), Wis. Stats., it is a structure
not actually used for navigation which extends beyond the ordinary
high-water mark of a navigable waterway and is retained in place either
by cables to the shoreline or by anchors or spudpoles attached to
the bed of the waterway.
The probability of a flood occurrence. A flood frequency
is generally determined from statistical analyses. The frequency of
a particular flood event is usually expressed as occurring, on the
average, once in a specified number of years or as a percent chance
of occurring in any given year.
That portion of the floodplain outside of the floodway which
is covered by floodwaters during the regional flood, and generally
associated with standing water rather than flowing water.
A map prepared by FEMA designating approximate flood hazard
areas. Flood hazard areas are designated as unnumbered A Zones and
do not contain floodway lines or regional flood elevations. Said map
forms the basis for both the regulatory and insurance aspects of the
National Flood Insurance Program.
A technical engineering examination, evaluation and determination
of the municipal flood hazard areas. It provides maps designating
those areas affected by the regional flood and provides both flood
insurance rate zones and regional flood elevations and may provide
floodway lines. The flood hazard areas are designated as unnumbered
and numbered A Zones. Flood Insurance Study Maps form the basis for
both the regulatory and the insurance aspects of the National Flood
Insurance Program.
A general and temporary condition of partial or complete
inundation of normally dry land areas caused by:
The overflow or rise of inland waters;
The rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any
source;
The inundation caused by waves or currents of water exceeding
anticipated cyclical levels along the shore of Lake Michigan or Lake
Superior; and
The sudden increase caused by an unusually high water level
in a natural body of water, accompanied by a severe storm, or by an
unanticipated force of nature, such as a seiche, or by some similarly
unusual event.
A graph or a longitudinal profile line showing the relationship
of the water surface elevation of a flood event to locations of land
surface elevations along a stream or river.
Any combination of structural provisions, changes or adjustments
to properties and structures, water and sanitary facilities and contents
of buildings subject to flooding for the purpose of reducing or eliminating
flood damage.
An elevation two feet of freeboard above the water surface
profile associated with the regional flood. (See also "freeboard.")
Those floodplain areas where storage of floodwaters has been
taken into account in reducing the regional flood discharge.
That land which has been or may be hereafter covered by floodwater
during the regional flood. The floodplain includes the floodway and
the flood fringe and may include other designated floodplain areas
for regulatory purposes.
A natural geologic land formation within the floodplain that
is surrounded, but not covered, by floodwater during the regional
flood.
The full range of public policy and action for ensuring wise
use of floodplains. It includes everything from the collection and
dissemination of flood data to the acquisition of floodplain lands
and the enactment and administration of codes, ordinances and statutes
for land use in the floodplain.
The channel of a stream and such adjacent portions of the
floodplain as are required to accommodate flood flows.
Area in square feet of all floors in all buildings, including
elevators and stairways. Measured from outside of exterior wall to
outside of exterior wall and multiplied by the number of floors. Includes
basements which are used in the primary function of the building.
The square footage of floor area on all floors for each square
foot of lot area.
A flood protection elevation requirement designed as a safety
factor which is usually expressed in terms of a specified amount of
feet above a calculated flood level. Freeboard compensates for the
many unknown factors that contribute to flood heights greater than
the height calculated. These factors include, but are not limited
to, ice jams, debris accumulation, wave action, obstruction of bridge
openings and floodways, the effects of urbanization on the hydrology
of the watershed, loss of flood storage areas due to development and
aggradation of the river or stream bed.
The smallest dimension of a lot abutting a public street
measured along the street line.
An accessory building or space for the storage only of not
more than three noncommercial vehicles per dwelling.
Any building or premises, other than a private or storage
garage, where motor driven vehicles are equipped, repaired, serviced,
hired, sold or stored.
Any building or premises used for storage of motor driven
vehicles and where no vehicles are serviced, repaired, hired or sold.
A community living arrangement for children with a capacity
for 15 or fewer persons and is licensed pursuant to § 48.743,
Wis. Stats.
A community living arrangement for children with a capacity
for eight or fewer persons and is licensed pursuant to § 48.743,
Wis. Stats.
Any building, or portion thereof, used for human habitation.
Damage that could result from flooding that includes any
danger to life or health or any significant economic loss to a structure
or building and its contents.
Any structure that is:
Listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places
or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the Interior as meeting
the requirements for individual listing on the National Register;
Certified or preliminarily determined by the Secretary of the
Interior as contributing to the historical significance of a registered
historic district or a district preliminarily determined by the Secretary
to qualify as a registered historic district;
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
Individually listed on a state inventory of historic places
in states with historic preservation programs which have been approved
by the Secretary of the Interior; or
Individually listed on a local inventory of historic places
in communities with historic preservation programs that have been
certified either by an approved state program, as determined by the
Secretary of the Interior; or directly by the Secretary of the Interior
in states without approved programs.
Any gainful occupation or profession conducted by a resident
of the principal structure within a dwelling or accessory building
on the parcel (home-based occupation).
A building in which lodging, with or without meals, is offered
to transient guests for compensation.
A human residence or dwelling.
A calculated upward rise in the regional flood elevation,
equal to or greater than 0.01 foot, resulting from comparison of existing
conditions and proposed conditions, which is directly attributable
to development in the floodplain but not attributable to manipulation
of mathematical variables such as roughness factors, expansion and
contraction coefficients and discharge.
Any nonstructural use made of unimproved or improved real
estate. (See also "development.")
The square footage of open space, less the space used for
vehicular movement, that exists for each square foot of building floor
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.
A parcel of land having a width and depth sufficient to provide
the space necessary for one main building and its accessory building
together with the open space as required by this chapter and on a
public street.
The lines bounding lots as defined herein.
The shortest distance between side lot lines measured at
the building setback line.
The mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot
lines.
Any small, movable accessory erection or construction such
as birdhouses, tool houses, pethouses, play equipment, arbors, and
walls and fences under four feet in height.
A structure transportable in one or more sections, which
is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used with or without
a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities. For
the purpose of this chapter, it does not include recreational vehicles
or travel trailers.
The Village governmental units enacting, administering and
enforcing the zoning chapters of this Code.
Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, all natural inland lakes within
Wisconsin, and all streams, ponds, sloughs, flowages and other waters
within the territorial limits of this state, including the Wisconsin
portion of boundary waters, which are navigable under the laws of
this state. Under § 281.31(2m), Wis. Stats., notwithstanding
any other provision of law or administrative rule promulgated thereunder,
shoreland ordinances required under § 61.351 or 62.231,
Wis. Stats., and Chapter NR 117, Wis. Adm. Code, do not apply to lands
adjacent to farm drainage ditches, if:
Such lands are not adjacent to a natural navigable stream or
river;
Those parts of such drainage ditches adjacent to such lands
were not navigable streams before ditching; and
Such lands are maintained in nonstructural agricultural use.
"Wisconsin's Supreme Court has declared navigable bodies of
water that have a bed differentiated from adjacent uplands and levels
or flow sufficient to support navigation by a recreational craft of
the shallowest draft on an annually recurring basis [Muench v. Public
Service Commission, 261 Wis. 492 (1952) and DeGaynor and Co., Inc.,
v. Department of Natural Resources, 70 Wis. 2d 936 (1975)]. For example,
a stream which is navigable by skiff or canoe during normal spring
high water is navigable, in fact, under the laws of this state though
it may be dry during other seasons."
Elevations referenced to mean sea level datum, 1929 adjustment.
A building or premises lawfully used or occupied at the time
of the passage of this chapter or amendments thereto, which use of
occupancy does not conform to the regulations of this chapter or any
amendments thereto.
Any development which physically blocks the conveyance of
floodwaters such that this development by itself or in conjunction
with any future similar development will cause an increase in regional
flood height.
That map adopted and made part of this Code, which has been
approved by the Department of Natural Resources and FEMA.
Those uses having a relatively low flood damage potential
and not involving structures.
The point on the bank or shore up to which the presence and
action of surface water is so continuous as to leave a distinctive
mark such as by erosion, destruction or prevention of terrestrial
vegetation, predominance of aquatic vegetation, off-season staining
of permanent structures, or other easily recognized characteristic.
An individual or group of individuals, corporation, partnership,
association, municipality or state agency.
The Village Plan Commission created under § 62.23(1),
Wis. Stats., a board of public land commissioners or a committee of
the municipality's governing body which acts on matters pertaining
to planning and zoning.
The building on a lot in which the principal use is permitted
on such lot by the regulations of the district in which it is located.
A sewage treatment and disposal system serving a single structure
with a septic tank and soil absorption field located on the same parcel
as the structure. This term also means an alternative sewage system
approved by the Department of Safety and Professional Services, 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.
Those utilities using underground or overhead transmission
lines such as electric telephone and telegraph, arid distribution
and collection systems such as water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer.
A flood determined to be representative of large floods known
to have occurred in Wisconsin or which may be expected to occur on
a particular lake, river or stream once in every 100 years.
The minimum horizontal distance between the street line and
the nearest point of a building or any projection thereto.
Land within the following distances from the ordinary high-water
mark of navigable waters; 1,000 feet from a lake, pond or flowage;
and 300 feet from a river or stream or to the landward side of the
floodplain, whichever distance is greater.
Any words, letters, figures, numerals, phrases, sentences,
emblems, devices, designs, trade names, or trademarks by which anything
is made known and which are used to advertise or promote an individual,
firm, association, corporation, profession, business, commodity, or
product and which is visible from any public street or highway.
That portion of a building included between the surface of
a floor and the surface of the floor next above it, or if there be
no floor above it, then the space between the floor and the ceiling
next above it.
Any property dedicated or intended for public or private
street purposes or subject to public easements.
A dividing line between a lot, tract or parcel of land and
a contiguous street.
Any change in the supporting members of a building or any
substantial change in the roof or in the exterior walls.
Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires
permanent location on the ground.
Any repair, reconstruction or improvement of a structure, the
cost of which equals or exceeds 50% 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:
Any project for improvement of a structure to comply with existing
state or local health, sanitary, or safety code specifications which
existed before the improvement began, was identified by a municipal
official and are necessary to ensure safe living conditions; or
Any alteration of a designated historical structure or site
documented as deserving preservation by the Wisconsin State Historical
Society, or listed in the National Register of Historic Places, provided
the alteration will not preclude the structure's continued designation
as an historic 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.
That circumstance where special conditions, which were not
self-created, affect a particular property and make strict conformity
with restrictions governing area, setbacks, frontage height or density
unnecessarily burdensome or unreasonable in light of the purposes
of this chapter.
An authorization granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals to
construct or alter a building or structure in a manner that deviates
from the dimensional or use standards of this chapter.
An unoccupied triangular space at the corner of a corner
lot which is bounded by the street lines and a setback line connecting
points determined by measurements from the corner of each street line,
the dimensions being as stated in this chapter.
A graphical representation showing the elevation of the water
surface of a watercourse for each position along a reach of river
or stream at a certain flood flow. A water surface profile of the
regional flood is used in regulating floodplain areas.
The shortest straight line at the waterfront end of a stream
lot that lies wholly within the lot, provided that not less than 75%
of the length of such water line shall be on, or on the landward side
of, the normal high-water mark of such stream.
The entire region or area contributing runoff or surface
water to a particular watercourse or body of water.
An excavation opening in the ground made by digging, boring,
drilling, driving or other methods for the purpose of obtaining groundwater
regardless of its intended use.
Any filling, flooding, draining, dredging, ditching, tiling,
excavating, temporary water level stabilization measures or dike and
dam construction in a wetland area.
Those areas where water is at, near or above (within 12 inches
of the ground surface) for a minimum of 15 days during the growing
period, in sufficient amount to support aquatic or hydrophytic vegetation,
and contain soils indicative of wet conditions.
Any open space on the same lot with a building, unoccupied
and unobstructed from the ground upward except as otherwise provided
herein.
A yard extending from the front yard to the rear yard, being
the minimum horizontal distance between a building and the side lot
line.
A yard extending the full width of the lot between the front
lot line and nearest part of the main building.
A yard extending the full width of the lot, being the minimum
horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the nearest part
of the building.
