[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Lancaster 8-15-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-06 as §§ 8.01 to 8.04, 8.06 to 8.08, 8.15 and 11.11 of the 2005 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Driveways — See Ch. 208.
Licenses and permits — See Ch. 290.
Poles and wires — See Ch. 336.
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 405.
A. 
Established. The grade of all streets, alleys and sidewalks shall be established and described by resolution of the Council and be recorded by the City Clerk/Treasurer. No street, alley or sidewalk shall be worked until the grade thereof is established.
B. 
Alteration of grade prohibited. No person shall alter the grade of any street, alley, sidewalk or public ground, or any part thereof, in the City by any means whatsoever unless authorized or instructed to do so by the Council or Director of Public Works. All such alterations of grades shall be recorded in the office of the City Clerk/Treasurer by the officer authorizing such alteration.
[Amended 11-17-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-05]
A. 
Generally. All streets shall be constructed and repaired in accordance with the provisions of § 62.16, Stats., and the zoning ordinances for the City relating to street construction, improvements and repair.
B. 
Construction without bids. The City may, directly and without submitting the same for bids, perform any class of public construction as shall, from time to time, be ordered by the Director of Public Works. See § 62.15(1), Stats.
C. 
Specifications. Street construction in the City shall be in accordance with specifications prepared by the Director of Public Works.
[Amended 11-17-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-05]
A. 
Authorized. Upon recommendation by the Director of Public Works, the Council may authorize and direct the new construction or replacement of curb and gutter in the streets of the City.
B. 
Assessment. The expense for such construction shall be shared by the abutting property owner and the City. The Council shall make assessments for curb and gutter in the manner directed by Chapter 66, Wis. Stats. An owner may pay the special assessment in five equal annual installments. Refer to current fee schedule ordinance for reimbursement provisions.
C. 
Specifications. Curb and gutter installations in the City shall be in accordance with specifications prepared by the Director of Public Works.
D. 
Driveways. No person shall construct or maintain any driveway across any sidewalk or curbing without first obtaining a driveway permit from the Director of Public Works.
A. 
Permit required. No person shall lay, remove, replace or repair any public sidewalk within the City until he has obtained a permit from the Director of Public Works, and no sidewalk shall be built except in accordance with City specifications.
B. 
Owner to construct. If the abutting owner desires to build, repair or reconstruct any sidewalk along or upon any street, alley or highway in the City, the City shall reimburse said abutting owner for the cost of such construction according to the established fee schedule ordinance provisions. The owner, prior to any repair or replacement, must first obtain a sidewalk construction permit and follow the City specifications for sidewalk construction.
C. 
Sidewalk construction. Whenever it is determined by the Director of Public Works that a sidewalk within the City is to be laid, built, repaired, lowered, or raised along or upon any public street, alley or highway, the City shall pay all costs of building or repairing any such sidewalk.
[Amended 11-17-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-05]
No person shall make or cause to be made any excavation or opening in any street, alley, highway, sidewalk or other public way within the City without first obtaining a permit therefor from the Director of Public Works. Before such permit for excavating or opening of any street or public way is issued, the Director of Public Works shall satisfy himself that such work shall be done in a safe manner and present no unreasonable hazard to the public. The charge for such permit shall be according to the fee schedule, which is adopted herein by reference and made available in the office of the City Clerk/Treasurer. Such charge shall be for each foot of excavation on public right-of-way, and, in addition, permittee shall pay all the usual connection charges for sewer and water. It shall be a condition of the permit that permittee shall restore the street, alley, highway, sidewalk or other public way to its original condition or the Director of Public Works shall cause such restoration to be done and the costs charged to the permittee.
A. 
Obstruction and encroachments prohibited. No person shall, for any cause, obstruct or encumber any street, alley, or any part thereof, or permit such encroachment or encumbrance to be placed or remain on any public way adjoining the premises of which he is the owner or occupant, including by way of illustration, but not limitation, any rubbish, waste material, merchandise or building materials, except as allowed in § 327-6 of this Municipal Code.
B. 
Removal. In case any person shall neglect or refuse to remove any obstruction or encumbrance from any street, alley or sidewalk upon which his premises abut, within a reasonable time after notice to remove the same has been given by the Chief of Police, the Director of Public Works shall remove the same at the expense of the City, and the cost thereof may be recovered from such person in any action by the City.
C. 
Open gratings and cellar doors. No person shall keep or leave open any grating or other opening or aperture in any sidewalk or shall keep or leave open any cellar door therein, unless the same is protected by a substantial railing built of suitable material and in a good workmanlike manner.
D. 
Driving vehicles on sidewalks. No person shall ride or drive any bicycle, motorcycle, horse team, automobile or other vehicle of any kind or description on any sidewalk in the City.
E. 
Vehicles with lugs prohibited. No person shall drive or haul any tractor or other vehicles having metal lugs, spikes or other projections on the wheels thereof over any of the streets of the City.
F. 
Hanging signs and awnings. No person shall erect or place, or permit to be erected or placed, any sign, canopy or awning, unless the same shall be at least 10 feet clear of and above such sidewalk.
[Amended 11-17-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-05]
G. 
Dumpsters.
[Added 7-19-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-05]
(1) 
It shall be unlawful to place any dumpster on any part of a public right-of-way (street, alley, highway, sidewalk, or any other public way) within the City without first obtaining a permit for such placement from the City Clerk-Treasurer. Permits shall be subject to approval by the Police Chief and shall be issued in the name of the person owning, leasing, or occupying the property where the dumpster is to be used.
(2) 
In this subsection, "dumpster" shall mean a container larger than 96 gallons in volume which is designed to receive, transport, or dump waste, including but not limited to household, construction, demolition debris, and landscaping waste.
(3) 
The permit fee for each dumpster placed within the City shall be set from time to time by the City Council for the following:
(a) 
Regular permit: allows placement for 15 days.
(b) 
First extension: allows placement for another 15 days.
(c) 
Final extension: allows placement for another 15 days.
(4) 
Dumpsters may not be placed on or nearby any single property for longer than 45 days in any twelve-month period.
(5) 
Permits shall be conditioned upon compliance by the permittee with the following with regard to placement of the dumpster:
(a) 
The permittee will provide for the dumpster to be clearly marked with flashers, barricades, or reflective tape on either end of the dumpster.
(b) 
Location and maintenance. It shall be the responsibility of both the entity that owns the dumpster and the applicant to ensure safe and legal placement and maintenance of the dumpster, in accordance with this section.
(c) 
Placement of the dumpster shall be restricted to that portion of a street right-of-way which is closest to the curb.
(d) 
General prohibitions on placement. The location of the dumpster shall not:
[1] 
Block any building's means of ingress or egress.
[2] 
Block any fire lanes, handicap spaces, or pedestrian walkways.
[3] 
Obstruct a driver's view of traffic signs or signals.
[4] 
Be placed within 10 feet of a fire hydrant or 15 feet of any street intersection if the dumpster is placed on any part of the public right-of-way.
[Added 8-16-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-08]
(6) 
No permit shall be issued if it is determined that the proposed location of the dumpster in a street or other public right-of-way restricts traffic conditions or public safety response.
(7) 
No permit shall be issued if there is sufficient room for the dumpster upon the property being served.
(8) 
Upon approval of the application, payment of the permit fee, and the filing or completion of all additional requirements, the following requirements shall be observed and enforced throughout the duration of the dumpsters use:
(a) 
All dumpsters shall exhibit a clear and legible demarcation of the owner of the dumpster and contact information for the owner.
(b) 
All dumpsters located on private property do not require a permit, but are still subjected to the conditions established in Subsection G(4) and (5) above.
(c) 
All dumpsters shall be delivered or emptied in a timely fashion so as to prevent the overflow of debris or litter.
(9) 
Failure to comply with the terms of this subsection or the permit or failure to remove the dumpster upon expiration of the permit shall be grounds for the City to remove the dumpster from the public street and charge the permittee the reasonable costs of such removal, as well as any storage costs, in addition to other penalties provided in this chapter.
(10) 
The holder of any dumpster permit shall by the terms of the permit assume all risk of bodily injury or property damage to the permit holder and any/all third parties and indemnify and hold the City harmless against any and all claims, suits, or demands of any kind whatsoever which arise directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from the placement, use, maintenance or transport of the dumpster.
A. 
Duty of owner or occupant. The owner or occupant of any premises abutting any sidewalk within the City shall remove or cause to be removed from such sidewalk, by 11:00 a.m. of each day, all snow and ice which may have accumulated thereon during the preceding 24 hours, provided that when ice shall have formed on any sidewalk so that it cannot be removed, such owner or occupant shall keep the same covered with sand, ashes or similar material.
B. 
Failure to remove.
(1) 
Notice. If any owner or occupant shall fail to comply with Subsection A of this section, the Director of Public Works shall give notice to remove such snow and ice or cover same with sand, ashes or similar material within 24 hours of receipt of notice.
(2) 
Penalty. If owner or occupant fails to comply with such notice, the Director of Public Works shall cause such snow and ice to be removed or sprinkled with sand, ashes or similar material and shall report the cost so incurred to the City Clerk/Treasurer, who shall enter the same in the tax roll as a special tax against the lot or parcel of land abutting such sidewalk.
[Amended 11-17-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-05]
[Amended 11-17-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-05]
A. 
No person, firm or corporation shall deposit, or cause to be deposited, in any public street, alley or roadway in the City of Lancaster, snow taken or removed from property privately owned or occupied, excluding snow taken or removed from public sidewalks or public boulevards, except as permitted by this section.
B. 
Any person, firm or corporation owning or occupying property within the City of Lancaster may remove all snow from such property and deposit the same in a public street, alley or roadway abutting or adjacent to such property without violation of this section, provided that such owner or occupant of private property shall have applied in writing to the City Clerk/Treasurer for such snow removal service.
C. 
No provision of this section and no agreement between the owner/occupant and the City of Lancaster shall impose upon the City of Lancaster any obligation to collect, load, haul or dispose of any material or substance other than snow or to enter upon any private property and remove snow therefrom excepting only when snow shall have been temporarily piled or placed upon such private property at the order or direction of the Director of Public Works.
D. 
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this section or depositing snow on City streets, roadways, alleys or property in violation of this section shall be punished for each violation by a forfeiture of not more than $100, together with the costs of prosecution. Each day while any snow unlawfully deposited shall remain in a public street, alley, roadway or property may be charged and prosecuted as a separate offense. Such violators shall also be responsible for the removal of such snow by the City and the violator shall be billed at the then hourly rate.
Except as otherwise provided, any person found to be in violation of any provision of this chapter shall be subject to a penalty as provided in § 1-4 of this Municipal Code.