In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise
requires, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ANIMAL
Mammals, reptiles and birds.
AT LARGE
To be off the premises of the owner and not under the control
of some person by leash. A dog or cat within an automobile of its
owner, or in an automobile of any other person with the consent of
the owner of said dog or cat, shall be deemed to be upon the owner's
premises.
CAT
Any feline, regardless of age or sex.
CRUEL
Causing unnecessary and excessive pain or suffering or unjustifiable
injury or death.
DOG
Any canine, regardless of age or sex.
FARM ANIMAL
Any warm-blooded animal normally raised on farms in the United
States and used for food or fiber.
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
Has that meaning as appears in § 967.02(5), Wis.
Stats., and includes a humane or animal control officer under § 173.03,
Wis. Stats., but does not include a conservation warden appointed
under § 23.10, Wis. Stats.
NEUTERED
A dog or cat having nonfunctional reproductive organs.
OWNER
Any person owning, harboring or keeping a dog or cat and
the occupant of any premises on which a dog or cat remains or to which
it customarily returns daily for a period of 10 days; such person
is presumed to be harboring or keeping the dog or cat within the meaning
of this section.
PET
An animal kept and treated as a pet.
RESIDENTIAL LOT
A parcel zoned as residential, occupied or to be occupied
by a dwelling, platted or unplatted, and under common ownership. For
the purpose of this chapter, any vacant parcel or parcels adjoining
a dwelling and under the same ownership shall constitute one lot.
The City Clerk shall assess and collect a late fee as prescribed
in the City's fee schedule from every owner of a dog or cat five months
of age or over if the owner failed to obtain a license prior to April
1 of each year, or within 30 days of acquiring ownership of a licensable
dog or cat or if the owner failed to obtain a license on or before
the dog or cat reached licensable age. Said late fee shall be charged
in addition to the required license fee.
[Amended 5-29-2012 by Ord. No. 08-12; 2-24-2014 by Ord. No. 01-14; 10-11-2021 by Ord. No. 05-21]
No dog, cat or any other pets or farm animals shall be permitted
in any public playground, school grounds, public park, beach, or swimming
area within the City of Prescott unless on a leash not to exceed 15
feet in length. Dogs, cats and other pets are prohibited from being
in cemeteries. The owner shall pick up any litter caused by the animal.
The owner may not allow the animal to intimidate other persons on
the public grounds. Specially trained service dogs shall be exempt
from this section.
Every owner or person harboring or keeping a dog or cat who
knows that such dog or cat has bitten any person shall immediately
report such fact to the Chief of Police and shall keep such dog or
cat confined for not less than 10 days or for such period of time
as the animal control officer shall direct. The owner or keeper of
any such dog or cat shall surrender the dog or cat to a law enforcement,
health, or animal control officer upon demand for examination.
It shall be unlawful for any person owning or possessing an
animal, dog or cat to permit such animal, dog or cat to be upon any
parkway or private lands or premises without the permission of the
owner of such premises and break, bruise, tear up, crush or injure
any lawn, flower bed, plant, shrub, tree or garden in any manner whatsoever,
or to defecate or urinate thereon.
It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to keep or harbor
any dog which habitually barks, howls or yelps, or any cat which habitually
cries or howls to the great discomfort of the peace and quiet of the
neighborhood or in such manner as to materially disturb or annoy persons
in the neighborhood who are of ordinary sensibilities.
[Added 1-9-2012 by Ord. No. 24-11]
A. Purpose and intent. The purpose of this section is to outline conditions
under which City residents in certain residential districts may safely
keep and maintain a limited number of small poultry (chickens and
ducks) to provide eggs for household use; to assure appropriate coops
or poultry structures in which to house small poultry; and to protect
the health, safety, and welfare of the general population of the City
of Prescott. The City recognizes that adverse neighborhood impacts
may result from the keeping of domesticated ducks or chickens as a
result of noise, odor, unsanitary animal living conditions, unsanitary
waste storage and removal, the attraction of predators, rodents, insects
or parasites, and nonconfined animals leaving the owner's property.
This section is intended to create licensing standards and requirements
that ensure that domesticated ducks and chickens do not adversely
impact the neighborhood surrounding the property on which the chickens
are kept.
B. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms
have the meaning indicated:
ABUTTING PROPERTY
All lots that the applicant's property comes into contact
with at one or more points, except for lots that are legally abutting
to or are separated from the applicant's property by a public or private
street.
CHICKEN
A female gallinaceous bird or hen of any age, including chicks.
This definition does not include other kinds of fowl, including quail,
pheasant, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl, peafowl, emus, or ostriches.
COOP
An enclosed structure which is roofed.
DUCKS
Domesticated fowl of the anatidae family.
FRONT YARD
That portion of a lot enclosed by the property's front lot
line and the side lot lines to the points where the side lot lines
intersect with an imaginary line established by the front of the single-family
structure and extending to the two side lot lines.
RUN
A penned area connected to the coop. The run shall have an
earthen floor.
C. License required.
(1) No person shall own, harbor, keep, or maintain small poultry within
the corporate limits of the City without first obtaining a license.
(2) Applications shall be made to the City Clerk prior to acquiring licensable
small poultry, on such forms as provided by the City. The license
year shall commence on January 1 and shall end on the following December
31, and the license shall be renewed annually.
D. Fees.
(1) The annual license fees shall be as cited in the City of Prescott
fee schedule.
(2) A late fee as stated in the City of Prescott fee schedule shall be
assessed and collected from every small poultry owner if the owner
fails to renew his license annually.
(3) Licenses shall not be transferable, and license fees shall not be
prorated or refundable.
E. Property requirements and coop design.
(1) Property requirements.
(a)
Small poultry shall be kept and maintained on a lot zoned R-1
and used as a single-family dwelling.
(b)
Small poultry shall not be kept or maintained upon a vacant
lot.
(c)
A poultry structure shall not be located in the front yard of
the license holder's residence.
(d)
A poultry structure shall be placed at least five feet from
an abutting property line.
(2) Coop design.
(a)
All small poultry shall be kept and maintained within a ventilated
and roofed coop.
(b)
Coop areas shall provide a minimum of four square feet of habitable
area per small poultry.
(c)
Poultry runs shall provide a minimum area of 10 square feet
per bird.
(d)
Poultry structures shall be well maintained.
F. Conditions for keeping and sanitation.
(1) Conditions for keeping.
(a)
A person keeping or maintaining chickens on residential property
shall:
[1]
Keep or maintain not more than six chickens or six ducks or
a combination of the two not to exceed six total.
[2]
Not keep or maintain any roosters or call ducks.
[4]
Not slaughter any small poultry within City limits.
(b)
Except when under the personal control of the licensee/designee,
chickens or ducks shall be confined at all times within the poultry
structure. Small poultry shall be provided with access to feed and
clean water at all times.
(c)
Birds ill with an infectious disease capable of being transmitted
from bird to bird or from birds to humans, including but not limited
to salmonella and avian influenza, are prohibited and shall be immediately
euthanized at a veterinarian's office or removed from the City and
humanely euthanized outside the City.
(d)
A dog or cat which kills or injures a duck or chicken shall
not, for that reason alone, be considered a dangerous animal.
(2) Sanitation.
(a)
Small poultry over six weeks of age shall be kept and maintained
at all times in outdoor areas and shall not be permitted inside a
residential premises or dwelling.
(b)
All feed shall be stored and kept in containers which make the
feed unavailable to rodents, vermin, wild birds and predators.
(c)
All poultry structures and backyards where small poultry are
kept or maintained shall be reasonably free from substances, including
but not limited to manure, such that they do not cause the air or
environment to become noxious or offensive or to be in such condition
as to promote the breeding of flies, mosquitoes, or other insects,
or to provide a habitat, breeding or feeding place for rodents or
other animals, or otherwise be injurious to public health.
G. Inspection and enforcement.
(1) The City shall have the power, whenever it may deem reasonably necessary,
to enter a building, structure, or property related to a license under
this section to ascertain whether the license holder is in compliance
with this section. The City may issue compliance orders and citations
pursuant to the provisions of this section, City Code, and state law.
(2) Violations of this section may constitute a public nuisance under Chapter
410, Nuisances, of this Code or under Ch. 823, Wis. Stats. The City may maintain an action to recover damages or abate a public nuisance pursuant to Chapter
410 of this Code or Ch. 823, Wis. Stats.
(3) A license issued hereunder may be revoked by the City Clerk upon
determination that the licensee has failed to comply with the provisions
of the section, this Code, or state law, or the chickens or premises
has been declared a public nuisance.
(4) Appeals from orders for compliance or license revocation shall be
pursuant to the procedures for conducting appeals enumerated in Ch.
68, Wis. Stats.
H. Other methods not excluded. The provisions of this section are not
exclusive and may be used in combination with each other or with any
other section of the Code or state statute applicable to this subject
matter.
I. Violation and penalty. Any person who violates the provisions of
this section shall, upon conviction thereof, forfeit not more than
$25 per day of violation, if applicable, together with the costs of
prosecution.
No person except a law enforcement officer or humane officer
in the pursuit of his/her duties shall, within the City, shoot or
kill or commit an act of cruelty against any animal or bird or disturb
any bird's nest or bird's eggs.
[Amended 6-27-2011 by Ord. No. 03-11]
A. Keeping of animals prohibited. It shall be unlawful to keep, harbor,
own or in any way possess within the corporate limits of the City
of Prescott.
(1) Any warm-blooded, carnivorous or omnivorous, wild or exotic animal,
including, but not limited to, nonhuman primates, raccoons, skunks,
foxes and nondomestic cats.
(2) Any animal having poisonous bite.
(3) Any animal designated as dangerous. An animal may be designated as
dangerous if it:
(a)
Has directly or indirectly has inflicted significant injury
on a human being on public or private property;
(b)
Has significantly injured or killed a domestic animal while
off the owner's property;
(c)
Has been or is being used for the purpose of animal fighting,
or is an animal trained for fighting; or
(d)
Has without provocation chased or approached a person upon the
streets, sidewalks, or other public grounds in a menacing fashion
or apparent attitude of attack.
(e)
An animal shall not be declared dangerous if the threat, injury
or damage was sustained by a person who, at the time, was unlawfully
on the property, or, while lawfully on the property, was tormenting,
abusing or assaulting the dog or its owner or a family member. No
animal may be declared dangerous if the animal was protecting or defending
a human being.
(4) Any animal that is the subject of a dangerous animal investigation,
that is not impounded by a police officer and/or animal control officer
at the designation of the Chief of Police, shall be humanely and safely
confined by the owner in a securely fenced or enclosed area pending
the outcome of the investigation related to the dangerous animal classification.
The address of where the animal resides shall be provided to a police
officer and/or an animal control officer and a police officer and/or
animal control officer shall be allowed reasonable inspection privileges.
No animal that is the subject of a dangerous animal investigation
may be relocated or ownership transferred pending the outcome of an
investigation related to the determination of a dangerous animal classification.
In the event that an animal is to be destroyed, the animal shall not
be relocated or ownership transferred before the animal is destroyed.
(5) If a police officer and/or animal control officer at the designation
of the Chief of Police determines that there is sufficient cause to
classify the animal as dangerous, the officer shall provide written
notification of this initial determination by registered or certified
mail or cause to have it hand delivered to the owner of the animal
within five calendar days of the initial determination.
B. Appeals procedure. The owner may file a written request for a hearing
to appeal the classification within seven calendar days after receipt
of the sufficient cause findings. The written request for a hearing
shall be delivered to the Chief of Police. The hearing shall be conducted
by the Health Committee within seven calendar days of the receipt
of the appeal request and the owner shall be notified of the date,
time and location of the hearing. The owner or his designee and/or
a police officer and/or animal control officer may present such oral
testimony, written or electronic statement and other evidence as may
be deemed proper and relevant by the hearing examiners. The hearing
examiners shall make their determination whether the animal is a dangerous
animal, in writing, to the owner within a reasonable period following
the conclusion of the hearing.
(1) During the appeals process it shall be unlawful for the owner of
a dangerous animal to permit the animal to be outside a proper enclosure
unless the dog is muzzled and restrained by a chain or leash, and
under the immediate and direct control of a competent person. The
muzzle must be made in a manner that will not cause injury to the
dog or interfere with its vision or respiration, but will prevent
it from biting any person or other animal. If transported, such animal
shall be safely and securely restrained within a vehicle or other
conveyance. The owner may exercise the animal in a securely fenced
or enclosed area that does not have a top, without a muzzle or leash,
if the dog remains in his/her sight and only members of the owner's
immediate household or person 18 years of age or older are allowed
in the enclosure when the animal is present. Any person who violates
any provisions of this section is guilty of a fine not exceeding $500.
(2) If an animal that has previously been declared dangerous attacks
or bites a person or a domestic animal without provocation, the animal
shall be subject to confiscation by a police officer or an animal
control officer at the designation of the Chief of Police, placed
in quarantine, for the proper length of time, or impounded and held
for 10 business days after the owner is given written notice, and
thereafter destroyed in an expeditious and humane manner. The owner
may appeal this action during the ten-day period. In addition, the
owner of the dog shall be fined $500. Upon confiscation of the dog,
animal control shall provide proof of the owner of the dog as shown
by the tag worn on the dog, tattoo or electronic implantation, or
as discovered by a police officer or animal control officer at the
designation of the Chief of Police, a written civil violation notice
listing the fine, fees, confiscation, quarantine, impoundment and
intent of a police officer and/or animal control officer to destroy
the animal within the time prescribed. The owner shall be responsible
for payment of all boarding costs and other fees as may be required
to humanely and safely keep the animal during any appeal procedures.
[Added 1-23-2023 by Ord.
No. 02-23]
A. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to establish
conditions under which the temporary and periodic use of a limited
number of goats for invasive species and other weed control is permitted
in all districts; and to establish requirements for doing so to protect
the health, safety, and welfare of the general population of the City
of Prescott.
B. Requirements for temporarily keeping goats for invasive
species or other weed control.
(1)
Temporary use of goats shall not exceed 30 days
twice a year.
(2)
The goats must be contained by an adequate containment
fence at all times. If an electric fence is used, it must display
a warning that the fence is electric.
(3)
The property must be maintained in a clean, sanitary
condition so as to be free from offensive odors, fly breeding, dust,
and general nuisance conditions.
(4)
Goats shall not be allowed on a vacant lot.
(5)
The City shall have no liability for any damage
that may be caused by goats kept on a property pursuant to this section.
Property owners and permittees under this section shall be jointly
and severally liable for any damage that may be caused by the goats
kept pursuant to a permit issued under this section.
C. Permit required.
(1)
No person shall own, harbor, keep or maintain
goats temporarily or otherwise on his or her property within the City
without first obtaining a permit approved by the Prescott Police Department.
(2)
The permits shall allow the permit holder to
temporarily have goats on his or her property for up to 30 days for
the purpose of invasive species or other weed control on his or her
property.
(3)
A person may be issued two such permits per property
in a calendar year.
(4)
Applications shall be made to the City Clerk's
office.
(5)
Applicants shall provide the following information
on the permit application:
(a)
Name, address, and contact information of the
permit applicant.
(b)
Address and description of the property where
the goats will be temporarily kept.
(c)
The type of invasive species or weed control
problem on the property.
(d)
Name, address, and contact information of the
person or entity providing the goats.
(e)
Site plan showing where on the property the goats
will be temporarily kept, including a plan and description of the
fencing that will be used to keep the goats on the property.
(f)
The number of goats allowed per permit shall
be determined based on the size of the area where goats will be kept
and the overall severity of the issue trying to be addressed.
(6)
No permit shall be issued until the City reviews
the application and inspects the property and determines that the
applicant has complied with the requirements of this section.
(7)
The applicant shall be the property owner or
tenant with written consent of the property owner.
(8)
Written permission from a homeowners' association,
if applicable, or a statement by the applicant that keeping goats
on the property is consistent with any homeowners' association
bylaws or rules.
(9)
The permit shall not be transferable.
(10)
No permit shall be issued if the applicant is
delinquent in paying of any taxes, assessments, forfeitures, or fines
for violations of City ordinances, utility bills, or other claims
owed to the City.
(11)
The City of Prescott shall be exempt from the permit requirements of Prescott Code §
235-22.1 for the temporary keeping of goats on City park and other City-owned property for the purpose of control of invasive species and other weed control purposes on property owned by the City of Prescott.
D. Permit fee.
(1)
Application and permit fee shall be in the amount
established by City fee schedule. The fees may be changed by the motion
of the Common Council and shall be incorporated into the City fee
schedule.
(2)
Permit fees shall not be prorated or refundable.
E. Inspection and enforcement.
(1)
The Prescott Police Department or their designees
shall have the power, whenever they may deem reasonably necessary,
and consistent with the requirements of statutory and constitutional
law, to enter a building, structure, or property related to a permit
under this section to ascertain whether the license holder is in compliance
with this chapter. The above-listed departments may issue compliance
orders and citations pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, this
code and state law.
(2)
Violations of this chapter may constitute a public nuisance under Chapter
410 of this Code, or under Ch. 823, Wis. Stats.
(3)
The City may revoke a permit at any time if the
permittee does not follow the terms of the permit or this section,
or if the City finds that the permit holder had not maintained the
goats, fences, or outdoor enclosures in a clean and sanitary condition.
F. Other methods not excluded. The requirements and remedies
provided under this section are not exclusive and may be used in combination
with each other or with any other section of this Code or applicable
state statute.
G. Severability. If any provision in this section, or
portion thereof, is found to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid,
the validity of the remaining sections shall not be affected.
H. Violations and penalties. Any person who violates the
provisions of this section shall, upon conviction thereof, forfeit
not less than $50 nor more than $500 per day of violation, if applicable,
together with the costs of prosecution. Each day a violation exists
is a separate violation.
[Amended 5-29-2012 by Ord. No. 08-12]
Except where another penalty is prescribed, anyone who violates this chapter or Ch. 174, Wis. Stats., shall be subject to a penalty as provided in §
1-4 of this Code. An owner who fails to have a dog or cat vaccinated against rabies as required in §
235-2 shall be subject to a forfeiture of not less than $50 nor more than $100. An owner who refuses to comply with an order issued under §
235-5 to deliver an animal to an officer, isolation facility or veterinarian or who does not comply with the conditions of an order that an animal be quarantined shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000. The City Attorney may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for a temporary or permanent injunction restraining any person from violating any aspect of this chapter.