This chapter is enacted by the City of Prescott and is authorized
by §§ 30.27, 61.35 and 62.23, Wis. Stats., Ch. NR 118,
Wis. Adm. Code, and other applicable state statutes and Administrative
Code sections.
A.Â
Purpose. This chapter is enacted to create regulations to protect
the continued eligibility of the Lower St. Croix River for inclusion
in the National Wild and Scenic River System and to guarantee the
protection of the wild, scenic and recreational qualities of the river
for present and future generations. These rules are intended to reduce
the adverse effects of overcrowding and poorly planned shoreline and
bluff area development, to preserve and maintain the scenic beauty
of the shoreland and bluffs above the river, to prevent pollution
and the contamination of surface and groundwaters and soil erosion,
to provide sufficient space on lots for sanitary facilities, to minimize
flood damage, to maintain property values, and to preserve and maintain
the exceptional scenic, cultural and natural characteristics of the
water and related land of the Lower St. Croix Riverway in a manner
consistent with the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (P.L. 90-542),
the federal Lower St. Croix River Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-560) and the
Wisconsin Lower St. Croix River Act (§ 30.27, Wis. Stats.).
B.Â
Applicability. These rules shall apply to land in the City of Prescott
and within the boundaries of the Lower St. Croix National Riverway
as set forth in the Master Plan jointly prepared by the States of
Minnesota and Wisconsin and the National Park Service, pursuant to
P.L. 92-560. [Note: A boundary map and legal description of the riverway
boundary is available in the office of each local zoning authority
within the district boundaries.]
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
A subordinate structure, the use of which is incidental to,
and customarily found in connection with, the principal structure
or use of the property. Accessory structures include, but are not
limited to, detached garages, sheds, barns, gazebos, patios, decks
(both detached and attached), swimming pools, hot tubs, fences, retaining
walls, driveways, parking lots, sidewalks, detached stairways and
lifts.
A use subordinate to and serving the principal use of the
same lot, located on the same lot and customarily incidental thereto.
Beekeeping; livestock grazing; orchards; raising of grain,
grass or seed crops; raising of fruits, nuts or berries; placing land
in federal programs in return for payments in kind; owning land, at
least 35 acres of which is enrolled in the conservation reserve program
under 16 U.S.C. §§ 3831 to 3835a; and vegetable raising.
Any device or equipment used for the transmission or reception
of electromagnetic waves, which may include an omnidirectional antenna
(rod), a directional antenna (panel) or a parabolic antenna (disc).
A place of lodging for transient guests that is the owner's
personal residence, that is occupied by the owner at the time of rental,
and in which the only meal served to guests is breakfast.
A line along the top of the slope preservation zone.
A line measured across the width of a lot at that point where
the principal structure is placed in accordance with setback provisions.
A wireless communication service facility that is disguised,
hidden or screened, but remains recognizable as a tower or antenna.
The City of Prescott, Wisconsin.
An area on a lot where a building could be located in compliance
with all applicable ordinance requirements.
A use that is specifically listed in this chapter as a conditional
use and the appropriate City zoning authority determines that the
conditions specified in this chapter for that use are satisfied.
The total number of dwelling units allowed to be constructed
in a subdivision. It is calculated by dividing the total project acres,
including road right-of-way easements, slope preservation zones and
wetlands, by the maximum average density of dwelling units allowed
in a particular zoning district. All calculations are rounded down
in determining the total number of dwelling units allowed.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Having a physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more major life activities.
A self-contained living unit used for human habitation.
Colors that harmonize with the natural surroundings on the
site during leaf on conditions.
An addition to an existing structure regardless of whether
the addition is vertical or horizontal or both.
One can see the river through the vegetation, while any structure
remains visually inconspicuous.
The land area covered by a structure at ground level, measured
on a horizontal plane. The "footprint" of a residence includes attached
garages and porches, but excludes decks, patios, carports and roof
overhangs.
The underlying base of a building or other structure, including
but not limited to pillars, footings, and concrete and masonry walls.
The use of a building or other structure for human occupancy,
including but not limited to cooking, eating, bathing and sleeping.
Any division of a parcel of land by the owner or the owner's
agent, for the purpose of transfer of ownership or building development,
which creates one or more parcels or building sites of 35 acres or
less.
A person who has graduated with a major in landscape architecture
from a college accredited by the American Society of Landscape Architects.
A mechanical device, either temporary or permanent, containing
a mobile open-top car including hand or guard rails, a track upon
which the open top car moves, and a mechanical device to provide power
to the open-top car.
This chapter, or amendments hereto, adopted by the City of
Prescott under authority of state enabling legislation which regulates
the use of land within the Lower St. Croix riverway.
A contiguous parcel of land with described boundaries.
The area described in § 606-1B of this chapter, pursuant to § NR 118.02(1), Wis. Adm. Code.
Refers to both the River Town and the Rural Residential Management Zones as described in § NR 118.04, Wis. Adm. Code, and § 606-3 of this chapter. References specific to either the River Town or the Rural Residential Management Zones will identity the River Town or the Rural Residential Management Zone.
Action taken to minimize the adverse impacts of development.
The term "mitigation" may include, but is not limited to, the installation
of vegetative buffers, the removal or relocation of nonconforming
structures from the shoreland setback area, and the implementation
of best management practices for erosion control and stormwater management.
The developable land area minus slope preservation zones,
floodplains, road rights-of-way and wetlands.
A building or other structure whose location, dimensions
or other physical characteristics do not conform to the standards
in the current local zoning ordinance but which was legally constructed
or placed in its current location prior to the adoption of the ordinance
or ordinance amendment that made it nonconforming.
The use of land or a structure or other premises that does
not conform to the land use restrictions in the current local zoning
ordinance, but which was legally established prior to the adoption
of the ordinance or ordinance amendment that made it nonconforming.
The point on the bank or shore up to which the presence and
action of surface water are so continuous as to leave a distinctive
mark such as by erosion, destruction or prevention of terrestrial
vegetation, predominance of aquatic vegetation, or other easily recognized
characteristic. Where the bank or shore at any particular place is
of such character that it is difficult or impossible to ascertain
where the point of ordinary high-water mark is, recourse may be had
to the opposite bank of a stream or to other places on the shore of
a lake or flowage to determine whether a given stage of water is above
or below the ordinary high-water mark.
Any work done on a nonconforming structure that does not
constitute expansion, structural alteration or reconstruction and
does not involve the replacement, alteration or improvement of any
portion of the structure's foundation.
A pattern of development that places residences into compact
groupings as a means of permanently preserving open space.
A building walkway with a roof over it, providing access
to a building entrance.
The main building or other structure on a lot that is utilized
for the property's principal use. The term "principal structure"
includes attached garages and porches.
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.
A sewer owned and controlled by the public authority.
Allowing a disabled person to deviate from the strict requirements
of this chapter if an accommodation is necessary and reasonable, in
order not to unlawfully discriminate against the disabled person and
to allow them equal housing opportunity. [Note: Federal courts have
interpreted the "reasonable accommodations" requirements in the Federal
Fair Housing Act to mean that an accommodation is reasonable "if it
does not cause any undue hardship, or fiscal or administrative burdens
on the municipality, or does not undermine the basic purpose that
the zoning ordinance seeks to achieve." Oxford House, Inc. v. Town
of Babylon, 819 F. Supp. 1179, 1186 (E.D.N.Y. 1993)]
The replacement of all or substantially all of the components
of a structure other than the foundation.
A timber harvest designed to promote natural establishment
of trees.
The removal of selected trees throughout the range of merchantable
sizes at regular intervals, either singly or in small groups, leaving
a uniformly distributed stocking of desirable tree and shrub size
classes.
The minimum horizontal distance between a structure and either
the ordinary high-water mark or the bluffline.
A partial removal of mature trees leaving trees of desirable
species and form to provide shade, seed source and a desirable seed
bed for natural regeneration with the final removal of the overstory
after adequate regeneration is established.
A detached structure used for human habitation for one family.
The area riverward from the bluffline where the slope towards
the river is 12% or more, as measured horizontally for a distance
of not more than 50 feet nor less than 25 feet.
A wireless communication service facility that models or
mimics in size or shape and color something in the surrounding landscape,
such as silos in farm settings and trees in forested lands, and is
unrecognizable year round as an antenna or antenna mount.
The replacement or alteration of one or more of the structural
components of any of a nonconforming structure's exterior walls.
Any part of the framework of a building or other structure.
The structural components of a building's exterior walls include
the vertical studs, top and bottom plates, and window and door sills
and headers. A structural component may be non-load-bearing, such
as the framework of a wall at the gable end of a one-story house.
Wall coverings, such as siding on the exterior and dry wall on the
interior, are not included in the definition of "structural component."
A retaining wall or other man-made structure whose primary
function is to control erosion.
Any man-made object with form, shape and utility, that is
constructed or otherwise erected, attached to or permanently or temporarily
placed upon the ground, a riverbed, streambed or lake bed or upon
another structure. The term "structure" includes swimming pools, hot
tubs, patios, decks and retaining walls, but does not include landscaping
or earthwork such as graded areas, filled areas, ditches, berms or
earthen terraces. The term "structure" does not include small objects
that are easily moved by hand, such as lawn chairs, portable grills,
portable picnic tables, bird feeders, bird baths and bird houses.
The City of Prescott Subdivision of Land Ordinance.[1]
A lot with dimensions that do not conform to all of the requirements
of this chapter and the City's Subdivision Ordinance.
Electric power lines, telephone and telegraph lines, communication
towers, cables, sewage lift stations, sewer and water pipes, and other
pipes, conduits and accessory structures that are used to transport
power, convey information or transport material between two points,
other than wireless communication service facilities.
Difficult to see, or not readily noticeable, in summer months
as viewed from at or near the midline of the Lower St. Croix River.
The meaning found in § 23.32(1), Wis. Stats. [Note:
Section 23.32(1), Wis. Stats., defines "wetland" to mean "an area
where water is at, near, or above the land surface long enough to
be capable of supporting aquatic or hydrophytic vegetation and which
has soils indicative of wet conditions.]
Hardware that provides wireless communication services including
antennas, towers, all associated equipment, and buildings and other
structures.
The City of Prescott Zoning Board of Appeals.
