[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Oconomowoc.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Nuisances — See Ch. 207.
The Town Board of Supervisors finds that the Town of Oconomowoc's
lakes and streams are a natural asset which enhance the environmental,
recreational, cultural and economic resources of the area and contribute
to the general health and welfare of the public. The purpose of this
chapter is to set forth regulations which will enable the Town to
protect its water resources for the health, safety and welfare of
the public without detracting from the natural beauty of homeowners'
lawns and gardens. The Town Board further finds that regulating the
amount of nutrients and contaminants contained in fertilizer, including
phosphorus, that enter the bodies of water as a result of runoff from
lawns and turf will improve and maintain lake water quality.
This chapter applies in all areas of the Town of Oconomowoc.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Has the meaning set forth in § 94.64(1)(e), Wis.
Stats.
A highway, street, sidewalk, parking lot, driveway or other
surface that prevents infiltration of water into the soil.
Any fertilizer, whether distributed by property owner or
commercial entity, distributed for nonagricultural use such as for
lawns, golf courses, parks and cemeteries. Lawn fertilizer does not
include fertilizer products intended primarily for garden and indoor
plant application.
A.
No person shall apply lawn fertilizer within the Town of Oconomowoc that is labeled as containing more than 0% phosphorus or other compound containing phosphorus such as phosphate, except as provided in § 146-5.
B.
No lawn fertilizer shall be applied when the ground is frozen.
C.
No lawn fertilizer shall be applied when conditions exist which promote
or create runoff.
D.
No person shall apply any fertilizer to any impervious surface. If
such application occurs, the fertilizer must be immediately contained
and either legally applied to turf or placed in an appropriate container.
E.
No person shall apply any fertilizer to any established natural buffer
zones.
F.
No person shall apply any fertilizer within 20 feet of any wetland,
pond, shoreline, or ordinary high water mark of any lake or river
as established by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
The prohibition against the use of fertilizer under § 146-4 shall not apply to:
A.
Turf or lawn areas newly established via seed or sod procedures during
their first growing season.
B.
Turf or lawn areas that soil tests, performed within the past three
years by a state-certified soil testing laboratory, confirm are below
phosphorus levels established by the University of Wisconsin Extension
Service. The lawn fertilizer application shall not contain an amount
of phosphorus exceeding the amount and rate of application recommended
in the soil test evaluation.
C.
Agricultural uses, vegetable and flower gardens, or application to
trees or shrubs.
D.
Yard waste compost, biosolids or other similar materials that are
primarily organic in nature and are applied to improve the physical
condition of the soil.
This chapter will be enforced by the Town of Oconomowoc Weed
Commissioner.
