[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Richfield as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Alcohol provisions and licensing — See Ch. 110.
Animals — See Ch. 118.
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 351.
[Adopted 5-15-2008 by Ord. No. 08-05-02 (Ch. 42, Art. II, of prior Code)]
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
PUBLIC GROUNDS
All public parks owned or operated by the Village.
VEHICLE
Any motor vehicle, bicycle, snowmobile, motorcycle, trailer, wagon, horse or any other means of travel.
[Amended 8-15-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-8-2; 11-19-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-11-04]
Except for those instances which are exempted, preempted or allowed by state and/or federal law, it shall be unlawful for any person to commit any of the following acts in or upon any public grounds in the Village:
A. 
Parking: to park any vehicle, except within the limits of clearly marked parking areas.
B. 
Vehicles: to operate any vehicle, except upon clearly marked roadways, trails or paths designated for such purposes.
C. 
Speed: to operate any vehicle upon any roadway within the limits of such public grounds at a speed in excess of 15 miles per hour or a lesser posted speed limit.
D. 
Closing hours: to enter or remain in or upon such grounds between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. the following morning except as allowed by permit issued by the Park Commission.
E. 
Firearms: to carry, keep or use any firearm, bow and arrow, slingshot, trap gun or other shooting device.
F. 
Vandalism: to soil, deface, injure, damage, upset or destroy any building, fence, fountain, bench, table, receptacle, fireplace, tree, bush, flower or other object situated, used or kept upon such grounds.
G. 
Digging: to dig or break up the ground surface except in areas specifically designated as campgrounds and upon issuance of a permit by the Park Commission.
H. 
Fires: to build any fire, except in fireplaces or other suitable facilities provided for that purpose, or to dispose live embers of any fire. Fires may be permitted in areas specifically designated as a campground and upon issuance of a permit by the Park Commission.
I. 
Litter: to leave, throw or break any bottle, box, refuse or other object, except in clearly marked refuse receptacles provided for that purpose.
J. 
Animals: to take, have or keep any dog or cat, except upon a leash.
K. 
Fireworks: to set off fireworks of any kind, except when a public display permit has been issued by the Village Board pursuant to Chapter 275, Article IV, Fireworks, of this Code.
L. 
Games: to engage in any athletic contest, game or activity, except in areas specifically designated for such activity, whereby large areas of public grounds are usurped by the participants to the exclusion and at the peril of injury to others.
M. 
Rules: to fail, refuse or neglect to obey the regularly posted rules and regulations for the use or enjoyment of any facilities.
Any assembly of persons over 20 in number shall register with the Village Clerk before using the facilities, giving the name of a person responsible and the activity planned and pay appropriate fee(s). Any group over 200 in number shall obtain a permit from the Park Commission prior to the date of use. The Commission shall include in its consideration of any such request the ability of the park facilities to accommodate the proposed activity and compatibility of the proposed activity with other planned activities and uses in the park. The Commission may require a damage deposit and/or fee established by the Village Board in the fee schedule.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
Portable music and sound equipment, including radios, record players, etc., may be used in the park only in such a manner which is not a nuisance to other users or park personnel. Live music or musical instrument playing is allowed in the parks only with prior approval of the Park Commission.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
The only alcohol beverages to be consumed on such public grounds are those sold on such public grounds by licensees of the Village. The use of alcohol beverages may be restricted to certain areas of each park by the Park Commission to avoid use conflicts. Such restrictions shall be posted in any such designated area.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
Each violation of any provision of this Article I shall be subject to the penalties and remedies described in § 1-3 of this Code, except that the forfeiture amount described in § 1-3A shall be not more than $250 for each violation.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
[Adopted 5-15-2008 by Ord. No. 08-05-04; amended in its entirety 5-21-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-5-1 (Ch. 42, Art. III, of prior Code)]
The intent of this article is to provide safe and healthful conditions for the enjoyment of aquatic recreation in the Village of Richfield consistent with public rights and interests and the capability of the water resources.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
MECHANICAL
A way to power a watercraft through electric, gas or other methods other than human motions.
PUBLIC ACCESS
Any access to the waters by means of public property.
SLOW-NO-WAKE
That speed at which a boat moves as slowly as possible while still maintaining steerage control.
TRAFFIC LANE
The surface of the lake that is more than 150 feet distant from and parallel to the shore, or 100 feet distant from the projecting extremities of any pier, wharf or other structure built in or over the water.
The provisions of this article shall apply to the waters of Amy Belle Lake, Bark Lake, Friess Lake, Little Friess Lake and Lake Five.
The provisions of this article shall be enforced by the Washington County Sheriff's Department or Village law enforcement officer, a contracted law enforcement unit of the Village of Richfield.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
The statutory provisions describing and defining water traffic, boats, boating and related activities contained in §§ 30.50 to 30.71, Wis. Stats., and the rules and regulations of the State Department of Natural Resources are adopted and by reference made a part of this article. Any act required or prohibited by the provisions of such statutes or rule or regulation incorporated by reference is required or prohibited by this article.
In addition to the speed regulations in § 30.66, Wis. Stats., the following restrictions shall apply:
A. 
No person shall operate a boat powered by mechanical means at any time on Amy Belle Lake.
B. 
No person shall operate a boat at a speed greater than 35 miles per hour from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friess Lake. At all other times the maximum speed shall be slow-no-wake.
[Amended 7-22-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-6-17]
C. 
No person shall operate a boat at a speed greater than 40 miles per hour on Lake Five from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. or sunset, whichever comes first. At all other times the maximum speed shall be slow-no-wake.
D. 
No person shall operate a boat at a speed greater than 25 miles per hour during the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Bark Lake. At all other times the maximum speed shall be slow-no-wake.
E. 
No person shall operate a boat at a speed greater than slow-no-wake at all times on Little Friess Lake.
F. 
No person shall operate a boat outside the traffic lane as defined in § 270-8 on Friess Lake, Lake Five or Bark Lake at a speed greater than slow-no-wake.
G. 
No person may operate any vehicle on any icebound lake at a speed greater than 25 miles per hour.
A. 
Declaration of emergency. During periods of abnormally high lake levels, the Village President or his/her designee is authorized and directed to declare a high lake water emergency for any and all lakes located in the Village. The Village Administrator, working with the lake associations and the Highway Superintendent, shall establish benchmark(s) on each of the lakes to use as reference point(s) during abnormally high lake levels. These reference point(s) shall be used in the determination to declare an emergency. Additional factors may be considered to declare an emergency, such as weather forecasts, shoreline erosion, neighborhood concerns, historical data, Department of Natural Resources information and other variables.
B. 
Orders. During high lake water emergencies, the Village President or designee is authorized and directed to issue slow-no-wake orders for any and all lakes located in the Village. Copies of such orders shall be posted at all public and private landings. When lake levels have returned to normal levels the Village President or designee shall declare a cessation of the high level emergency and rescind the slow-no-wake order.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
C. 
Speed limit. During the period that the slow-no-wake order is in effect, no person shall operate a boat at a speed greater than slow-no-wake.
D. 
Each violation of any provision of this § 270-14 shall be subject to the penalties and remedies described in § 1-3 of this Code, except that the forfeiture amount described in § 1-3A shall be $50 for a first violation and $100 for a subsequent violation.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
In addition to the requirements and restrictions set forth in §§ 30.68 and 30.62(2), Wis. Stats.:
A. 
No motor boat shall pass within 100 feet of a swimmer or skindiver's marker unless physical circumstances make compliance impossible.
B. 
No person shall operate any boat repeatedly in a circuitous course around any other boat or around any person who is swimming if such circuitous course is within 200 feet of such boat or swimmer nor shall any water skier operate or approach closer than 100 feet to any swimmer or skindiver's marker.
C. 
All boats for rent or hire shall have stenciled or printed on the top side of the rear seat thereof the maximum safe carrying capacity of such boat.
D. 
No motorboat shall approach or pass another boat in such a manner as to create a hazardous wake or wash.
E. 
No person shall use wake-enhancing devices, including ballast tanks, wedges or hydrofoils or other mechanical devices, or uneven loading of persons or gear, to artificially operate bow-high on any lake in the Village.
[Amended 7-15-2010 by Ord. No. 2010-7-15; 1-18-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-01-01; 7-19-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-07-01]
In addition to the requirements and restrictions set forth in Wis. Stats. § 30.69:
A. 
No person shall operate nor shall any boat owner allow a boat to be operated to tow more than two persons on water skis, aquaplanes or other similar devices at any one time.
B. 
On Bark Lake, no person shall operate nor shall any boat owner allow a boat to be operated to tow more than one rope servicing no more than two persons for the purposes of water skis, aquaplanes, or other similar devices at any one time.
C. 
Persons waterskiing or using other similar devices shall also conform to all provisions of this article and shall not engage in any activity contrary to the provisions of this article.
A. 
All rafts, platforms, buoys and markers shall be anchored and shall have at least eight inches of freeboard above the water line so that they will not float or drift in excess of 10 feet in any direction from the position that is directly above their anchor.
B. 
On Bark Lake no raft or pier shall be located within 100 feet of the traffic lane marked with buoys in accordance with the definition of "traffic lane" in § 270-8.
It shall be unlawful for any aircraft, whether designed for taking off or landing on water or not, to use any part of the lakes or waters regulated under this article for landing or taking off, except in the case of emergency.
In addition to following all state and local laws governing public notification when amending this article, the Village will make every effort to notify the lake association presidents or lake residents at least 60 days prior to the proposed modifications.
Wisconsin state boating penalties as found in § 30.80, Wis. Stats., and deposits as established in the Uniform Deposit and Bail Schedule established by the Wisconsin Judicial Conference are hereby adopted by reference.