[Adopted by the City Council of the City of Lake Mills 4-5-2005 by Ord. No. 949 (Title 4, Ch. 4, of the 2009 Code of Ordinances). Amendments noted
where applicable.]
No owner of property within the City shall permit to grow or
pollinate upon the owner's property any noxious weeds or grasses which
may cause hay fever in human beings, produce unpleasant or noxious
odors, conceal filthy deposits or provide a place for the accumulation
of trash or litter. In order to prevent such growth and pollination,
it shall be the duty of every property owner to mow or cause to be
mowed upon the owner's property all grasses or weeds exceeding eight
inches in height, unless that property is exempt under the provisions
listed in the next section.
A.
Properties exempt from the mowing requirement in § 271-1 are the following:
(1)
Vacant improved lots, unless an existing house abuts the vacant lot.
However, in the case of this exemption, the grasses and weeds shall
be mowed to a height not exceeding 12 inches. An improved vacant lot
is a lot that has the necessary infrastructure that would allow for
development, but has not yet been developed.
(2)
Vacant, unimproved lots that are in remote locations, except the
mowing requirements listed for vacant improved lots shall apply.
(3)
Lands that are zoned or mapped as wetlands.
(4)
Lands that are located in designated, environmentally sensitive areas.
(5)
Lands that are considered to be rough, wet or wild by the Facilities
and Grounds Director.
[Amended 8-3-2021 by Ord. No. 1226]
(6)
Lands used for agricultural purposes and that are subject to only
one seasonal harvest.
(7)
Lands subject to government programs, such as a state forest land
management program or a crop set-aside program for agricultural lands.
(8)
Natural landscapes approved by the Weed Commissioner.
B.
The Weed Commissioner may require a mowed or maintained buffer zone
of a minimum of three feet between exempted property and adjoining
properties. This requirement may be enforced by using the same procedures
to enforce the mowing requirement of this chapter.
Noxious weeds and grasses are defined as and shall include any
and all weeds and other vegetation prohibited by Wis. Stats. § 66.0407,
or which have been designated by the City herein:
|
Common Name(s)
|
Latin Name(s)
|
|---|---|
|
Canada thistle
|
Cirsium arvense
|
|
Leafy spurge
|
Euphorbia esula
|
|
Field bindweed (Creeping Jenny)
|
Convolvulus arvensis
|
[Amended 8-3-2021 by Ord. No. 1226]
Upon written complaint by an adjoining property owner, the Weed
Commissioner, who shall also be the Facilities and Grounds Director,
and who shall have the powers established herein and under Wis. Stats.
§ 66.0517, may enforce the mowing requirement of this chapter.
All enforcement is to be commenced by mailing or serving the property
owner with a notice of violation that orders the property owner to
mow the noxious weeds or grasses within seven calendar days from receipt
of the notice. In addition, the Commissioner has authority to make
his own determination that a notice of violation should be provided
to the property owner, absent a written complaint by an adjoining
property owner.
[Amended 12-18-2012 by Ord. No. 1103]
If any person shall fail to comply with the written order, the
Weed Commissioner may cause the property to be mowed and report the
cost thereof in writing to the Treasurer in the manner provided in
Wis. Stats. § 66.0517. Such costs shall be placed on the
tax roll and charged against the property as a special tax to be collected
in the same manner as other taxes, unless the property is exempt from
taxation.
In addition to the requirement that properties be mowed to prevent
the growth or pollination of noxious weeds and grasses, the City Council
deems it to be in the interest of the general welfare of the public
to regulate nuisance or invasive weeds and grasses in accordance with
the following provisions:
A.
Nuisance or invasive weeds and grasses are defined as those non-indigenous
species or strains that tend to replace native vegetation by establishing
themselves in natural plant communities and wild areas. Nuisance or
invasive weeds and grasses include, but may not be limited to, the
following:
|
Common Name(s)
|
Latin Name(s)
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Burdock (Yellowdock)
|
Arctium lappa
| |
|
Garlic mustard
|
Alliaria petiolata
| |
|
Goatsbeard (oyster plant)
|
Tragopogon porrifolius
| |
|
Marijuana
|
Cannabis sativa
| |
|
Nettle
|
Urtica dioica
| |
|
Oxeye daisy
|
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum
| |
|
Pigweed (lambs quarters)
|
Chenopodium album
| |
|
Poison ivy
|
Rhus radicans
| |
|
Purple loosestrife
|
Lythrum salicaria
| |
|
Quackgrass
|
Bromus brizaeformis
| |
|
Ragweed (common)
|
Ambrosia artemisiifolia
| |
|
Ragweed (great)
|
Ambrosia trifida
| |
|
Spotted knapweed
|
Centaurea maculosa
| |
|
Thistle bull
|
Cirsium vulgare
| |
|
Thistle must or nodding
|
Carduus nutans
| |
|
Thistle star (caltrops)
|
Centaurea calicitrapa
| |
|
Thistle sow (field)
|
Sonchus arvensis
| |
|
Thistle sow (common)
|
Sonchus oleraceus
| |
|
Thistle sow (spiny leaved)
|
Sonchus asper
|
B.
The Weed Commissioner is authorized to add other weeds and grasses
to the list of nuisance weeds and grasses when he deems the designation
to be appropriate, given the prevalence and severity of the invasiveness
of nonindigenous species not so designated upon passage of this chapter.
Upon a written complaint by any adjoining property owner or
by the Weed Commissioner's own determination, the Commissioner may
inform the property owner of the complaint or determination and provide
written, educational materials to the property owner regarding the
harms likely to occur through the growth and proliferation of nuisance
or invasive weeds and grasses. In the case of rough, wet or wild areas
that have a proliferation of invasive or nuisance weeds or grasses,
the Commissioner may order the property owner to provide a buffer
zone of three feet between the invasive or nuisance weeds and grasses
and any adjoining property. Said order may be provided in the same
manner as are orders to enforce the mowing requirement for noxious
weeds and grasses.
