City of Reedsburg, WI Article III Administration and Enforcement

§ 690-10 General provisions.

A. Jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of this chapter shall include all lands and waters within the territorial and extraterritorial boundaries of the City of Reedsburg, Wisconsin.

B. Compliance. No structure, land, or water shall hereafter be used and no structure or part thereof except minor structures shall hereafter be located, erected, moved, reconstructed, extended, enlarged, converted or structurally altered without a zoning permit and without full compliance with the provisions of this chapter and all other applicable local, county, and state regulations.

§ 690-11 Enforcement and administration.

A. Administrative official. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the Zoning Administrator shall administer and enforce this chapter, including the receiving of applications, the inspection of premises and the issuing of building permits and certificates of compliance. No building permit or certificate of compliance shall be issued by him except where the provisions of this chapter have been complied with.

B. Board of Appeals. The Zoning Board of Appeals, as provided for in § 690-12, shall interpret this chapter and hear and review request for variances. The Zoning Board of Appeals is also referred to as the "Zoning Board" in this chapter.

C. Plan Commission. The City Plan Commission shall have the following duties and powers:

(1) Recommend to the Common Council proposed amendments to this chapter and proposed rezoning as provided for in § 690-13.

(2) Review and approve all permits and licenses before issued to any property which has been issued a certificate of nonconforming use. Fees for certificates of nonconforming use are per the current City Fee Schedule on file in the City’s offices or available on the City’s website.

[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]

(3) Review and approve conditional use.

(4) Conduct public hearing for a solar access permit, if requested, and approve permits.

(5) Review and approve planned development groups.

(6) Review and approve other matters regarding zoning as provided for in this chapter.

D. Common Council. The Common Council shall have the responsibility to approve amendments to this chapter and approve property to be rezoned. See § 690-13.

E. Building permit required. Subject to all other provisions of the Code of the City of Reedsburg, no building or structure shall be erected, added to, or structurally altered until a building permit therefor has been issued by the Zoning Administrator. All applications for such permits shall be in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and, unless upon written order of the Zoning Board of Appeals, no such building permit or certificate of compliance shall be issued for any building where said construction, addition, or alteration or use thereof would be in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter.

(1) Matter accompanying application. There shall be submitted with all applications for building permits two copies of a layout or plot plan drawn to scale showing the actual dimensions of the lot to be built upon, the exact size and location on the lot of the building and accessory buildings to be erected and such other information as may be necessary to determine and provide for the enforcement of this chapter. The Zoning Administrator may require a survey by a registered surveyor if necessary, in his opinion, to determine compliance.

(2) Payment of fee. One copy of such layout or plot plan shall be returned when approved by the Zoning Administrator together with such permit to the applicant upon the payment of a fee as provided for in Chapter 242, Building Construction.

F. Certificate of compliance.

(1) No land shall be occupied or used and no building hereafter erected, altered or extended shall be used or changed in use until a certificate of compliance shall have been issued by the Zoning Administrator, stating that the building or proposed use thereof complies with the provisions of this chapter.

(2) No nonconforming use shall be maintained, renewed, changed or extended without a certificate of compliance having first been issued by the Zoning Administrator therefor.

(3) All certificates of compliance shall be applied for coincident with the application for a building permit. Said certificate shall be issued within 30 days after the erection or alteration shall have been approved.

(4) The Zoning Administrator shall maintain a record of all certificates, and copies shall be furnished, upon request, to any person having a proprietary or tenancy interest in the building affected.

(5) No permit for excavation for, or the erection or alteration of or repairs to, any building shall be issued until an application has been made for a certificate of compliance.

(6) Under such rules and regulations as may be established by the Zoning Board of Appeals and filed with the Zoning Administrator, a temporary certificate of compliance for not more than 30 days for a part of a building may be issued by him.

G. Violations. It shall be unlawful to construct or use any structure, land, or water in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter. In case of any violations, the Common Council, the Zoning Administrator, the Plan Commission, or any property owner who would be especially damaged by such violation may institute appropriate action or proceeding to enjoin a violation of this chapter.

H. Penalties. Any person, firm, or corporation who fails to comply with the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, forfeit not less than $50 nor more than $500, and costs of prosecution, for each violation and, in default of payment of such forfeiture and costs, shall be imprisoned in the county jail until payment thereof, but not exceeding 30 days. Each day a violation exists or continues shall constitute a separate offense.

§ 690-12 Zoning Board of Appeals.

[Amended 11-10-2008]

The hearing and review of variance proposals shall be within the power and duty of the Zoning Board of Appeals. The procedures and conditions for granting a variance to this chapter shall be as provided in this § 690-12.

A. Creation, appointment and organization.

(1) The Zoning Board of Appeals is created pursuant to § 62.23(7)(e), Wis. Stats. The Board shall consist of five members appointed by the Mayor, subject to confirmation of the Common Council, for terms of three years. The members of the Board shall be removable by the Mayor for cause upon written charges and after public hearing. The Board may employ a secretary and other employees. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired terms of members whose terms become vacant. The Mayor may appoint, for staggered terms of three years, two alternate members of such Board, in addition to the five members as provided for above. Annually, the Mayor shall designate one of the alternate members as first alternate and the other as second alternate. The first alternate shall act, with full power, only when a member of the Board refuses to vote because of interest or when a member is absent. The second alternate shall so act only when the first alternate so refuses or is absent or when more than one member of the Board so refuses or is absent. The above provisions, with regard to removal and filling of vacancies, shall apply to such alternates.

[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]

(2) The Joint Extraterritorial Board of Appeals shall consist of four members appointed by the Mayor. The Mayor shall consider nominations from each town board. The members shall serve without compensation and shall be removable by the Mayor for cause upon written charges and after public hearing. The Mayor shall designate one of the members Chairperson. The Mayor shall appoint an alternate member who shall act with full power only when a member of the Joint Board of Appeals is absent or refuses to vote because of an interest. The Joint Board shall consist of:

(a) One member who is a resident of the Town of Reedsburg.

(b) One member who is a resident of the Town of Winfield.

(c) One member who is a resident of the Town of Excelsior.

(d) One member who is a resident of the City of Reedsburg.

(3) The Zoning Board of Appeals (hereinafter referring to the City Zoning Board of Appeals and the Joint Extraterritorial Board of Appeals) shall adopt rules for its government and procedure. Meetings of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall be held at the call of the Chairperson and at such other times as the Zoning Board of Appeals may determine. The Chairperson may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All meetings shall be open to the public.

(4) The Zoning Board of Appeals shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question, or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions, all of which shall be immediately filed in the office of the Zoning Board of Appeals and shall be a public record.

(5) Appeals to the Zoning Board of Appeals may be taken by any persons aggrieved or by any officer, department, board or bureau of the City, affected by any decisions of the administrative officers. Such appeal shall be taken within a reasonable time, as provided by the rules of the Zoning Board of Appeals, by filing with the officers from whom the Zoning Board of Appeals is taken and with the Zoning Board of Appeals a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. The officers from whom the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the Zoning Board of Appeals all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall fix a reasonable time for the hearing appeals and give public notice thereof as well as due notice to the parties in interest and shall decide the same within a reasonable time. Fees for an appeal are set forth in the current City Fees Schedule.

B. Powers and duties. The City of Reedsburg Zoning Board of Appeals shall have all the powers and duties prescribed by law and by this chapter, within the territorial limits of the City. The Joint Extraterritorial Board of Appeals shall have all the power and duties prescribed by law and by this chapter within the extraterritorial limits.

(1) Interpretation. Upon appeal from a decision by an administrative official to decide any question involving the interpretation of any provision of this chapter, including determination of the exact location of any district boundary if there is uncertainty with respect thereto.

(2) Variances. The Zoning Board of Appeals is authorized under current law to authorize a variance from the terms of this chapter. A use variance grants permission for a use that is not permitted by this chapter, and an area variance relaxes restrictions on dimensions, such as setback, frontage, height, bulk, density, and area. To grant a variance, the Zoning Board of Appeals must find four things:

[Amended 2-26-2018 by Ord. No. 1861-18]

(a) The variance will not be contrary to the public interest.

(b) Substantial justice will be done by granting the variance.

(c) The variance is needed so that the spirit of this chapter is observed.

(d) Due to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this chapter will result in unnecessary hardship.

(3) Variance hardship. A property owner bears the burden of proving unnecessary hardship by demonstrating either of the following:

[Added 2-26-2018 by Ord. No. 1861-18]

(a) For an area variance, that strict compliance with this chapter would unreasonably prevent the property owner from using the property for a permitted purpose or would render conformity with this chapter unnecessarily burdensome.

(b) For a use variance, that strict compliance with this chapter would leave the property owner with no reasonable use of the property in the absence of a variance. In both situations, the property owner bears the burden of proving that the unnecessary hardship is based on conditions unique to the property, rather than personal considerations, and that the unnecessary hardship was not created by the property owner.

(4) Prohibited use. Except as specifically provided, no action by the Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the effect of permitting, in any district, uses prohibited in such district.

(5) Expirations. An expiration date for a variance may be granted if that date relates to a specific date by which the action authorized by the variance must be commenced or completed. If no such ordinance is in effect at the time a variance is granted, or if the Zoning Board of Appeals does not specify an expiration date for the variance, a variance granted under this subsection does not expire unless, at the time it is granted, the Zoning Board of Appeals specifies in the variance a specific date by which the action authorized by the variance must be commenced or completed. A variance granted under this subsection runs with the land.

[Added 11-23-2015 by Ord. No. 1819-15]

C. Procedure. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall act in accordance with Wis. Stat. 62.23(6)(e), (Current through 2021 Act 257 and Acts 259-264, 266, and 267, published April 16, 2022), this chapter and any rules adopted by the board. All appeals and applications made to the board shall be in writing on forms prescribed by the board. Every appeal or application shall refer to the specific provision of this chapter involved, and shall exactly set forth the interpretation that is claimed, the use for which the special permit is sought, or the details of the variance that is applied for and the grounds on which it is claimed that the variance should be granted, as the case may be. Every decision of the Zoning Board of Appeals shall contain a full written record of the findings of the board in the particular case. The Zoning Board of Appeals shall notify, in writing, the Common Council and the Plan Commission of the City of Reedsburg or the Joint Extraterritorial Committee of each interpretation and each variance granted under the provisions of this chapter.

[Amended 10-10-2022 by Ord. No. 1945-22]

D. Notice and hearing. No action of the Board shall be taken on any case until after proper notice has been given and public hearing has been held. Proper notice of a hearing before the Board shall be, besides public notice, written notice mailed to the owner or his agent and, so far as it is practicable, written notice to parties of interest. If a quorum is present, the Zoning Board of Appeals may take action by a majority vote of the members present.

E. Rehearing. An owner of property, or his or her authorized agent, shall not file an appeal for zoning variance affecting the same parcel more often than once every 12 months. An exception to this rule may be made in those cases where the Board of Appeals determines that:

(1) Conditions affecting the property have changed substantially;

(2) The nature of the request has changed substantially from the date of the previous petition; or

(3) If the City attorney by a written opinion states that in the attorney's professional opinion, the decision made by the Zoning Board of Appeals or the procedure used in the matter was clearly erroneous.

F. Stay. An appeal shall stay all legal proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the Zoning Administrator certifies to the Zoning Board of Appeals that by reason of facts a stay would, in the Zoning Administrator's opinion, cause imminent peril of life or property. In such case, proceedings shall not be stayed otherwise than by a restraining order, which may be granted by the Zoning Board of Appeals or by a court of record on application and on due cause shown.

§ 690-13 Amendments and rezoning.

A. The Common Council may from time to time on its own motion, or on petition, or on recommendation of the Plan Commission, amend, supplement, or repeal the regulations and provisions of this chapter and change the boundaries of zoning districts. In the event that the proposed rezoning is not at the request of the municipality, the petitioner shall pay the fee per the current City Fee Schedule on file in the City's offices or available on the City's website.

[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II)]

B. Every such proposed amendment or change, whether initiated by the Common Council or by petition, shall be referred to the Plan Commission for report thereon before the public hearing hereinafter provided for.

C. The Common Council, by resolution, adopted at a stated meeting shall fix the time and place of a public hearing on the proposed amendments and cause notice to be given as follows:

(1) By publishing a Class II notice under Ch. 985, Wis. Stats..

(2) By mailing a notice thereof to parties of interest.

(3) The notice shall state the general nature of the proposed amendments as well as the text.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Original subsection (4) of the former Municipal Codebook, which contained a statutory provision now removed from § 62.23, Wis. Stats., and which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).