[Amended 2-23-2009; 1-8-2018 by Ord. No. 1853-18]
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
No person, firm or corporation, except on a farm and for farming
purposes and security fences at construction sites, shall hereafter
construct or cause to be constructed or erected within the City of
Reedsburg territorial and extraterritorial limits any fence without
first obtaining a building permit from the Building Inspector, paying
the appropriate fee as per the current City Fee Schedule on file in
the City's offices or available on the City's website and complying
with the following minimum requirements:
A.
Locations. All boundary line fences shall be located entirely on
private property of the person, firm or corporation constructing,
or causing the construction of such fence. In any case where the exact
location of any boundary line is in doubt, the applicant for a fence
permit shall submit to the Building Inspector a survey thereof prepared
by a professional land surveyor, before the fence permit is issued.
B.
Construction and maintenance. Every fence shall be constructed in
a workmanlike manner and of substantial material reasonably suited
for the purpose for which the fence is proposed to be used. Every
boundary-line fence shall be maintained in good repair and shall not
be allowed to become and remain in a condition of disrepair or constitute
a hazard or nuisance, public or private. Any fence which is dangerous
to the public safety, health, or welfare shall constitute a public
nuisance and the Building Inspector shall commence proper proceedings
for the abatement thereof.
C.
Fences shall be erected so as to locate visible supports and other
structural components toward the subject property as applicable.
D.
No fence shall be erected within two feet of any public right-of-way.
E.
In-ground swimming pools shall be enclosed with a minimum four-foot-high
fence.
F.
From the front setback line of the principal building toward the
street, the maximum height of a fence shall be four feet. In a case
where a side boundary fence is within 10 feet of a driveway, the fence
shall have a minimum fifteen-foot front setback.
G.
Fences shall allow permanent, year-round access to utility meters.
H.
Fences shall meet minimum setback distances from utility infrastructure,
as required by utility providers.
I.
Fences built within utility easements or within five feet of property
lines shall be removed at the property owner's expense should access
be required to utility infrastructure.
Electric fences shall only be permitted in any extraterritorial
A District and on extraterritorial farms in other districts when related
to farming, but not as boundary fences. Barbed-wire fences shall only
be permitted on extraterritorial farms, except as hereinafter provided.
In all residential districts, fences are permitted, subject
to the following requirements and limitations:
A.
Fences on all corner lots shall not interfere with the vision of
drivers or bicyclists.
B.
Fences may be constructed to a height of no more than six feet on
a side boundary line from the rear lot line to the front setback line
of the principal building.
C.
Fences along any rear boundary line that is also the rear boundary
line of an abutting lot shall not exceed six feet in height.
D.
Fences along a rear boundary line which line constitutes the side
lot line of an abutting lot shall not exceed six feet in height, and
shall not exceed four feet in height when abutting a front yard line.
Boundary line fences within all business districts shall not
exceed six feet in height except that the Plan Commission may grant
a permit for a fence up to eight feet in height, provided:
A.
The applicant has an approved open sales lot; or
B.
An open sales lot classified as a nonconforming use; or
C.
A commercial operation which has approved storage of equipment outside
the building; or
D.
The use could be dangerous to the public; or
E.
The use is for an unattractive nuisance and the applicant can show
that, for security reasons, a fence six feet in height will not be
adequate.
Boundary-line fences in all industrial districts shall not exceed
eight feet in height, except that:
A.
Fences which are primarily erected as a security measure may have
arms projecting into the applicant's property on which barbed wire
may be fastened, commencing at a point at least seven feet above the
ground.
B.
Fences erected within the required front yard shall not be over six
feet in height.
C.
Any use required to be screened in accordance with this section shall
be contained within an opaque fence or wall six feet high or higher
if greater height is required to screen materials being stored.
Fences for special purposes and fences differing in construction,
height or length may be permitted in any zoning district upon issuance
of a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Finding shall be made
by the Zoning Board of Appeals that the fence is necessary to protect
the property or the public before a variance is issued.
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