Town of Rome, WI Terminology; Construal of Provisions

The following rules of construction apply to this chapter: The particular shall control the general. In case of any difference of meaning or implication between the text of this chapter and any caption or illustration, the text shall control; the word "shall" is always mandatory whereas the word "may" is permissive; words used in the present tense shall include the future, and words used with singular number shall include the plural, and the plural the singular, unless the context clearly indicates the contrary; "building" or "structure" includes any part thereof; the phrase "used for" includes "arranged for," the word "person" includes an individual, a corporation, a partnership, an incorporated association, or any other similar entity; unless the context clearly indicates the contrary, where a regulation involves two or more items, conditions, provisions, or events connected by the conjunction "and," "either" or "or" the conjunction shall be interpreted as follows: "and" indicates that all the connected items, conditions, provisions or events shall apply; "or" indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions, or events may apply singly or in any combination; "either/or" indicates that the connected items, conditions, provisions or events shall apply singly but not in combination; all measured distances shall be to the nearest integral foot, if a fraction is 1/2 foot or more, the integral foot next above shall be taken; the masculine gender includes the feminine and neuter.

Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meaning indicated:

ABUTTING

Have a common property line or district line.

ACCESSORY BUILDING

A detached building located on the same lot with a principal building and generally used for storage, as a private garage or for another use customarily incidental to the use of the principal building.

ACCESSORY USE

A use customarily incidental and accessory to the principal use of a lot or parcel, or building or structure on the same lot or parcel as the principal use.

ADDITION

New construction performed on a building which increases the outside dimensions of the dwelling.

AGRICULTURE

The use of land for agricultural purposes, including farming, dairying, pasturage, agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture, and animal and poultry husbandry, and the necessary accessory uses for packing, treating, or storing the produce; provided, however, that the operation of any such accessory uses shall be secondary to that of the normal agricultural activities.

ALLEY

A public right-of-way which normally affords a secondary means of vehicular access to abutting property.

ALTERATION

A substantial change or modification other than an addition or minor repair to a building or to systems involved within a building.

ANIMAL UNIT

One animal unit shall be defined as being equivalent to the following: one steer; one beef cow; one dairy cow; one swine; one horse or pony; two heifers; two llamas; four calves; four sheep; four goats; 25 chickens; 25 rabbits or other fur-bearing animal; 20 ducks; 20 turkeys or other large poultry. For animals not listed, the Zoning Administrator shall determine the animal unit value based on similarity to the above and animal body weight.

APARTMENT

A room or suite of rooms in a multiple-family structure, which is arranged, designed, used or intended to be used as a single housekeeping unit. Complete kitchen facilities, permanently installed, must always be included for each apartment.

ASSEMBLY

When used in describing an industrial operation, the fitting or joining of parts of a mechanism by means of fasteners, nuts and bolts, screws, glue, welding or other similar technique. "Assembly" shall not include the construction, stamping or reshaping of any of the component parts.

BASEMENT

That portion of a building below the first floor or ground floor with its entire floor below grade.

BLOCK

An area of land within a subdivision that is entirely bounded by a combination or combinations of streets, exterior boundary lines of the subdivision, streams or water bodies or other recognized lines of demarcation.

BUILDING

Any structure built for the support, shelter or enclosure of persons, animals, chattels or movable property of any kind, and which is permanently affixed to the land. When any portion thereof is completely separated from every other portion by masonry or fire wall without any window, which wall extends from the ground to the roof, then such portion shall be deemed to be a separate building.

BUILDING HEIGHT

The vertical distance from the average grade to the highest point of the building.

BUILDING PERMIT

Permit issued by the Building Inspector allowing commencement of project construction.

BUILDING SETBACK LINE

A line parallel with the lot line at a distance perpendicular to it, regulated by the yard requirements set up in this Code.

BUILDING WIDTH

For manufactured or mobile homes, the width shall be determined by the width listed on the title for the building or the invoice provided by the manufacturer. For all other buildings, the width of a building shall be determined by the horizontal distance from the outer edge of the sidewall on one side of the building to the outer edge of the sidewall on the opposite side of the building. The roof overhang shall not be included in the calculation of the building width.

BUILDING, PRINCIPAL

A nonaccessory building in which is conducted the principal use of the lot on which it is located.

BUSINESS

An occupation, employment or enterprise, which occupies time, labor and materials, or wherein merchandise is exhibited or sold, or where services are offered, however, not including hobbies and home occupations.

CAMPGROUND

Any parcel or tract of land owned by a person, the state or a local government, which is designed, maintained, intended or used for the purpose of providing sites for nonpermanent overnight use by four or more camping units, or by one to three camping units if the parcel or tract of land is represented as a campground.

CANOPY

A freestanding structure, with a roof supported by collapsible columns or posts embedded in the ground and usually used to shelter a picnic table or outdoor furniture. A canopy may have unenclosed sides or its sides may be covered by an opaque, translucent or transparent fabric of natural or synthetic material.

[Added 2-16-2023 by Ord. No. 23-03]

CARPORT (FREESTANDING/DETACHED)

A roofed structure made of canvas, aluminum, or similar materials, or any combination thereof, on movable framing for the shade and shelter of one or more motorized vehicles.

[Added 2-16-2023 by Ord. No. 23-03]

CARPORT (LAND USE)

A roofed structure used for the purpose of providing shelter for one or more motorized vehicles that is attached to the principal structure and that has at least two sides completely unenclosed, and subject to all applicable UDC requirements.

[Added 2-16-2023 by Ord. No. 23-03]

CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION

Any benevolent, philanthropic, patriotic or eleemosynary person, partnership, association or corporation, or one purporting to be such, including Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H Clubs and school organizations; and religious organizations.

CLUB

An association for some common purpose, but not including a group organized for or which is actually engaged in rendering a service, which is customarily carried on as a business. A roadhouse or tavern shall not be construed as a club.

CONDITIONAL USES

Uses of a special nature as to make impractical their predetermination as a principal use in a district.

CUL-DE-SAC

A street having but one end open to traffic and the other end being terminated in a vehicular turnaround.

DAY-CARE OR CHILD-CARE FACILITY

Shall have the same definition as contained in § 48.65(1), Wis. Stats.

DETERIORATION

The condition or appearance of a building or structure, or part thereof, characterized by breaks, holes, rot, crumbling, cracking, peeling, rusting, inadequate paint, or other evidence of decay.

DEVELOPMENT

Any artificial change to improved or unimproved real estate, including, but not limited to, the construction of buildings, structures or accessory structures; the construction of additions or substantial improvements to buildings, structures or accessory structures; the placement of building or structures; mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavation or drilling operations; and the storage, deposition or extraction of materials, public or private sewerage disposal systems or water supply facilities.

DISPOSAL

Includes, but is not limited to, unloading, throwing away, discarding, emptying, abandoning, discharging, burning, spreading onto open fields, land spreading or burying waste, garbage, refuse, or sludge on, into, or under any property or lands whether publicly or privately owned within the Town of Rome.

DISTRICT, OVERLAY

Also referred to herein as "regulatory areas"; provide for the possibility of superimposing certain additional requirements upon a basic zoning district without disturbing the requirements of the basic district. In the instance of conflicting requirements, the stricter of the conflicting requirements shall apply.

DWELLING

Any building which has the primary purpose of human habitation and which contains one or two dwelling units.

DWELLING UNIT

A structure, or that part of a structure, which is used or intended to be used as a home, residence or sleeping place by one or more persons maintaining a common household, to the exclusion of all others.

DWELLING, MULTIPLE-FAMILY

A residential building designed for or occupied by three or more families, with the number of families in residence not to exceed the number of dwelling units provided.

DWELLING, SINGLE-FAMILY

A detached building designed for or occupied by one family.

ELEVATED STRUCTURE

A structure, or component thereof, which is covered or partially covered and which has at least three walls or sides, and is not entirely located on the ground. Elevated structures may be attached to the ground or located on and supported by a tree, such as a tree house.

[Added 3-18-2021 by Ord. No. 21-06]

EROSION

The detachment and movement of soil, sediment or rock fragments by water, wind, ice or gravity.

EROSION CONTROL

A practice or a combination of practices implemented to prevent or reduce erosion and the resulting deposition of soil, sediment or rock fragments into waters of the state, public sewers or off the owner's land. These procedures include, but are not limited to, silt or filter fences, straw or hay bales, tarps or riprap, berms, sediment basins or vegetative strips.

FARM

An area of land devoted to the production of field or truck crops, livestock or livestock products, which constitute the major use of such property.

FARMING

The operation of a farm owned or rented by the operator.

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

A bank, credit union, savings and loan or other business providing conventional financial services that is regulated by the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

FINE

The equivalent of the word "forfeiture," and vice versa.

FRANCHISE ARCHITECTURE

Buildings which follow the prototypical corporate design standards and present an appearance which is repeated without regard to regional, local and site appearance conditions.

FRONTAGE

The smallest dimension of a lot abutting a public street measured along the street right-of-way line. For lots abutting a lake or stream, the smallest dimension measured along the shoreline.

GARAGE

An enclosed or unenclosed structure used for storing motorized vehicles.

GARBAGE

All waste, animal, fish, fowl or vegetable matter incidental to and resulting from the use, preparation and storage of food for human consumption.

GAZEBO

A detached, freestanding, open-air, roofed structure supported by non-collapsible columns or posts and intended to be used for outdoor living activities. Such gazebo shall meet height, setback and ground area coverage for accessory structures as set forth elsewhere in this code and shall not contain any of the following: sleeping facilities, restrooms, shower facilities, or kitchen.

[Added 2-16-2023 by Ord. No. 23-03]

GOODS

Personal property of any kind and shall include goods provided incidental to services offered or sold.

GRADE

The average level of the finished surface of the ground adjacent to the exterior walls of the building or structure.

IMPROVEMENT, PUBLIC

Any sanitary sewer, storm sewer, open channel, water main, roadway, park, parkway, public access, sidewalk, pedestrianway, planting strip or other facility for which the Town may ultimately assume the responsibility for maintenance and operation.

IRREVOCABLE LETTER OF CREDIT

An agreement entered into by a bank, credit union, savings and loan or other financial institution which is insured by the FDIC and which is authorized to do business in the State of Wisconsin and which has a financial standing acceptable to the Town of Rome and which is approved, as to form, by the Town Attorney.

JUNK OR SALVAGE YARD

An area consisting of buildings, structures or premises where junk waste and discarded or salvage materials are brought, sold, exchanged, stored, baled, packed, disassembled or handled, including automobile wrecking yards, house wrecking and structural steel materials, equipment yards, scrap iron and other metals, paper, rags, rubber tires, and bottles. A "junkyard" includes an auto-wrecking yard, but not including the purpose or storage of used furniture and household equipment or used cars in operable condition.

LIVESTOCK

Domestic farm animals, such as cattle, horses, sheep, poultry and pigs.

LOT

A parcel of land. A lot may be a parcel designated in a plat or described in a conveyance recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds, or any part of a large parcel when such part complies with the requirements of this chapter as to width and area for the district in which it is located.

LOT LINE

A property boundary line of any lot held in single or separate ownership, except that where any portion of the lot extends into the abutting street or alley, the lot line shall be deemed to be the abutting street or alley right-of-way line.

MANUFACTURED HOME PARK

Any park, court, site, lot, parcel or tract of land designed, maintained, intended or used for the purpose of supplying a location or accommodations for two or more mobile homes or manufactured homes and shall include all buildings used or intended for use as part of the equipment thereof, whether or not a charge is made for the use of the mobile home park and its facilities. Mobile home parks shall not include automobile, mobile or manufactured home sales lots on which unoccupied mobile or manufactured homes are parked for purposes of inspection and sale.

MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT

Equipment, devices and accessories, the use of which is used for heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and similar purposes.

MINING

(1)

Operations or activities at a mining site for the extraction from the earth of minerals for sale or use by the operator. Mining includes use of mining equipment or techniques to remove materials from the in-place mineral deposit, including drilling and blasting, as well as associated activities such as excavation, grading and dredging. Mining does not include removal from the earth of products or commodities that contain only minor or incidental amounts of nonmetallic minerals, such as commercial sod, agricultural crops, ornamental or garden plants, forest products, Christmas trees or plant nursery stock.

(2)

Processes carried out at mining sites that are related to the preparation or processing of the mineral(s) obtained from the mining site. These processes include, but are not limited to stockpiling of materials, blending mineral aggregates or minerals with other mineral aggregates or minerals, blasting, grading, crushing, screening, scalping, washing and dewatering.

MUNICIPALITY

Any city, village, town or county.

NATIVE PLANTS

Any plant species with a geographic distribution indigenous to the Town. Plant species indigenous to areas outside the township and introduced by humans are not native vegetation.

NONCONVENTIONAL FINANCING BUSINESS

A business that is not subject to regulation by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and which provides one or more of the following services as its primary function:

(1)

Car title loans.

(2)

Cash advances.

(3)

Check cashing for a fee.

(4)

Payday loans.

(5)

Signature loans.

(6)

Other forms of nonconventional financial services.

NONCONFORMING STRUCTURE

Any structure conforming in respect to use but not in respect to frontage, width, height, area, yard, parking, loading, or distance requirements shall be considered a nonconforming structure and not a nonconforming use.

NONCONFORMING USE

Any building or land lawfully occupied by a use at the effective date of a Town ordinance or amendment thereto which does not conform after passage with the requirements of the ordinance or amendment.

OCCUPANCY

Pertains to and is the purpose for which a building is used or intended to be used.

OCCUPANT

Any person occupying or having use of a building, structure, premises of any part thereof.

OPERATOR

Operator shall mean any person who has charge, care or control of a building, structure or premises or part thereof.

OWNER

Includes the plural as well as the singular and may mean either a natural person, firm, association, partnership, private corporation, public or quasi-public corporation, or combination of these who shall hold title to a building, structure or property, or who shall be in actual possession of, or have charge, or control of building, structure, or property as agent of the title holder, or who shall be trustee or guardian of the estate or person of the title holder.

PARK

All grounds, structures and watercourses which are or may be located within any area dedicated to the public use as a park, parkway, public boat landing, public lake access, recreation facility or conservancy district in the Town.

PARK, AMUSEMENT

An area publicly or privately owned, containing amusement and recreational facilities and devices, whether operated for profit or not.

PARKING LOT

Any public or private land area where motor vehicles are parked or stored temporarily, but not including the wrecking of automobile or other vehicles or storage for the purpose of repair or wrecking.

PARKING SPACE

A graded and surfaced area of not less than 180 square feet in area, either enclosed or open, for the parking of a motor vehicle, having adequate ingress and egress to a public street or alley.

PARTIES IN INTEREST

Includes all abutting property owners, all property owners within 200 feet, and all property owners of opposite frontages.

PERGOLA

A horizontal trellis or framework, supported on posts, and having at least 50% of its roof open to the sky.

[Added 2-16-2023 by Ord. No. 23-03]

PERSON

Includes a corporation, firm partnership, association, organization and any other group acting as a unit as well as individuals, including a personal representative, receiver or other representative appointed according to law. Whenever the term "person" is used in any section of this chapter prescribing a penalty or fine, as to partnerships or associations, the work shall include the partners or members thereof, and as to corporations, shall include the officers, agents or members thereof who are responsible for any violation of such section.

PLAT

The map, drawing or chart on which the subdivider's plat of subdivision is presented to the Town for approval.

PLAY STRUCTURE

A detached structure which can be or is intended to be used by minors to engage in commonly accepted play activities.

[Added 3-18-2021 by Ord. No. 21-06]

PROFESSIONAL OFFICE

The office of a doctor, practitioner, dentist, minister, architect, landscape architect, professional engineer, lawyer, author, musician, or other recognized profession.

PUBLIC NUISANCE

A thing, act, occupation, condition or use of property, which shall continue for such length of time as to substantially annoy, injure or endanger the comfort, health, repose or safety of the public; in any way render the public insecure in life or in the use of property; greatly offend the public morals or decency; unlawfully and substantially interfere with, obstruct or tend to obstruct or render dangerous for passage any street, alley, highway, navigable body of water or other public way or the use of public property.

RECYCLING

A process by which waste products, such as metal cans, scrap metal, paper or glass are reduced to raw materials for transformation into new and different products. For the purpose of this Zoning Code, recycling does not include the reclamation of sewage sludge, food wastes and other organic materials.

REFUSE

Refuse is combustible and noncombustible discarded material including, but not limited to, trash, rubbish, paper, wood, metal, glass, plastic, rubber, cloth, ashes, litter and street rubbish, industrial waste, dead animal tissue, blood or parts, mine tailings, gravel pit and quarry spoils, and material and debris resulting from construction or demolition.

RESORT CABIN

A seasonal or year-round transient dwelling unit.

RETAIL TRADE

Uses primarily engaged in selling merchandise to the general public for personal or household consumption and rendering services incidental to the sale of goods. "Retail trade" shall not include pawnshops or thrift stores.

[Added 4-16-2020 by Ord. No. 20-04]

SATELLITE DISH

An apparatus capable of receiving communications from a transmitter or a transmitter relay located in a planetary orbit. They are also commonly referred to as disks, satellite communications systems or home earth stations.

SCREENING

A structure or planting which conceals from view of public ways and neighboring properties the area behind such structure or planting.

SERVICE AREA

The geographical area where the Town provides a service.

SETBACK

The minimum allowable distance from a given point or line of reference, such as a thoroughfare right-of-way, waterline, or prospective line to the furthest projection element of a building or structure.

SIGN

Any medium, including its structure, words, letters, figures, numerals, phrases, sentences, emblems, devices, designs, trade names or trademarks by which anything is made known and which are used to advertise or promote an individual, firm, association, corporation, profession, business, commodity or product and which is visible from any public street or highway.

SINGLE- OR TWO-FAMILY DWELLING

A building structure which contains one, two or separate households intended to be used as a home, residence or sleeping place.

SITE PLAN

A plan prepared to scale, showing accurately and with complete dimensioning the boundaries of a site and the location of all buildings, structures, uses, and principal site design features proposed for a specific parcel of land.

SLUDGE

Sewage treatment residue, residue which represents waste material generated from the industrial or commercial slaughtering of farm animals which residue is in any form whatsoever, whether solid or semisolid or liquid.

SQUARE FOOTAGE

The building ground floor area outside the walls. Open or wall-less structures are determined by measuring the dimensions outside of the support poles.

STREET

Any public highway or alley and shall mean the entire width between the boundary lines of any public way where any part thereof is open to the public for purposes of vehicular traffic.

STRUCTURE

Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires a more or less permanent location in or on the premises, or any other attachment to something having a permanent location on the ground, which includes, but is not limited to, objects such as buildings, mobile homes, gas or liquid storage tanks, bridges, culverts, decks, fences, satellite dishes or swimming pools.

TOWN

The Town of Rome, Adams County, Wisconsin, or any duly appointed designate thereof, including, but not limited to, the Town Board and Town committees.

TOWN BOARD or BOARD

The present governing body of the Town or any successors to the legislative power of said body, or any duly appointed designate thereof.

TOWN STAFF

Zoning Administrator, Police Chief, Fire Chief, Highway Commissioner and any other professional engaged by the Town on a temporary, part-time or full-time basis.

USE

The purpose or activity, for which the land or building thereof is designed, arranged or intended, or for which it is occupied or maintained.

USE, PERMITTED

A use which may be lawfully established in a particular zoning district or districts provided it conforms with all requirements, regulations, and standards of such district.

UTILITIES

Public and private facilities, such as water wells, water and sewage pumping stations, water storage tanks, electrical power substations, static transformer stations, telephone and telegraph exchanges, microwave radio relays and gas regulation stations, inclusive of associated transmission facilities but not including sewage disposal plants, municipal incinerators, warehouses, shops, storage yards and power plants.

VEHICLE

A motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer or mobile home, whether or not such vehicle is registered under Wisconsin Law.

VISION TRIANGLE

A triangular space which permits an unobstructed view at the inter section of highways or streets with other highways, streets or roads to or at the intersection of highways or streets with railroads.

WASTE

Garbage, refuse, and all other discarded or salvageable material, including materials resulting from industrial, commercial, and agricultural operations and from domestic use and public service activities.

WOODLANDS CHARACTER

The feeling associated with central Wisconsin based on a unique identity and other memorable qualities in which the image of development provides the observer with strong visual and experiential images and lacks dominant urban and suburban visual characteristics.

YARD

An open space on a lot which is unoccupied and unobstructed by buildings from its lowest level to the sky.

YARD, FRONT

A yard extending along the full length of the front lot line between the side lot lines.

YARD, REAR

A yard extending along the full length of the rear lot line between the side lot lines.

YARD, SIDE

A yard extending along a side lot line from the front yard to the rear yard.

YARD, STREET

A yard extending across the full width of the lot, the depth of which shall be the minimum horizontal distance between the existing or proposed street or highway line and a line parallel thereto through the nearest point of the principal structure. Corner lots shall have two such yards.

ZONING PERMIT

A permit issued by the Zoning Administrator that verifies that a specified use is permitted at the location and that the lot size and width requirements and the setback and yard requirements have been complied with. The zoning permit does not verify that structural components of a building comply with the Building Code.[1] Such verification is typically certified by issuance of a building permit.

[1]

Editor's Note: See Ch. 142, Building Construction.