[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Merton as Secs. 8.02, 8.03, 8.04 and 8.06 of the Village Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 - Exhibit A, Emergency Service Sign
A. 
Section 66.0907, Wis. Stats., is adopted by reference and made a part of this chapter.
B. 
In the case of new sidewalk construction along existing streets, the actual assessment ratio shall be 100%; this shall apply as well to corner lots.
C. 
Repairs to existing sidewalks shall be assessed in full to the owner.
A. 
Before placing any stone, brick, sand, dirt, gravel, cement, lumber, plank boards or other building material, or any barrels or mortar box or any machinery, or before excavating for the purpose of water, gas or sewer upon any sidewalk, street, road or public grounds within the Village, a permit so to do shall first be obtained from the Building Inspector.
B. 
No fee shall be charged for said permit for the first 15 days immediately following the date of permit, but after the expiration of said 15 days, the fee for such permit shall be $25 for the first month and $10 per month thereafter.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III)]
C. 
Such permit shall expire at the end of a reasonable length of time, which shall be specified in the permit, and upon good cause shown the Building Inspector shall extend any such permit from time to time as may be reasonably required upon written application made to him for that purpose.
D. 
No such permit shall be issued where use or the placing of any such material or machinery or other thing upon the street, road or public ground will unreasonably interfere with the public safety and convenience or where there is sufficient room for such material or machinery on the same lot or premises which is accessible from any street, alley or road. No more than 1/3 of the highway between curblines shall in any event be occupied for the placing or storing of any such material, machinery or other thing; and no part of the sidewalk, parkway or curb shall be utilized for the placing or storage of building materials.
E. 
All materials placed upon any street, alley or road shall be piled in a compact form and, in case of permanently improved streets or roads, there shall be placed a level plank floor under all brick, tile, stone or cement blocks. All accumulations of rubbish upon the sidewalk, street, alley or road shall be cleaned up every day at the close of working hours and also on the expiration of the permit or, if the work of construction is completed before the permit expires, then on the completion of the work all material and rubbish of any kind shall be removed and the sidewalk, street, alley or road left in good condition, clean and in good repair.
F. 
The person or persons to whom any such permit shall be granted shall cause such material or machinery placed in the street, alley or road to be properly barricaded by day and each separate pile of material properly barricaded by night and properly lighted in such manner as to warn all persons traveling upon the sidewalk, street, alley or road of the presence of such material or machinery.
G. 
If any such material or machinery shall not be removed from the street, road, alley or public grounds within the time required in the building permit, the Building Inspector or police agency shall cause such material or machinery to be removed, and the cost thereof shall be charged against and collected from the owner of the premises for whose benefit such permit was issued, and the person obtaining such permit shall be independently liable also for the penalty hereinafter prescribed for a violation of the provisions of this chapter.
H. 
Any such material or machinery or other thing placed in a street, road, alley or public grounds shall be removed upon 24 hours' notice given by the Building Inspector.
I. 
Application for a permit to place material, machinery or other things connected with building purposes in a street, road, alley or public ground shall be in writing and shall describe the premises by lot, block, street and street number, if any, in front of which such material, machinery or other thing connected with building purposes is desired to be placed, and shall specify the character of the material for which the permit is desired.
J. 
Before a permit is granted, the applicant therefor shall execute to the Village and deliver to the Building Inspector a bond of undertaking in the sum of $5,000 with surety or sureties to be approved by the Village Attorney, conditioned upon the faithful performance by the applicant or his agent of all of the obligations imposed by this section and further conditioned to save the Village harmless from any liability due to the doing of any act by applicant or his agents during performance of the work for conformance to this section or to the terms of the permit.
A. 
Obstructions and encroachments prohibited. No person shall encroach upon or in any way obstruct or encumber any street, alley, sidewalk, public grounds or land dedicated to public use, or any part thereof, or permit such encroachment or encumbrance to be placed or remain on any public way adjoining the premises of which he is the owner or occupant, except as provided in Subsection B.
B. 
The prohibition of Subsection A shall not apply to the following:
(1) 
Signs and clocks attached to buildings which project not more than six feet from the face of such building and which do not extend below any point 10 feet above the sidewalk, street or alley.
(2) 
Awnings which do not extend below any point seven feet above the sidewalk, street or alley.
(3) 
Public utility encroachments duly authorized by state law or by the Village Board.
(4) 
Goods, wares, merchandise or fixtures being loaded or unloaded, which do not extend more than three feet on a sidewalk, provided such goods, wares, etc., do not remain thereon for more than three hours.
(5) 
Building materials permitted under § 198-2 of this chapter.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original subsection (f) of this section, concerning street use permit, which immediately followed this subsection, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III).
A. 
Establishment. The grade of all curb and gutters shall be established and described by the Village Board and the same recorded by the Village Clerk. No curb or gutter shall be worked until the grade thereof is established.
B. 
Alteration of grade prohibited. No person shall alter the grade of any curb or gutter or any part thereof unless authorized or instructed to do so by the Village Board.
C. 
Abutting owner to construct and maintain curb and gutter. The abutting property owner on crowned streets only shall build, repair, construct and perpetually maintain curb and gutter along or upon any street in the Village and shall pay the entire cost thereof; except that, on corner residential and industrial lots, the Village shall pay 50% of said cost attributable to that portion of curb and gutter which extends along the short side of any such lot and except that, on lots abutting on two streets, and which lots cannot be divided under Village zoning regulations, the owner shall be assessed only for that portion of said lot which constitutes the frontage. On curved, crowned streets the abutting property owner shall pay the entire cost of such construction and maintenance.
D. 
Resolution of Board. Whenever the Village Board shall by resolution determine that curb and gutter be laid, removed, replaced, repaired, lowered or raised along or upon any public street, alley or highway within the Village, it shall notify the abutting owner or owners to lay, remove, replace, repair, raise, or lower said curb and gutter.
E. 
Notice.
(1) 
Service. Such notice shall be in writing and shall be served personally on the owner or his agent; and in case the owner or agent cannot be found, such notice shall be published in the official newspaper and a copy thereof mailed to the owner's last known address.
(2) 
Contents of notice. Such notice shall specify that the curb and gutter be rebuilt, repaired, raised, lowered or constructed in accordance with Subsection F and, in the event of repair, shall direct the owner to repair the same within 24 hours of the service of the notice, or to rebuild, raise or lower the curb and gutter or build a new curb and gutter within 20 days after such service.
F. 
Specifications. All curb and gutter shall be repaired, rebuilt and constructed in accordance with specifications established by the Village, which shall be on file for inspection in the Village Clerk's office.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III)]
G. 
Failure of owner to comply with notice. Whenever any abutting owner shall fail to rebuild, repair, raise or lower or construct any curb and gutter within the time required by notice from the Village Board, the Village Board shall cause such work to be done at the expense of such owner, and the cost thereof shall be assessed against such owner and shall constitute a lien on the property affected from the date of ordering of such work and shall be entered on the tax roll as a special tax against such property and collected in all respects like other taxes upon real estate.
H. 
Curb and gutter permits.
(1) 
When required. No person shall lay, remove, replace, raise, lower or repair any curb and gutter without first obtaining a permit therefor from the Village Engineer unless ordered to do such work in accordance with Subsection E.
(2) 
Fee. The fee for such curb and gutter permit shall be as set forth on the current Village Fee Schedule and shall be paid to the Village Clerk at the time of application.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III)]
(3) 
Application and issuance. The Village Engineer shall receive all such permits.
A. 
The owner, occupant or person in charge of each building or lot in the Village abutting upon a sidewalk shall clear the sidewalk of snow or ice to the width of the sidewalk within six daylight hours after cessation of the snowfall and cause the same to be kept cleared of snow or ice, provided that, if ice has so formed that it cannot be removed, such person shall keep the sidewalk sprinkled with ashes, sawdust or sand, providing also that, if the snow continues to fall for some time, it shall be removed immediately after it shall cease to fall.
B. 
If the snow or ice is not removed as provided in this section, the Village shall, without notice, have the snow or ice removed and charge the owner, occupant or person in charge for the expense; expenses remaining unpaid 10 days after billing shall be entered upon the assessment roll of general Village taxes and collected in the same manner as other Village taxes.
C. 
No person shall deposit any snow or ice on any public sidewalk, street or right-of-way in the Village.
D. 
No person shall place snow upon any public street after the same has been cleared of snow in such a manner as to obstruct or interfere with free movement of traffic upon the street or interfere with or obstruct the use of any parking place provided upon the streets.
[Added 9-7-2017 by Ord. No. 181; amended 3-22-2018 by Ord. No. 182]
A. 
Required. Uniform emergency service signs are required to be placed at the driveway entrance to all properties or at the intersection of private roads with main highways. Signs shall be placed initially by the contractor retained by the Village, with the cost being paid by the Village. Replacement of signs shall be the obligation of the property owner and shall be at the owner's expense.
B. 
Style. Signs shall be 18 inches by six inches, with blue reflective background and white reflective numeric characters and border for the assigned address.
C. 
Installation. Posts shall be a 6 1/2-foot blue galvanized steel channel post installed not less than 18 inches into the ground and no higher than five feet and no lower than four feet. Posts shall be used for address identification only. No other signs shall be placed on the address post.
D. 
Primary location. See Exhibit A.[1]
(1) 
Primary and secondary installation zones. Signs shall be installed approximately two feet to 15 feet from either side of the driveway, with the priority side of the driveway being the side the house is on, or the opposite side of the driveway being the first alternate location. Signs shall be installed within the right-of-way, no more than 15 feet off the pavement or back edge of the curb and gutter.
(2) 
Preferred installation location. The primary location for sign installation shall be as close to two feet from the edge of pavement or back of curb and two feet from the side of the driveway on the house side of the driveway as possible. In all cases, signs shall be installed in the road right-of-way no greater than 15 feet from the edge of the street pavement. Preference will be given to a homeowner's marked location, provided it is within the allowable zone for signs pursuant to this Subsection D.
[1]
Editor's Note: Exhibit A, Emergency Service Sign, is an attachment to this chapter.
E. 
Alternate location.
(1) 
During initial installation. Alternative locations may be determined by the Fire Chief if necessary due to foliage, lot line boundaries, the presence of utilities, or other obstructions that would compromise the effectiveness of the sign if installed in either the priority side or opposite side of the driveway. In the HD District only, an alternate location will allow for affixing the sign to a building (second alternate).
(2) 
After initial installation. A subdivision must submit a letter to the Village Board which will be a formal request for an alternative sign location, such as a mailbox or lamppost. The request shall include the addresses and signatures of every property owner in the subdivision, including the developer if they still own lots in the subdivision. If there is still an active homeowners' association, the HOA must approve the alternate location. The alternative location must be clearly defined.
(3) 
Alternative sign location changes by a petitioner/HOA/subdivision require approval by the Village Board by motion after the written review and approval of the Fire Chief. The Fire Chief will determine if all lots in the subdivision qualify for an alternate sign location.
(a) 
Once approved, the property owner shall bear the expense of mounting hardware and installation costs.
(b) 
Once approved, it is up to the petitioner/HOA/subdivision representative to contact Diggers Hotline before reinstallation occurs.
(c) 
Once approved, petitioner/HOA must inform all property owners in writing of the requirements for a uniform location, mounting and installation in the alternative location as well as the consequences of removing the signs.
(4) 
After the initial installation, a homeowner may request the address sign to be relocated within the allowable zone. The sign must not be relocated without the written review and approval of the Fire Chief. Diggers Hotline should be contacted before reinstallation.
F. 
The Village shall employ a contractor of its choosing to perform the installation of the new emergency service signs installed in the primary location (§ 198-6D). Signs installed in an alternate location requested pursuant to § 198-6E(2) shall be installed by and at the expense of the property owner/petitioner/HOA within 90 days of the alternate location's approval by the Village Board as required by § 198-6E(3).
G. 
All new construction subsequent to the adoption of this section shall pay a separate fee for the address number installation on said property at the time of obtaining a building permit. This fee shall be established through a separate Village resolution.
H. 
Private roads shall be marked with Village-installed signs at the intersection of the private road and the Village road and at the primary location set forth in Subsection D. Summary signs at the intersection of the private road and the Village road shall be at the cost of the Village.
I. 
Unique properties. Multifamily units in single structures shall have only an address sign at the access drive. Business sites with multiple units shall have one sign or summary sign at the intersection of the access drive and the Village road.
J. 
Maintenance. Property owners shall maintain the address numbers located on their properties in good and visible condition at all times. No property owner may remove or change the placement location of the sign after installation without meeting the requirements of § 198-6E of this chapter. Maintenance shall include keeping the address numbers clear of organic growth, debris and other impediments so as to preserve a direct line of sight from the roadway. Address numbers must be clearly legible.
K. 
Replacement/new construction. The Village shall install replacement address numbers for a property owner at the property owner's expense. The property owner shall be charged the current fee for replacement signs or signs for new construction. The cost for a new/replacement sign shall be paid to the Village Clerk within 30 days of the date of installation of the new/replacement sign. In the event the special charge is not fully paid, the delinquent special charge shall become a lien on the property and shall be included in the current or next tax roll for collection as allowed by § 66.0627(4), Wis. Stats. The special charge shall be established through a separate Village resolution. The Village shall install replacement address numbers for property owners at the Village's expense in the event of loss or damage to any numbers caused by the Village.
L. 
Administration.
(1) 
The Village Clerk, the Clerk's designee, or other person designated by the Village Board shall be responsible for maintaining the numbering system.
(2) 
The Village Clerk shall keep a record of all address numbers assigned. The Village Clerk shall maintain a plat book and/or map showing the addresses of all parcels in the Village.
(3) 
Upon payment of building permit/building bond refund, the Building Inspector will assign order and arrange installation of an address sign at said property. The Fire Chief shall monitor the placement and the condition of installed signs and posts, and when necessary advise the Village Clerk of the necessity to replace damaged signs or posts or correct unacceptable sign locations. The Fire Chief in cooperation with the Superintendent of Parks and Highways will ensure that the Village Clerk will be given the new address of said property for the Village's and county's records.
[Added 3-21-2024 by Ord. No. 215]
In order to preserve the safety, health and welfare of all Village property owners or renters and to provide for adequate on-street parking in the Village's commercial district, it shall be unlawful for any resident to install a mailbox on Main Street from the intersection of Sussex Road to Essential Drive.