[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of
the City of Rice Lake as Title 8, Chapter 1 of the Code of Ordinances.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Amended 6-24-1997 by Ord. No. 844]
The Common Council may make reasonable and general rules for the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter and for the prevention of the creation of health nuisances and the protection of the public health and welfare and may, where appropriate, require the issuance of licenses and permits. All such regulations shall have the same effect as ordinances, and any person violating any of such regulations and any lawful order of the Council shall be subject to Chapter 1, General Provisions, § 1-20, General penalty.
[Amended 6-24-1997 by Ord. No. 844]
A.
Abatement of human health hazards. The Inspection
Department, together with the Common Council, may abate human health
hazards in accordance with W.S.A. s. 254.59, which is adopted by reference
and made a part of this chapter as if fully set forth herein.
B.
Communicable diseases. Chapter 252 of the Wisconsin
statutes and Chapter HSS 145 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code
are adopted by reference and made a part of this chapter, and the
Health Officer and the Common Council shall enforce the provisions
thereof.
A.
Sanitary requirements. All structures, pens, buildings,
stables, coops or yards wherein animals or fowl are kept shall be
maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, free of rodents, vermin
and objectionable odors.
B.
Animals excluded from food-handling establishments.
No person shall take or permit to remain any dog, cat or other live
animal on or upon any premises where food is sold, offered for sale
or processed for consumption by the general public.
No person shall deposit or cause to be deposited
in any public street or on any public ground or on any private property
not his own any refuse, garbage, litter, waste material or liquid
or any other objectionable material or liquid. When any such material
is placed on the person's own private property, it shall be properly
enclosed and covered so as to prevent the same from becoming a public
nuisance.
A.
The Clerk-Treasurer shall annually, on or before May
15, publish as required by state law a notice that every person is
required by law to destroy all noxious weeds on lands in the city
which he owns, occupies or controls. A joint notice with other towns
or municipalities may be utilized.
B.
If the owner or occupant shall neglect to destroy
any weeds as required by such notice, then the Weed Commissioner of
the city shall give five days' written notice by mail to the owner
or occupant of any lands upon which the weeds shall be growing to
the effect that said Weed Commissioner, after the expiration of the
five-day period, will proceed to destroy or cause to be destroyed
all such weeds growing upon said lands and that the cost thereof will
be assessed as a tax upon the lands upon which such weeds are located
under the provisions of W.S.A. s. 66.96. In case the owner or occupant
shall further neglect to comply with such five-day notice, then the
Weed Commissioner shall destroy such weeds or cause them to be destroyed
in the manner deemed to be the most economical method, and the expense
thereof, including the cost of billing and other necessary administrative
expenses, shall be charged against such lots and be collected as a
special tax thereon.
C.
Noxious weeds are those plants designated as noxious
weeds in W.S.A. s. 66.96 and other rank growth as well as the following:
ragweed, burdock, thistles, smartweed and dandelions (over 10 inches
in height).
[Amended 7-10-2018 by Ord. No. 18-06]
D.
The installation
and/or maintenance of a lakeshore or stream-side filter strip, up
to 30 feet in width, is excluded from the definition of noxious weed,
rank vegetation or nuisance lawn herein, or In any other chapter of
the Code of Ordinances.
[Added 6-8-2010 by Ord. No. 10-06]
[Amended 2-28-2012 by Ord. No. 12-01]
A.
Purpose. This section is adopted due to the unique nature of the
problems associated with lawns, grasses and noxious weeds being allowed
to grow to excessive length in the City of Rice Lake.
B.
Public nuisance declared. The Common Council finds that lawns on
residential lots or parcels of land which exceed 10 inches in length
adversely affect the public health and the safety of the public in
that they tend to emit pollen and other discomforting bits of plants,
constitute a fire hazard and a safety hazard in that debris can be
hidden in the grass, interfere with the public convenience and adversely
affect property values of other land within the City. For that reason,
any lawn on a residential lot or other parcel of land which exceeds
10 inches in length is hereby declared to be a public nuisance.
C.
Nuisances prohibited. No person, firm or corporation shall permit any public nuisance as defined in Subsection B above to remain on any premises owned or controlled by him within the City.
D.
Inspection. The Weed Commissioner or his designee shall inspect or cause to be inspected all premises and places within the city to determine whether any public nuisance as defined in Subsection B above exists.
E.
Abatement of nuisance. If the Weed Commissioner or his designee shall determine with reasonable certainty that any public nuisance as defined in Subsection B above does exist, he shall immediately post the property with a written notice placed in a conspicuous location fronting the street address of the property. He shall also issue to the owner a written notice, by regular mail, to the address listed on the most recent tax statement, advising the owner that he has seven days from the date of the notice to either abate the nuisance by mowing the lawn or grasses or request a hearing before the Street Committee to contest the classification of his property as a nuisance. If the owner fails to abate the nuisance within seven days as set forth in the notice, the Weed Commissioner will proceed to mow or cause to be mowed or cut all grasses and weeds growing upon the property, and the cost thereof shall be assessed as a tax upon the lands upon which the grasses are located under provisions in W.S.A. s. 66.96. Additionally, pursuant to § 1-23, a citation may be issued for violation of this section with the following penalties:
F.
Due process hearing.
(1)
If the owner believes that his grasses or weeds are not a nuisance,
he or she may request a hearing before the Street Committee of the
City Council. The request for said hearing must be made in writing
to the City Clerk-Treasurer's office within the seven days set
forth in the Weed Commissioner's notice. Upon application for
the hearing, the property owner must deposit a twenty-dollar bond.
If a decision is rendered in the property owner's favor, the
$20 will be returned to the property owner. If the property owner
fails to appear for the hearing or if the decision is rendered against
the property owner, the deposit shall be forfeited.
(2)
When a hearing is requested by the owner of the property, a hearing
by the Street Committee shall be held within 10 days from the date
of the owner's request. The property in question will not be
mowed by the City until such time as the hearing is held by the Committee.
At the hearing, the owner may appear in person or by his attorney
and may present witnesses in his own behalf and cross-examine witnesses
presented by the City as well as subpoena witnesses for his own case.
At the close of the hearing, the Street Committee shall make its determination,
in writing, specifying its findings, facts and conclusions. If the
Committee determines that a public nuisance does exist, the Committee
shall order the Weed Commissioner to mow the property in question,
unless the property has been mowed by the owner within 48 hours of
the Street Committee's decision. If the owner does not abate
the nuisance within the described 48 hours, the Weed Commissioner
shall cause the same nuisance to be abated and cost assessed accordingly.[1]
A.
Connection required. To assure preservation of public
health, comfort and safety, the owner or agent of the owner of any
building used for human habitation and located adjacent to a sewer
or water main, or in a block through which one or both of such systems
extend, shall connect therewith after notice as provided herein.
B.
Notice. When a sewer or water main becomes available
to any building used for human habitation, the city shall notify,
in writing, the owner or his agent to connect the building thereto
and to install such facilities as may be reasonably necessary. The
manner of connection shall be prescribed by the notifying officer.
[Amended 1-25-2000 by Ord. No. 00-3]
C.
Service of notice. The notice required in this section
shall be given in the manner prescribed by W.S.A. s. 801.11 or by
registered mail addressed to the last known address of the owner or
his agent.
[Amended 1-25-2000 by Ord. No. 00-3]
D.
Connection by city. If the owner or his agent fails
to comply after 30 days' notice as herein provided, the notifying
officer may cause connection to be made and the expense thereof assessed
as a special assessment tax against the property.
E.
Annual installments. The owner or his agent may, within
30 days after the completion of the work, file a written option with
the City Clerk-Treasurer stating that he cannot pay the cost of connection
in one sum and electing that the sum be levied in 10 equal annual
installments, with interest at 2% above the current rate of interest
paid by the city at the time of original assessment.
[Amended 9-12-1994 by Ord. No. 785]
F.
Privies, etc., prohibited. After connection of any
building used for human habitation to a sewer main, no privy, cesspool
or waterless toilet shall be used in connection with such human habitation.
G.
Installation of water mains and water service laterals.
(1)
No person shall install any water main or water service
laterals which connect to the existing municipal mains without the
approval of the Superintendent of the Water Department both as to
the size of the main or lateral, materials to be used and location
of the main and the lateral, and all such mains and laterals shall
also conform to the State of Wisconsin Code regarding such mains and
laterals.
(2)
Any sewer and water main extensions which are to be
installed in the city right-of-way to serve any property shall not
be approved unless the owners of the property to be served shall sign
an agreement with the city that these mains shall become the property
of the city with full right of control both as to installation and
repair and any assessments thereon.
[Amended 7-23-2010 by Ord. No. 10-10]
The statutory provisions describing and defining regulations
with respect to indoor smoking contained in § 101.123, as
amended, of the Wisconsin Statutes, known as the Clean Indoor Air
Act, exclusive of any provisions therein relating to the penalties
to be imposed or the punishment for violation of such statutes, are
hereby adopted and by reference made a part of this section as if
fully set forth herein. Any act required to be performed or prohibited
by Wis. Stats. § 101.123 and incorporated herein by reference
is required or prohibited by this section. The penalty for violation
of Wis. Stats. § 101.123(2), relating to an individual smoking
in a prohibited area, shall be a forfeiture of $25 for the first violation
and $50 for each violation thereafter. The penalty for violation of
Wis. Stats. § 101.123(2m), relating to responsibility of
persons in charge allowing smoking in violation of law, shall be a
forfeiture of $50 for the first violation and $100 for each violation
thereafter.
A.
Permit required. No person shall slaughter any animal
used for the consumption of meat, to be used for commercial purposes,
within the city without first obtaining an annual permit therefor
granted by the Council, upon making proper application for such permit,
which shall be in writing addressed to the Council and filed with
the City Clerk-Treasurer and describe the property on which such slaughtering
shall take place and be signed by the owner of said property or his
agent or lessee. The applicant shall pay, upon making such application,
a fee as set forth in the fee schedule adopted as part of the annual
budget document, which shall be used for investigating, and which
fee shall not be refunded in the event that the permit is not granted.
B.
Application of section. This section shall not affect
or be applicable to any person who operates a farm within the city
if such person slaughters for his personal consumption.
C.
Inspection. Upon such application which shall be presented
to the Council for slaughtering or operating a slaughterhouse, the
Health Officer and Inspection Department shall inspect said premises
and report to the Council, in writing, setting forth the conditions
of said premises.
[Amended 6-24-1997 by Ord. No. 844]
D.
Compliance with rules and regulations required. Such
slaughtering and slaughterhouses shall be in as sanitary a condition
as possible in compliance with all the rules and regulations set forth
by the Council and the State Department of Agriculture, Trade and
Consumer Protection.
[Amended 6-24-1997 by Ord. No. 844]
E.
Revocation. The Council for good cause may revoke
such permit at any time by a three-fourths majority of said Council.
