Green Lake County, WI General Provisions

The existing lawful use of a structure or premises upon the effective date of this chapter or any amendment thereto may be continued although such does not conform to the provisions of this chapter for the district in which it is located, but such nonconforming use shall not be extended. The construction of a private residential accessory structure shall not be considered as the extension of a nonconforming use.

If no structural alterations are made, a nonconforming use of a structure may be changed to another nonconforming use of the same or a more restricted classification. Whenever a nonconforming use has been changed to a more restricted nonconforming use or a conforming use, such use shall not thereafter be changed to a less restricted use.

If a nonconforming use of a structure or premises is discontinued for a period of 12 consecutive months, any future use of the structure or premises shall conform to the regulations for the district in which it is located.

If a premises contains an existing nonconforming use, a conforming use shall not be permitted on that premises until such time as the nonconforming use is discontinued or brought into compliance with the provisions of this chapter.

(Reserved)

Passage of this chapter in no way legalizes any illegal uses existing at the time of its adoption.

Nonconforming structures. Structures that were lawfully constructed prior to the effective date of this chapter that are conforming to this chapter as to use but do not conform as to dimensional rules (setbacks, height, separations, etc.) and which are proposed to be altered are subject to the following requirements:

Repairs and improvements of a maintenance nature are allowed.

Alterations, additions and expansions that change the exterior dimension of the structure and that conform to the dimensional rules of this chapter are allowed.

Alterations, additions and expansions that change the exterior dimensions of the structure and that do not conform to this chapter, but which do not increase the dimensional nonconformity beyond that which existed prior to the effective date of this chapter, are allowed, provided that they do not exceed 50% of the current total assessed value of the structure for the lifetime of the structure. Also see § 350-51 relating to existing nonconforming buildings, signs, structures, or parts thereof located in highway setbacks.

No alterations, additions or expansions may occur that will increase the dimensional nonconformity.

Per § 59.69(10e)(a) and (b), Wis. Stats., a nonconforming dwelling or nonconforming building, or part thereof, shall be permitted to be rebuilt so long as the three-dimensional building envelope is not increased.

[Added 3-19-2019 by Ord. No. 2-2019]

Nonconforming lots or parcels.[1] Any lot or parcel created prior to the effective date of this chapter, or revisions and/or amendments thereto, which does not meet the current minimum lot or parcel size standards of this chapter shall not be reduced in size unless the reduction results in compliance with the minimum lot or parcel size standard of the zoning district in which it is located.

[1]

Editor's Note: Original § 3.3(4)(c)1, which was included in this subsection, is now included as the definition of "nonconforming lot" in § 350-77.

(Reserved)[2]

[2]

Editor's Note: Former Subsection D was repealed 9-20-2022 by Ord. No. 17-2022.

Split-zoned lots or parcels: In no case shall a land use permit be issued to a property owner or property owner's agent for a lot or parcel that is split-zoned. In these cases, the property owner shall consult the Land Use Planning and Zoning Department to obtain a resolution strategy to remedy the split-zoning condition. The resolution strategy could include a comprehensive plan amendment, rezone, and a certified survey map. Once the split-zoning condition has been eliminated, a land use permit may be issued subject to the provision of this chapter.

§ 350-15 Accessory buildings; accessory structures.

[Amended 2-15-2011 by Ord. No. 989-2011; 11-14-2017 by Ord. No. 22-2017; 9-21-2021 by Ord. No. 30-2021]

Unless otherwise stated in this chapter, accessory uses and structures are permitted in any district, but not until their principal structure/use is present or under construction.

§ 350-16 Public nuisances affecting real property. [1]

[Added 9-20-2022 by Ord. No. 17-2022]

Definitions for purposes of this section.

PUBLIC VIEW

Observation from any location exterior to the property.

JUNK

Any of the following that are visible from public view:

Motorized vehicles or motorized equipment of any type, if not currently capable of motorized operation, including, but not limited to, cars, vans, trucks, recreation vehicles, watercraft, motor homes, lawn mowers, snow blowers, outboard motors, go-carts, mopeds, scooters and mini-bikes.

Nonmotorized vehicles intended to transport persons or property on a road or highway, including trailers and bicycles, if not currently safe to use on the road.

Vehicle parts.

Tires, with or without rims.

Interior appliances and electronic equipment not in use, including, but not limited to, cooktop range and ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers, fans, clothes dryers, clothes washers, microwaves, televisions, screens, audio equipment, computers, arcade games and vending machines.

Interior plumbing and mechanical fixtures not in use, including, but not limited to, toilets, sinks, piping, bathtubs, tub surrounds, water heaters/tanks, water softeners, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, wood-burning stoves, furnaces and related piping and ductwork.

(7)

Interior furniture that is abandoned, discarded or damaged, including, but not limited to, sofas, recliners, mattresses, bed frames, dressers, credenzas, desks, tables and chairs.

(8)

Outdoor recreation equipment that is disassembled or broken, including, but not limited to, trampolines, above-ground swimming pools, swimming pool components and patio furniture.

(9)

Building components or construction materials not installed or in use, including, but not limited to, doors, windows, siding, shingles, lumber and flooring.

(10)

Outdoor fixtures or containers not currently in use, including, but not limited to, fuel tanks, propane tanks, liquid barrels and air conditioners.

(11)

Scrap metal, plastic, glass or wood not in use.

(12)

Any other item similar in nature to the above list.

Prohibited activities. No person, group of persons, company firm, corporation, or any other entity shall within the unincorporated areas of the county:

Operate an unlicensed junkyard.

Store any junk outside a building and within public view for a period of any part of five or more days during any thirty-day period.

Leave any dead animal not buried or otherwise legally disposed of for a period of more than three days on the premises.

Store or dispose of any solid waste or other junk, except in accordance with all applicable state and local regulations.

Exceptions.

This section is not intended to regulate or place limitations on any legally licensed junkyard, salvage dealer, sanitary landfill or other junk, waste disposal or storage activity for which a valid license from the state and/or other necessary municipal issuing authority is required and has been issued and all such licenses are in full force and effect.

This section does not regulate or place limitations on junk that is stored inside a closed building.

This section is not intended to prohibit the proper outside storage of licensed and operable motor vehicles.

[1]

Editor's Note: Former § 350-16, Agricultural accessory structures, was repealed 2-15-2011 by Ord. No. 989-2011.

§ 350-17 Dwelling design and construction.

[Amended 3-19-2019 by Ord. No. 2-2019; 8-18-2020 by Ord. No. 9-2020; 9-21-2021 by Ord. No. 30-2021]

All dwellings as defined and permitted by this chapter shall conform to the following. They shall:

Be attached to a permanent foundation meeting the requirements of the State of Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code provisions in such a manner as to comply with standards for vertical loading, uplift and lateral forces and so designed and constructed that the floor elevation is reasonably compatible with other dwellings in the area.

Have a first-story minimum living area of 800 square feet.

Be not less than 20 feet in their smallest horizontal dimension, exclusive of portions of the dwelling including but not limited to three-season rooms, sunrooms or solariums, mudrooms, passageways and entryways.

Have any wheels, axles, hitches, tow bars and other equipment necessary for transporting on streets or highways removed when the structure is placed on the foundation.

Be constructed in accordance with accepted construction practices and building codes. In no case shall a shipping or storage container(s), or parts thereof, be used as a dwelling.

There shall only one attached garage per dwelling unit and in no case shall the footprint of the attached garage exceed the dwelling unit’s total living area.

The requirements as set forth in Subsection A(3) above do not apply to dwellings located in an R-2 District, and the requirements as set forth in Subsection A(6) above do not apply to dwellings located in the A-1 and A-2 Zoning Districts.

§ 350-18 Area regulations.

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, every building/structure hereafter erected, moved or structurally altered shall be located on a lot at least 100 feet in average width and 20,000 square feet in area, regardless of the district in which such building is, or is to be, located, provided that when the regulations of Ch. SPS 383, Wis. Adm. Code, require a larger area, then such state regulations shall prevail.

[Amended 11-14-2017 by Ord. No. 22-2017]

No lot area shall be so reduced that the yards and open spaces shall be smaller than is required by this chapter, nor shall the density of population be increased in any manner except in conformity with the area regulations hereby established for the district in which a building or premises is located.

Where a lot has an area less than the minimum number of square feet per family required for the district in which it is located and was of record as such at the time of the passage of this chapter, such lot may be occupied by one family.

§ 350-19 Height regulations.

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the maximum height of any building hereafter erected, moved or structurally altered shall be 35 feet (see definition "structure height"), not to exceed 2 1/2 stories, regardless of the district in which such building is, or is to be, located.

[Amended 11-14-2017 by Ord. No. 22-2017]

Churches, schools, hospitals, sanatoriums and other public/quasi-public buildings may be erected to a height not exceeding 60 feet nor five stories, provided that the street, side and rear yards required in the district in which such building is to be located are each increased at least one foot for each foot of additional building height above the height limit otherwise established for the district in which such building is to be located.

[Amended 3-19-2019 by Ord. No. 2-2019]

Height exceptions. Farm buildings not for human habitation; chimneys; cooling towers; roof-mounted solar panel arrays; elevator bulkheads; fire towers; monuments; penthouses; stacks; scenery lofts; tanks; water towers; ornamental towers; spires; wireless, television or broadcasting towers; masts or aerials; telephone, telegraph and power transmission poles and lines; and microwave radio relay structures and necessary mechanical appurtenances are hereby excepted from the height regulations of this chapter and may be erected in accordance with other regulations or ordinances of Green Lake County.

[Amended 8-18-2020 by Ord. No. 9-2020]

§ 350-20 Side and rear yard regulations.

[Amended 10-18-2016 by Ord. No. 23-2016; 11-14-2017 by Ord. No. 22-2017; 3-19-2019 by Ord. No. 2-2019]

There shall be a side yard on each side of a structure hereafter erected, moved or structurally altered.

Except as otherwise provided in this section, every structure hereafter erected, moved or structurally altered shall provide the minimum side and rear yards as required by the following table for the district in which such structure is or is to be located:

[Amended 9-21-2021 by Ord. No. 30-2021]

District	Each Side Yard (feet)	Rear Yard (feet)
Residential	12	25
Recreational	12	25
Agricultural	12	25
Conservancy	20	25
Commercial*	12	25
Industrial*	20	25

NOTE:
*	Commercial and industrial structures, not designed for human occupancy, are required to provide a minimum setback 1.1 times their overall height.

Except as otherwise provided in this section, every structure hereafter erected, moved or structurally altered, shall be set back from the adjoining highway or highways as required by Article VI, Highway Setback Lines.

Lots 85 feet in width and under shall have a side yard setback of 10 feet on both sides.

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no structure shall be erected or extended in a required yard, except the ordinary projections of sills, belt courses, cornices and ornamental features projecting not more than 12 inches.

(Reserved)

§ 350-21 Motor vehicles and parking.

No commercial motor vehicle exceeding three tons' capacity shall be stored in any private garage or in a residential district.

In any commercial or industrial district, wherever a lot abuts upon a public or private alley, sufficient space for the loading or unloading of vehicles shall be provided on the lot in connection with any business or industrial use so that the alley shall at all times be free and unobstructed to the passage of traffic.

Motor vehicles may not be parked in such a manner as to be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity nor substantially diminish and impair property values within the neighborhood.

A motor vehicle that is abandoned, disassembled, nonoperative, disabled, junked, wrecked, or no longer licensed shall not be stored anywhere on any premises except in an authorized salvage yard or unless it is completely enclosed in a structure.

Off-street parking.

In all districts there shall be provided, at the time any building or structure is erected, off-street parking spaces in accordance with the requirements of this section. A site plan, including layout of parking spaces of any area for more than five vehicles, shall be submitted to the Land Use Planning and Zoning Department for approval prior to construction. Requests for parking lots shall be accompanied by detailed plans on landscaping, parking layout, drainage provisions and driveway locations.

[Amended 11-14-2017 by Ord. No. 22-2017]

Size of stall. Parking stalls shall be at least nine feet in width by not less than 20 feet in depth for sixty-degree parking angles and not less than 27 feet in depth for ninety-degree parking angles, and there shall be at least 16 feet of width between opposite facing parking stalls for ingress and egress.

Special residential requirements. Those parking areas for five or more vehicles, if adjoining a residential use, shall be screened from such use by a solid wall, fence, evergreen planting or equivalent visual density or other effective means, built and maintained at a minimum height of five feet. Where a solidly constructed decorative fence is provided along the interior lot line, the minimum setback for parking area shall be five feet from said lot line. Said fence shall be located a minimum of one foot from said lot line.

Number of stalls. The number of parking stalls required is shown in the following table:

[Amended 12-21-2004 by Ord. No. 822-04]

	Use	Minimum Parking Required
	Dwellings, single-family	1 stall per dwelling unit
	Dwellings, duplex and multifamily	1.5 stalls for each dwelling unit
	Housing for the elderly	0.75 space for each dwelling unit with 1/2 of these spaces to be built before occupancy and the balance of which spaces shall be reserved until such time as the County may order them installed
	Hotels and motels	1 stall for each guest room and 1 stall for each 2 employees
	Sororities, dormitories and rooming and boarding houses	1 stall for each 2 sleeping rooms plus 1 for each 2 employees
	Retirement homes, orphanages, convents and monasteries	1 stall per 2,000 feet of principal floor area
	Hospitals, sanitariums, institutions and rest and nursing homes	1 stall for each 3 beds plus 1 stall for each 3 employees
	Medical and dental clinics	5 stalls for each doctor or dentist
	Theaters, auditoriums, community centers, sport arenas and other places of public assembly	1 stall for each 5 seats or spaces equal to 20% of capacity in persons, whichever is greater
	Restaurants	1 stall for each 100 square feet of floor area excluding the kitchen
	Bars and places of entertainment	1 stall for each 75 square feet of floor area
	Office building and professional offices having less than 6,000 square feet of floor area	1 parking space per 150 square feet of floor area
	Office building and professional offices having 6,000 square feet or more of floor area, banks and savings institutions	At least 1 parking space for each 200 feet of floor area
	Drive-in establishments	At least 1 parking space for each 15 square feet of floor area in the building
	Manufacturing and processing plants (including meat and food laboratories and warehouses)	1 stall for every 2 employees; number of employees shall be construed to mean the maximum number on the premises at one time
	Libraries, museums, art galleries, etc.	1 for each employee, plus 1 for each 4 seats plus 1 for each 500 square feet of floor area not having seats
	Washing and cleaning establishments	1 for each 2 employees, plus 1 space for every wash machine or 1 for each 200 square feet of floor area, whichever is greater
	Funeral homes, mortuaries and similar type uses	1 for each 50 square feet of floor area in parlors or assembly rooms
	Other businesses and commercial uses	1 for each 300 square feet of floor area
	Churches and other places of religious assembly	1 for each 5 seats or 1 for 90 linear inches of pew space
	Cartage, express and parcel delivery and freight terminals	1 for each 2 employees (on the largest shift for which the building is designed) plus 1 for each motor vehicle maintained on the premises
	Elementary and junior high schools	2 for each classroom plus 1 for every 8 seats in auditoriums or assembly halls
	High schools, colleges, universities and other institutions of higher learning	1 for every 6 students plus 1 for each teacher, administrator and employee
	Business, technical and trade school	1 for each 5 students plus 1 for each 2 employees
	Government offices	1 stall for each 300 square feet of floor area and 1 stall for each 2 employees
	Motor vehicle sales (new and used)	1 space for each 500 square feet of floor area used plus one space for each 30 square feet of outdoor display area for each motor vehicle to be displayed (this requirement does not include service garages; see below)
	Repair shops and retail and service stores	1 space for each 150 square feet of net floor space
	Automobile repair garages and service stations	1 space for each 2 employees plus 2 spaces for each service bay
	Bowling alleys	4 spaces for each alley

Uses not listed. In the case of structures or uses not mentioned, the provision for a use that is similar shall apply. Floor space or area shall mean the gross floor area inside the exterior walls, where the floor space is indicated above as a basis for determining the amount of off-street parking required.

Combined uses. Combinations of any of the above uses shall provide the total number of stalls required for each individual use. Two or more uses may provide required off-street parking spaces in a common parking facility less than the sum of the spaces required for each use individually, provided that such uses are not operated during the same hours. The following conditions must be met for any joint use:

(a)

The proposed joint parking space is within 500 feet of the use it will serve.

(b)

The applicant shall show that there is no substantial conflict in the principal operating hours of the two buildings or uses for which joint use of off-street parking facilities is proposed.

(c)

A properly drawn legal instrument approved by the Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee, executed by the parties concerned, for joint use of off-street parking facilities shall be filed with the County Clerk. Said instrument may be a three-party agreement, including the County and all private parties involved. Such instrument shall first be approved by Corporation Counsel.

(7)

Handicapped parking requirements. In addition to any other requirements relating to parking spaces contained in this chapter, the provisions contained in §§ 101.13, 346.503 and 346.56, Wis. Stats., and any Wisconsin Administrative Code sections adopted pursuant thereto, are hereby adopted by reference and made applicable to all parking facilities whenever constructed.

(8)

Changes in building or use. Whenever a building or use is changed, structurally altered or enlarged to create a need for an increase of 25% or more in the number of existing parking spaces, such spaces shall be provided on the basis of the enlargement or change. Whenever a building or use is enlarged to the extent of 50% or more in the floor area, said building or use shall then comply with the parking requirements set forth in the district in which it is located.

(9)

This chapter shall apply to all buildings and structures erected after the effective date of this chapter.

§ 350-22 Substandard lots.

Substandard lots. A substandard lot that is at least 7,500 square feet in area and is 50 feet in width at the building line and 50 feet average width may be used as a building site for a single-family dwelling upon issuance of a land use permit if it meets the following requirements:

[Amended 12-21-2004 by Ord. No. 822-04; 3-19-2019 by Ord. No. 2-2019]

Such use is permitted in the zoning district.

The lot is of record in the office of the County Register of Deeds prior to the effective date of this chapter.