Village of Random Lake Ordinance
CHAPTER 17 - ZONING CODE

17.02 DEFINITIONS.

For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall be used:

(1)ABUTTING.  Having a common property line or district line.

(2)ACCESSORY BUILDING.  A building or portion of a building subordinate to the main building and used for a purpose customarily incidental to the permitted use of the main building or the use of the premises.  When an accessory building is a part of the main building or is substantially attached thereto, the side yard and rear yard requirements of the main building shall be applied to the accessory building.

(3)ALLEY.  A street or thoroughfare less than 21 feet and affording only secondary access to abutting property.

(4)APARTMENT.  A portion of a multiple dwelling used as a separate housing unit and having cooking facilities and a private bath.

(5)APARTMENT HOUSE.  See DWELLING, MULTI?]FAMILY.

(6)BASEMENT.  A story, as defined in sub. (43) below, partly underground which, if occupied for living purposes, shall be counted as a story for purposes of height measurement.

(7)BILLBOARD.  An advertising device, either freestanding or attached to a building, which is used to display information not related to the use or ownership of the establishment on the property upon which it is located.

(8)BOARDING HOUSE.  A building other than a hotel where lodging and meals are furnished for compensation for 3 or more persons not members of a family.

(9)BUILDING.  Any structure used, designed or intended for the protection, shelter, enclosure or support of persons, animals or property.  When a building is divided into separate parts by unpierced walls extending from the ground up, each part shall be deemed a separate building.

(10)BUILDING, ALTERATIONS OF.  See STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS.

(11)BUILDING AREA.  The total living area bounded by the exterior walls of a building at the floor level, but not including a basement not qualified for living area under the State Building Code, a garage, an unfinished and unheated porch and an attic.

(12)BUILDING, HEIGHT OF.  The vertical distance from the average curb level in front of the lot or the finished grade at the building line, whichever is higher, to the highest point of the coping of a flat roof, to the deck line of a mansard roof, or to the average height of the highest gable of a gambrel, hip or pitch roof.

(13)CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY.  A written statement issued by the Building Inspector which permits the use of a building or lot or a portion of a building or lot and which certifies compliance with the provisions of this chapter for the specified use and occupancy.

• CONDITIONAL USE.  A use of a special nature so as to make impractical its predetermination as a principal use within a district.
• CONDOMINIUM.  The ownership of single units in a multi-unit structure or of single units on a tract with more than one such unit where the land or other common areas and facilities are owned jointly.

(16)DWELLING.  (a)  One Family.  A detached building designed for or occupied exclusively by one family.

(b)Two?]Family.  A detached or semi?]detached building designed for and occupied exclusively by two families.

(c)Multi?]Family.  A building or portion thereof designed for and occupied by more than two families, including tenement houses, row houses, apartment houses and apartment hotels.

(17)DWELLING UNIT.  A separate housekeeping unit, designed and used for occupancy by a single family.

(18)FAMILY.  Any number of persons related by blood, adoption or marriage, or not to exceed four persons not so related, living together in one dwelling as a single housekeeping entity.

(19)FARM.  Land consisting of five acres or more on which produce, crops, livestock or flowers are grown primarily for off?]premises consumption or use.

(20)FLOOR AREA.  (a)  For residential uses, the gross horizontal area of the floor of a dwelling unit, exclusive of unfinished and unheated porches, balconies, garages and basements qualified for living area under the State Building Code, measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls or from the center lines of walls or partitions separating dwelling units.

(b)For uses other than residential, the area measured from the exterior faces of the exterior walls, or from the center line of walls or partitions separating such uses, including all floors, lofts, balconies, mezzanines, cellars, basements and similar areas devoted to such uses.

(21)FRONTAGE.  All the property abutting on one side of a street between two intersecting streets or all of the property abutting on one side of a street between an intersecting street and the dead end of a street.

(22)GARAGE.  (a)  Private.  An accessory building or space for the storage only of not more than two motor?]driven vehicles per dwelling.

(b)Public.  Any building or premises, other than a private or a storage garage, where motor?]driven vehicles are equipped, repaired, serviced, hired, sold or stored.

(c)Storage.  Any building or premises used for the storage only of motor?]driven vehicles, pursuant to previous arrangements and not to transients, and where no equipment, parts, fuel, grease or oil is sold.  No commercial motor vehicle exceeding two tons capacity shall be stored in any storage garage.

(23)HOME OCCUPATION.  A gainful occupation conducted by members of the family only within their place of residence; provided that no article is sold or offered for sale on the premises except such as is produced by such occupations, that no stock in trade is kept or sold, that no mechanical equipment is used other than such as is permissible for purely domestic purposes, that no sign other than one unlighted name plate not more than one foot square is installed and that no person other than a member of the immediate family living on the premises is employed.  Outdoor storage of raw materials or finished products is not allowed.

(24)HOTEL, MOTEL.  A building in which lodging, with or without meals, is offered to transient guests for compensation and in which there are more than five sleeping rooms with no cooking facilities in any individual room or apartment.

(25)LOT.  A parcel of land having a width and depth sufficient to provide the space necessary for one main building and its accessory building, together with the open spaces required by this chapter and abutting on a public street or officially approved place.

(26)LOT, CORNER.  A lot abutting on 2 or more dedicated and accepted streets at their intersections, provided that the interior angle of such intersection is less than 135º.

(27)LOT DEPTH.  The mean horizontal distance between the front and rear lot lines.

(28)LOT, INTERIOR.  A lot other than a corner lot.

(29)LOT LINES.  The lines bounding a lot as defined herein.

(30)LOT, THROUGH.  An interior lot having frontage on two nonintersecting streets.

(31)MOBILE HOME.  A nonself?]propelled one?]family dwelling unit of vehicular design, built on a chassis and originally designed to be moved from one site to another, whether or not the same is placed on a permanent foundation.

(32)MOBILE HOME PARK.  Any lot on which two or more mobile homes are parked for the purpose of temporary or permanent habitation.

(33)MOTEL.  See HOTEL.

(34)NONCONFORMING USE.  A building or premises lawfully used or occupied at the time of the passage of this chapter or amendments thereto which use or occupancy does not conform to the regulations of this chapter or any amendments thereto.

(35)NURSERY.  Any building or lot, or portion thereof, used for the cultivation or growing of plants and including all accessory buildings.

(36)NURSING HOME.  Any building used for the continuous care, on commercial or charitable basis, of persons who are physically incapable of caring for their own personal needs.

(37)PARKING STALL.  An off?]street space, available for the parking of a motor vehicle and which, in this chapter, is held to be an area 10 feet wide and 20 feet long, exclusive of passageways and driveways appurtenant thereto and giving access thereto.

(38)PROFESSIONAL HOME OFFICE.  The office of a doctor, practitioner, dentist, minister, architect, landscape architect, professional engineer, lawyer, author, musician or other recognized profession.  When established in an R?]1 District, a professional office shall be incidental to the residential occupation and not more than 25% of the floor area of only one story of a dwelling unit shall be occupied by such office.  Only one person may be employed who is not a resident of the home.

(39)RAILROAD RIGHT OF WAY.  A strip of land with tracks and auxiliary facilities for track operation, but not including freight depots or stations, loading platforms, train sheds, warehouses, car or locomotive shops, or car yards.

(40)SETBACK.  The minimum horizontal distance between the street line and the nearest point of a building or any projection thereof, excluding uncovered steps.

(41)SHOPPING CENTER.  A group of stores, planned and designed for the site on which it is built, functioning as a unit with off?]street parking provided on the property as an integral part of the unit.

(42)SIGN.  Any words, letters, figures, numerals, phrases, sentences, emblems, devices or designs visible from a public street or highway which convey information regarding the use or ownership of the establishment on the same property upon which it is located, as distinguished from a billboard.

(43)STREET.  All property dedicated for public street purposes.

(44)STORY.  That portion of a building included between the surface of a floor and the surface of the floor next above it or, if there be no floor above it, then the space between the floor and the ceiling next above it.  A basement or cellar having 1/2 or more of its height above grade shall be deemed a story for purposes of height regulation.

(45)STREET LINE.  A dividing line between a lot, tract or parcel of land and an abutting street right of way.

(46)STRUCTURE.  Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires a permanent location on the ground or attached to something having a permanent location on the ground. (i.e. gazebo, playhouse, garden shed or any other similar structure.

(47)STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS.  Any change in the supporting members of a building or any change in the roof structure or in the exterior walls.

(48)TEMPORARY STRUCTURE.  A movable structure which does not require a permanent location on the ground and which is not attached to something having a permanent location on the ground.

(49)USE.  The use of a property is the purpose or activity for which the land or building thereon is designed, arranged or intended, or for which it is occupied or maintained.

(50)USE, ACCESSORY.  A use subordinate in nature, extent or purpose to the principal use of a building or lot and which is also an approved use if so stated in this chapter.

(51)USE, CONDITIONAL.  See CONDITIONAL USE.

(52)USE, PERMITTED.  A use which may be lawfully established in a particular district or districts, provided it conforms with all requirements, regulations and performance standards, if any, of such districts.

(53)USE, PRINCIPAL.  The main use of land or building as distinguished from a subordinate or accessory use.  A principal use may be permitted or conditional.

(54)UTILITIES.  Public and private facilities such as water wells, water and sewer pumping stations, water storage tanks, electric transmission towers, electric lines, electric transmission substations, gas transmission regulation stations, telephone and telegraph exchanges, microwave relay structures, but not including sewage disposal plants, municipal incinerators, warehouses, shops and storage yards.

(55)VISION CLEARANCE.  An unoccupied triangular space at the street corner of a corner lot which is bounded by the street lines and a setback line connecting points specified by measurement from the corner on each street line.  (See sec. 17.03 of this chapter.)

(56)YARD.  An open space on the same lot with a building, unoccupied and unobstructed from the ground upward, except as otherwise provided herein.

(a)Front Yard or Setback.  A yard extending the full width of the lot between the front lot line and the nearest part of the main building, excluding uncovered steps.

(b)Rear Yard.  A yard extending the full width of the lot, being the minimum horizontal distance between the rear lot line and the nearest part of the building excluding uncovered steps.

(c)Side Yard.  A yard extending from the front yard to the rear yard, being the minimum horizontal distance between a building and the side lot line.  See also secs. 17.03(5) and 17.04(3) of this chapter.

(57)ZONING DISTRICT.  An area or areas within the corporate limits for which the regulations and requirements governing use, lot and bulk of building and premises are uniform.

            (58)            ZONING PERMIT.  A permit stating that the placement of and the purpose for which a building or land is to be used is in conformity with the uses permitted and all other requirements under this chapter for the zone in which it is to be located.