Jefferson County, WI Ordinances (2026)

In the towns under Jefferson County zoning, no structure, fill, or land use change is allowed in a mapped floodway, floodfringe, or general floodplain district without a land use…

In the towns under Jefferson County zoning, floodplain construction standards are keyed to a flood protection elevation set two feet above the regional flood elevation, not the base…

In the towns under Jefferson County zoning, a private boat dock or pier is only an accessory use, and only in the W Waterfront District. County Code Section 22-410 limits docks and…

Jefferson County Code § 16-35(e) requires anyone platting a new subdivision to build stormwater drainage facilities, which may include curbs and gutters, catchbasins, storm sewers…

Within shoreland areas of unincorporated Jefferson County, a 35-foot vegetative buffer zone along the water bars cutting trees and shrubs except for listed activities. A permit is…

Jefferson County allows political signs in every zoning district in the towns under Jefferson County zoning, but bars them from the road right-of-way and caps timing and height near…

Jefferson County bans flashing or rotating lights on any sign, which rules out animated or scrolling digital billboards countywide. Code Section 22-703(b) also bars signs that imitate…

Signs along I-94 and other roads covered by Wisconsin's highway beautification statute, Wis. Stat. Section 84.30, still need a Jefferson County sign permit, but the state Department of…

In the towns under Jefferson County zoning, business and industrial uses cannot let direct or reflected glare cross into a neighboring residential or commercial district. It is a…

No solar energy system in the towns under Jefferson County zoning can be built without a zoning permit, and small solar energy systems also need a conditional use permit from the…

Jefferson County treats a vehicle left over 12 hours on a public highway outside city or village limits, or over 48 hours on private property without permission, as abandoned and a…

Jefferson County requires parking on county-owned or leased land to stay in designated stalls and bars parking on any highway where posting or yellow curb markings prohibit it, with…

In the towns under Jefferson County zoning, recreational vehicles and equipment cannot sit in a driveway or front yard for more than 72 hours, except on land in the agricultural…

Every use in unincorporated Jefferson County that generates loading or unloading activity must provide space for it. Code Section 22-641 requires loading areas to keep all loading…

Jefferson County bans letting your property become a breeding place for rats, flies, mosquitoes or other vermin. The county health officer investigates complaints and can order…

Jefferson County Code § 18-25(6) does not itself require a food manager certificate, but it penalizes the gap: if a licensed food establishment's owner has not obtained a certified…

Jefferson County's health officer can condemn and placard any dwelling that is so abandoned, damaged, decayed, dilapidated, unsanitary, unsafe or vermin-infested that it endangers…

Jefferson County bans operating a motor vehicle so that excessive and unnecessary noise comes from its tires. Sec. 14-55 sets a flat $50.00 forfeiture for tire squealing, enforced by…

In the unincorporated towns of Jefferson County, keeping a dog, other animal, or fowl that howls, barks, crows, or otherwise makes noise habitually enough to seriously annoy or disturb…

Jefferson County bars landlords from renting or leasing a unit the health officer has declared unfit, defining that as one lacking potable water, a working septic system, or adequate…

At the Jefferson County Fair Park, no one may bring, purchase, possess or drink alcohol outside the beer stand, designated grandstand area, designated entertainment tent, or another…

Jefferson County bans smoking within 30 feet of any public entrance to a county-owned, rented or leased building, and bans it outright in park shelters, restrooms, maintenance…

Jefferson County makes it a citable offense to possess 25 grams or less of marijuana anywhere in the unincorporated county. Sec. 14-61 carries a $100.00 forfeiture, but it stops…

Jefferson County's zoning code treats a family day care home for four to eight children as an accessory use inside an occupied dwelling, not a separate business use requiring…

Jefferson County caps home occupations at two per lot, requires them to stay clearly secondary to the home's residential use, limits accessory home occupations to 25 percent of the…

A home business sign in unincorporated Jefferson County cannot exceed six square feet, must be attached to the house itself rather than freestanding, and can never be lighted at night…

Jefferson County requires a written parks committee permit for any public meeting, assembly, festival or political event expected to draw more than 20 people in a county park or on a…

Jefferson County closes all county parks, park roads, trails, bike paths and parking areas to the public and to vehicular traffic from 10:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. daily. No one may…

On Jefferson County's multiuse bike paths, cyclists and e-bike or e-scooter riders must give an audible warning before passing, yield the right-of-way to pedestrians, and stay single…

Jefferson County defines an e-bike as a pedal bicycle with a motor of 750 watts or less under Wis. Stats. § 340.01, and Sec. 12-29(b)(7) caps every e-bicycle, e-scooter and other…

Jefferson County adopts Wisconsin's fireworks statute, Wis. Stats. § 167.10, by reference to govern the sale, possession and use of fireworks countywide. Sec. 14-63 folds the state's…

Unincorporated Jefferson County allows up to five hens, no roosters, as a residential accessory use on a lot with an existing single-family home. The enclosure must meet zoning…

In the A-2 Agricultural and Rural Business District under Jefferson County zoning, a kennel, veterinarian facility or animal hospital is allowed only as a conditional use. That means a…

Jefferson County Code § 14-119 makes it a violation for a dog to run loose off its owner's property without control, or to go outdoors without a current license tag on its collar…

Jefferson County does not license cats the way it licenses dogs, but Code § 14-139(b) still makes a cat's owner responsible for reporting any bite: an owner whose cat bites someone…

In unincorporated Jefferson County, driveways, walks, patios, pools and storage buildings grouped as residential accessory uses cannot cover more than 500 square feet of ground area…

An accessory dwelling unit in unincorporated Jefferson County needs its own conditional use permit and must follow real limits: one ADU per lot, no more than two bedrooms, a…

An accessory dwelling unit in unincorporated Jefferson County cannot be sold off separately from the main house, and Section 22-588 requires the property owner to actually live in…

Jefferson County's A-1 Exclusive Agricultural District is a state-certified farmland preservation zone meant to keep the county's best agricultural land in production and protect it…

In the R-1 Residential-Sewered District under Jefferson County zoning, rear yards must be at least 25 feet and side yards at least 10 feet each, with the front yard setback set by a…

In the R-1 Residential-Sewered District under Jefferson County zoning, a principal building cannot exceed three stories or 35 feet. Accessory building height in the same district is…

In the R-1 Residential-Sewered District under Jefferson County zoning, principal and accessory buildings combined cannot cover more than 30 percent of a lot's existing area. The cap…

Jefferson County confines sexually oriented businesses to the B business zoning district and bans them everywhere else. Under Code Section 22-551, an adult-oriented establishment also…

Jefferson County Code § 18-39 requires anyone who tattoos or pierces bodies in the unincorporated county to hold a local license, adopting the state Department of Safety and…

Jefferson County has no separate short-term-rental ordinance, but Code § 18-33 requires anyone renting out a bed and breakfast for more than ten nights a year to get an annual license…

Jefferson County treats improperly stored or disposed-of solid waste as a public nuisance under Code § 18-72(4), and anyone who dumps or stores waste out of compliance with the state…