Sauk County, WI Ordinances (2026)

Chapter 51 of the Sauk County Code requires a Land Resources and Environment Department permit before any land-disturbing activity of one acre or more, or any project adding 20,000…

Sauk County requires new residential construction and substantial improvements in the flood fringe to elevate the lowest floor to or above the flood protection elevation, defined as…

Any land disturbance of 4,000 square feet or 400 cubic yards in unincorporated Sauk County needs a Land Resources and Environment Department land use permit under County Code § 51.09…

Sauk County's Chapter 9 floodplain zoning ordinance regulates development within flood hazard zones A, AO, AH, A1-30 and AE shown on FEMA flood insurance rate maps. The Land Resources…

Sauk County generally requires a land use permit before a structure goes into a shoreland under Section 8.005(2), but Section 8.006(4)(b)5 exempts the construction and maintenance of…

Sauk County has no separate recycled-water program, but County Code § 51.17(4) lets a developer count reused runoff toward its required stormwater infiltration volume: water captured…

Sauk County bars smoking inside every building it owns or leases, with the Health Care Center's own Board of Trustees setting rules for residents there. Outdoors, County Code § 43.20…

Unincorporated Sauk County has no separate party ordinance: a loud gathering falls under Sauk County Code Sec. 11.03, disorderly conduct, which bans unreasonably loud or boisterous…

Sauk County has no general open-container law for parks or streets; the closest rule is Sauk County Code Sec. 15.008(3)(i), which bars an ATV or UTV operator or passenger from having…

Sauk County bars disturbing waterfowl, other birds or animals within any county park or parkway, and prohibits robbing or disturbing any bird's nest or eggs there. The rule sits in the…

In unincorporated Sauk County, Sec. 7.047 lets a homeowner in the single-family, multiple-family or rural community districts, and on AG or EA lots with an occupied dwelling, keep up…

Sauk County treats backyard beekeeping as part of the same residential secondary standard that covers poultry. Sec. 7.047(5)(b) requires any beekeeping-related structure, such as a…

Sauk County does not mandate spaying or neutering; Sec. 27.005(1)(k) instead sets a two-tier annual dog license fee, $10.00 for an unaltered dog and $5.00 once a veterinarian certifies…

Sauk County bans no specific dog breed; instead Sec. 27.006(4) lets an animal control officer or any law enforcement officer declare an individual animal 'vicious' after an unprovoked…

In unincorporated Sauk County, Sec. 27.006(1) keeps every animal, not only dogs, under restraint and bars it from running at large; owners must also prevent nuisance behavior under…

Sauk County does not ban keeping exotic animals such as ferrets, primates or wild species; Sec. 27.010 instead requires the animal be contained in an escape-proof pen or enclosure…

Sauk County's zoning code allows veterinary clinics and animal-grooming businesses across several zoning districts, but in the Exclusive Agriculture district, Section 7.085 only allows…

A vehicle left unattended in a Sauk County park after hours, without department approval, and under circumstances making it appear abandoned, is declared a public nuisance under Sec…

Unincorporated Sauk County parking on county highways runs through state law by county ordinance. Sec. 6.011 makes it a county violation to park in any manner Wis. Stats. §§ 346.51…

Every driveway and parking, loading, or circulation area in unincorporated Sauk County has to be paved with an all-weather surface under Section 7.091(2) of the zoning code. Grass…

Planned or advertised public meetings, sporting and athletic events, and other special events in Sauk County parks require a written permit from the Director of the Land Resources and…

In unincorporated Sauk County, an outdoor gathering of 1,000 or more people expected to last 18 hours or longer needs a County-issued license under Sauk County Code Sec. 12.02, filed…

Operating a drone in a Sauk County park, forest or other recreational area is prohibited unless the Director of the Land Resources and Environment Department, or the Director's…

Bicyclists in Sauk County parks must ride only in designated areas, yield to other park users, and stay single file in the right-hand lane without weaving or riding recklessly. Riders…

In unincorporated Sauk County, no motor vehicle operator, including motorcycles, ATVs, and motorbikes, may spin tires through excessive acceleration or gun an engine loudly enough to…

Unincorporated Sauk County has no general residential decibel ordinance; the only numeric noise limit in the zoning code applies to nonmetallic mining sites of one acre or more, which…

Sauk County Code § 41.12 creates a Noise Control Overlay District, Zone 4, around the Tri-County Regional Airport to keep land uses compatible with aircraft overflight noise. Any use…

Sauk County has no general noise ordinance restricting construction hours countywide, but Section 7.144(5)(a) limits noise-producing construction on mobile service (cell tower)…

Sauk County Code § 7.100(2) exempts retaining walls from yard setbacks entirely when the top of the wall sits six inches or less above the average grade of the abutting ground. Taller…

Sauk County Code § 7.100(3) caps solid fences and walls at four feet in a front yard or the street side yard of a corner lot, and at two and one-half feet inside a vision clearance…

In unincorporated Sauk County, a routine fence needs no land use permit, but Section 7.153(3) treats any fence or wall more than 6 feet tall and more than 50 percent opaque as a…

Sauk County does not license tow operators directly, but Sec. 6.012(1)(e) lets a deputy sheriff order a non-consent tow of any vehicle illegally parked, stopped or standing on a county…

Unincorporated Sauk County allows auto body and vehicle repair work as a permitted or home-based use only when it stays fully enclosed: Section 7.065 bars outdoor repairs, outdoor…

Sauk County Code § 30.010 bars anyone from operating a tattoo, body-piercing, or other body-art establishment without a Health Department license, and Sec. 30.014 sets strict age…

In unincorporated Sauk County, Sauk County Code § 7.094 sets a table of minimum yard setbacks by zoning district. Single-family, multiple-family, rural community and agricultural…

Sec. 7.094 of the Sauk County Code caps principal residential buildings at 35 feet in Single Family, Multiple Family and Rural Community districts, while Agriculture, Exclusive…

Sauk County's own protection for agriculture is a disclosure requirement, not a standalone ordinance. Sec. 22.71(2)(a)3.g requires every certified survey map for a…

Sauk County has no countywide noxious-weed list; its invasive-species rule lives inside the zoning code's landscaping requirements. Sec. 7.042(1)(d) bars any non-native species with…

Sauk County's zoning code treats a small home daycare as an accessory use rather than a licensed institution. Sec. 7.011(28) defines a child care center as a place or home caring for…

In unincorporated Sauk County, a home-based business permitted as an accessory use under Section 7.052 may draw no more than five patron vehicles a day, or 25 a week, whichever is…

Unincorporated Sauk County allows a home-based business as an accessory use in six zoning districts, SFR, MFR, RUC, EA, AG, and RC, under Section 7.052, but only after the Zoning…

Sauk County allows one sign per parcel for a home-based business, lodging house, or bed and breakfast in unincorporated areas, capped at 12 square feet of copy area and 8 feet in…

Sauk County Code § 7.127 confines electronic message components to on-premises ground signs, which means off-premises billboards regulated under § 7.130 cannot carry a digital display…

Sauk County Code § 7.126 lets political signs go up without a sign permit under § 7.120(7), but only during the election campaign period defined in Wis. Stats. § 12.04(1)(a), plus five…

In unincorporated Sauk County, a rummage sale sign needs no sign permit under Section 7.120, but Section 7.131's temporary sign table still caps it at 6 square feet of copy area and 6…

Sauk County has no general freeway sign rule, but Section 7.132 sets special standards for the U.S. Highway 12 corridor between Terrytown Road and State Road 33: on-premises ground…

In the Exclusive Agriculture and Resource Conservancy districts of unincorporated Sauk County, Sec. 7.111 lets landowners transfer density credits between qualifying parcels, or into…

Sauk County Code § 7.128 limits any externally illuminated sign, including the off-premises billboards allowed under § 7.130, to four downward-angled lights aimed only at the copy…

Sauk County bars outdoor lighting from spilling past the property line. Section 7.091(7)(b) requires every outdoor fixture covered by the county's parking and loading standards to be…

Sauk County requires every outdoor light fixture covering a parking, loading, or circulation area in unincorporated Sauk County to be fully shielded, cutting artificial sky glow…

In unincorporated Sauk County, a building that is dilapidated, neglected or out-of-repair, dangerous, unsafe or unfit for use, and left unsecured against entry, is declared a 'human…

Dumping or accumulating waste, garbage, trash or scrap outside a closed container in unincorporated Sauk County is declared a 'human health hazard' under Sec. 28.011(3)(a) and (e)…

Unincorporated Sauk County keeps commercial dumpster storage, composting facilities, recycling centers, and waste transfer stations at least 1,000 feet from any residential dwelling…

Every county park and parkway in unincorporated Sauk County closes nightly at 11:00 p.m. and reopens at 6:00 a.m. under Sauk County Code Sec. 10.14, with no exceptions except…

Unincorporated Sauk County bars minors under 18 from public places and business premises during curfew hours: 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:00 p.m. to 5:00…

Unincorporated Sauk County bans selling or possessing fireworks with intent to sell, and bans possessing or using fireworks outside a permitted public display, under Sauk County Code…

Sauk County's zoning code does not regulate fire pits countywide, but Section 8.004 defines a fire pit as a structure, so any fire pit built within 1,000 feet of a lake or 300 feet of…

Unincorporated Sauk County does not zone a stand-alone accessory dwelling unit; Section 7.059 instead permits a temporary secondary dwelling of 400 to 800 square feet for a dependency…

Sauk County does not charge an ADU impact fee; instead, Section 7.059 requires the owner of an approved temporary secondary dwelling to pay a recurring inspection fee to the Zoning…

Sauk County's temporary secondary dwelling permit is not a rental license: Section 7.059 issues it only to the property owner, bars its transfer, and limits occupancy to a dependent…

In the Single Family Residential district, Sauk County caps a shed or other principal accessory structure's floor area based on lot size: 600 square feet on lots under 20,000 square…

Sauk County requires a land use permit from the Zoning Administrator before anyone erects a solar array in the unincorporated county, and the zoning code caps ground-mounted panels at…

Sauk County Code § 38.05 lets the Board of Supervisors add historically or culturally significant sites and districts, anywhere in the county including cities and villages, to the…

Sauk County Code § 28.011 makes it a human health hazard to let trash, rotting lumber, scrap metal, or old tires pile up on unincorporated property where rats, flies, mosquitoes or…

Sauk County Code § 28.012 lets the county Health Officer condemn a rental or any dwelling as unfit for human habitation when it is decayed, unsanitary, infested, or missing working…

Sauk County Code § 29.009 requires an annual food-safety inspection, and the fee that comes with it, for any mobile or temporary food unit already licensed by the State of Wisconsin…

Sauk County Code § 29.015 requires anyone operating a hotel, motel, or tourist rooming house, the category covering short-term rentals rented for under 30 days, to follow the county's…

Sauk County has no separate pool permit, but Section 8.004 lists a swimming pool as an accessory structure, and Section 7.153(2)(a) requires a land use permit from the Zoning…