Burlington, WI Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)

1 to land within the shoreland areas of the City annexed or attached after May 7, 1982, covering setbacks, lot sizes and vegetation cutting near the Fox River and other waters. B(2) carves out piers, boat hoists, and boathouses from that setback entirely, recognizing that water-access structures cannot function if pushed 75 feet inland. Where an existing development pattern already exists among neighboring parcels, other structures may reduce their shore yard to the average of abutting properties within 100 feet, but never below 50 feet, and any structure in the floodplain must still separately comply with Chapter 119's floodplain zoning requirements.

C. An accessory residential boathouse may sit within the shore yard but must stay at least 20 feet from the average annual high-water elevation, a distance the Zoning Board of Appeals can vary, though a boathouse can never project beyond the shoreline itself. Only one boathouse is allowed per shoreland lot, capped at 15 feet in height above the high-water elevation and 250 square feet of horizontal area, and it must sit at least 15 feet from any side lot line with its main opening facing the water.

Boathouses cannot be used for human habitation, cannot have plumbing, heating or cooking facilities, and their roofs cannot be used as a deck or fitted with railings. Placing any boathouse beyond the ordinary high-water mark of navigable water is prohibited outright.