Wisconsin does regulate weed-choked vacant lots, but through the noxious-weed statute and municipal codes rather than a Rock County blight ordinance. Under Wis. Stat. §66.0407 the local weed commissioner can order destruction of noxious weeds on any lot and bill the owner.
There is no countywide Rock County ordinance policing vacant lots for junk or general blight; that is municipal. What does apply statewide is Wisconsin's noxious-weed law, Wis. Stat. §66.0407, which every city, village and town administers through a weed commissioner. It requires landowners to destroy noxious weeds and lets the commissioner enter and destroy weeds on a neglected lot, charging the cost back to the owner as a special tax. Cities and villages layer their own tall-grass and property-maintenance limits on top. For a specific vacant lot, check the municipality's code and the county's shoreland/floodplain rules if the lot is near water.
Under Wis. Stat. §66.0407 the weed commissioner may destroy noxious weeds and assess the cost to the owner as a special tax on the parcel. Municipal tall-grass violations add separate fines.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Rock County, WI
Wisconsin's cruelty statute (Ch. 951) makes it illegal to keep animals without proper food, water, and shelter, which is how hoarding is enforced. Rock Count...
Rock County, WI
Rock County has no blanket countywide wildlife-feeding ban, but deer and elk feeding is regulated statewide, and nuisance-feeding of wild animals is addresse...
Rock County, WI
Rock County encourages waste reduction and does not ban backyard composting. Wisconsin bans yard waste from landfills, so composting is favored. Nuisance con...
Rock County, WI
Rock County has no countywide ordinance regulating artificial turf. Whether synthetic grass is allowed, and any coverage or stormwater conditions, is decided...
Rock County, WI
Rock County does not ban native or naturalized landscaping, but the mandatory noxious-weed duty still applies. Near navigable water, native shoreland buffers...
Rock County, WI
Collecting rainwater is legal in Wisconsin and Rock County sets no barrier to rain barrels. There is no state permit for a basic downspout rain barrel used f...
See how Rock County's vacant lot maintenance rules stack up against other locations.
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