Portage County, WI Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)

Sec. 4.5.6 enumerates specific conditions the Health Officer may declare a human health hazard under the general definition in Sec. 4.5.3(5), and the first item, Sec. 4.5.6(1), covers breeding places for vermin, insects, etc.: accumulations of decayed animal or vegetable matter, trash, rubbish, refuse, garbage, foodstuffs, or animal or human fecal matter, or any substance or structure that lets flies, cockroaches, rats, mice, skunks or other disease-carrying insects or vermin breed, live, nest or seek shelter. The rule applies countywide under Sec. 4.5.2, covering an unimproved or vacant lot exactly as it covers a built lot, since nothing in the definition limits it to occupied property.

Sec. 4.5.4 places the abatement duty on the property owner once the Health Officer investigates under Sec. 4.5.7 and confirms the accumulation meets the hazard definition. Sec. 4.5.5 separately makes it unlawful for anyone to erect, cause, continue or maintain any human health hazard, including this kind of vermin-breeding debris pile, anywhere in Portage County. If the owner does not clear the accumulation within the deadline set in the Health Officer's written abatement order, Sec. 4.5.8(2) lets the county or the local town or village abate it directly and recover every dollar of the cost from the responsible owner, either billed directly or added to the property as a special assessment under Wis. Stats. ch. 254.59.