Wausau, WI Property Maintenance: Vacant Lot Maintenance (2026)
Key Facts
- Nuisance trigger
- Trash, rubbish, vermin-breeding debris
- Applies to
- Any premises, improved or vacant
- First offense forfeiture
- $1,000 to $2,500
- Repeat offense (24 mo.)
- $2,500 to $5,000
- Also nuisance-listed
- Noxious weeds, rank vegetation
Summary
Wausau treats trash, rubbish, rotting lumber and other vermin-breeding debris left on any property, improved or vacant, as a public health nuisance. Section 9.24.030(c) bans the accumulation, Section 9.24.030(f) separately nuisance-lists rank vegetation, and Section 9.24.090 backs both with steep forfeitures.
No person shall erect, contrive, cause, continue, maintain or permit to exist any public nuisance within the City. ... The following acts, omissions, places, conditions and things are hereby specifically declared to be public health nuisances, but such enumeration shall not be construed to exclude other health nuisances coming within the definition in section 9.24.020: ... (c)The presence of any: decayed animal matter; vegetable matter; trash; rubbish; rotting lumber; bedding; packing material; scrap metal; and any material whatsoever of any nature or description, shape or composure, in which vermin such as flies, mosquitoes, insects, rats, mice or other potential disease-transmitting vermin may breed; ... (f)All noxious weeds and other rank growth of vegetation;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 12 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
010. 030(c) then specifically declares a public health nuisance the presence of decayed animal matter, vegetable matter, trash, rubbish, rotting lumber, bedding, packing material, scrap metal, or any other material in which flies, mosquitoes, rats, mice or other disease-transmitting vermin may breed, wherever it sits, so an unmaintained vacant lot is squarely covered even though the section names no particular land use. 010. 130 independently bars storing landscaping materials, pallets, bulk items or noncollectible waste on any premises. 080, which deems any code violation not corrected within a reasonable time after City notice a public nuisance in its own right, opening the door to further enforcement.
Violations & Fines
Maintaining trash, rubbish, rotting lumber, scrap metal or other vermin-breeding debris on any premises, improved or vacant, violates Section 9.24.030(c) and Section 9.24.090 sets the penalty: a forfeiture of not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $2,500.00 for a first offense, rising to not less than $2,500.00 nor more than $5,000.00 for a second violation of Chapter 9.24 committed within 24 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Wausau cite me for junk piling up on an empty lot?
How much is the fine for a nuisance violation in Wausau?
Does overgrown vegetation on a vacant lot count as a nuisance too?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Wausau
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