Short-term rentals in Appleton must comply with Chapter 12 Article IV (Noise) of the Appleton Municipal Code. Section 12-80 prohibits any loud, disturbing, fluctuating or unnecessary sounds that tend to annoy a reasonable person. Section 12-81 sets enforceable A-weighted decibel limits at the property line: 57 dBA daytime and 52 dBA nighttime in residential zones, with 'night' running from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
Wisconsin Statute 66.1014 (the 'right to rent' law) prevents Appleton from banning short-term rentals of seven days or longer but expressly preserves the city's authority to enforce noise ordinances against STR operators and their guests. Appleton enforces Chapter 12 Article IV equally against owner-occupied homes and tourist rooming houses licensed by the City of Appleton Health Department. Section 12-76 defines residential area as zones AG, R-1A, R-1B, R-1C, R-2, R-3, P-I and NC, and defines 'night' as 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (CST or CDT). Section 12-81(a) and Tables I and II of the noise article cap A-weighted sound levels measured at or beyond the property line at 57 dBA daytime and 52 dBA nighttime in residential zones; an industrial source emitting into a residential zone is held to a tighter 61 dBA daytime / 55 dBA nighttime limit under Table II. Section 12-81(b) separately prohibits operating any radio, television, phonograph, musical instrument or sound amplifier in a manner that creates a noise disturbance, and Section 12-87 makes it unlawful to operate a radio or similar electric sound amplification device that is audible from seventy-five (75) or more feet away. Section 12-81(d) bars mechanical lawn or garden tools from being operated at night, which restricts late-evening yard work by guests. STR hosts who wish to host a louder event must apply at least 45 days in advance to the Board of Health for a special variance permit under Section 12-83 ($25/day, $50/week or $75/month).
Violations of Chapter 12 Article IV are enforced by the Appleton Health Department or the Appleton Police Department under Section 12-77. Section 12-78 makes a noise disturbance a public nuisance subject to forfeiture under Section 1-16, injunction, and abatement. The Appleton STR ordinance also exposes hosts to license review by the City Health Department for failure to maintain quiet enjoyment for neighbors of a tourist rooming house.
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