6 Cabin Rules That Can Result in Fines for Wisconsin Owners

Time at the cabin is meant for unwinding, not for getting a notice in the mail.

Wisconsin has rules for cabin owners that are easy to overlook, especially if you only visit now and then.

Here’s where those rules can catch Wisconsinites off guard.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Penalty amounts and local rules are subject to change.

1. Piers Without a Permit

A pier in front of your cabin generally needs a state permit because it’s a structure placed on the bed of a navigable water.

If you skip it, the state’s waterway statute sets a forfeiture of $100 to $10,000 for a first offense.

That’s a wide range.

A second conviction for the same offense raises the minimum to $500.

Under subsection (5) of that statute, a court can also order abatement of a nuisance or restoration of a natural resource.

Since 1979, the same chapter has barred anyone from putting a boathouse beyond the ordinary high-water mark of a navigable waterway.

That ban is section 30.121, and the forfeiture range above covers violations of sections 30.12 through 30.21 unless another penalty applies.

Certain piers placed before April 17, 2012, are also exempt from the permit requirement, and newer ones can qualify by meeting set conditions.

2. Short-Term Rental Licenses

Renting out your cabin without the right license can cost you a forfeiture of up to $1,000 for each violation.

A criminal charge is the other route, with a first-offense fine of $100 to $1,000 or up to six months in jail.

The license in question covers a tourist rooming house, which the statute defines to include any tourist cabin or cottage offered for pay to tourists or transients.

If you rent out your cabin for more than 10 nights a year, state law requires a license from the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).

The lodging law bars you from operating a tourist rooming house without an annual license from DATCP or from a local health department with agent status.

DATCP lists an annual fee of $296 for one tourist rooming house.

The same statute lets a local government require a local license by ordinance.

Adams County’s ordinance does that, requiring a county tourist rooming house license, and that rule applies in Adams County only.

The initial application costs $300, which includes the first two-year permit.

A renewal costs $150.

The county also wants a resident agent who lives in or within 25 miles of your cabin, or a corporate entity with offices within 25 miles.

Operating in Adams County without that license can bring a forfeiture of $100 to $300 for each offense.

3. Septic Pumping Citations

Your cabin’s septic system may have to be inspected or pumped on a county schedule.

State law has counties run a maintenance program that calls for inspection or pumping at least once every three years when a system has no maintenance plan.

A county can investigate violations, issue orders to abate them and submit those orders to the district attorney, corporation counsel or attorney general for enforcement.

Winnebago County shows what that can look like, with a three-year deadline for any system that has a drainfield.

If you miss that deadline without a submitted pumping report, the county can issue an initial citation of $389.50.

That figure is Winnebago’s alone.

Paying the citation doesn’t end the job, since the county’s FAQ says you still need the pumping or inspection and the inspection report.

Your pumper must complete the pumping form online, since a receipt doesn’t provide enough inspection information.

4. Leaving a Fire Burning

State law puts a price on walking away from a fire at your cabin.

If you set a fire and leave before it’s out, the forest fire statute sets a forfeiture of up to $100 for a first offense.

A later offense can bring a fine of up to $500, up to 30 days in jail or both.

If the fire escapes and becomes a forest fire, the statute allows a fine of up to $1,000, up to 90 days in jail or both.

That’s a steep jump.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) adds that you’re liable for all suppression costs and potentially any damages when your fire starts a wildfire.

Its burning permit is free, and you can get one online with an email address.

The DNR requires the permit in its forest fire protection areas to burn legal materials whenever the ground isn’t completely snow-covered.

Permits are issued annually to a person, not to an address, and can’t be transferred.

Law enforcement may cite you for burning without a permit, ignoring the daily fire restrictions or letting a fire escape.

5. Shoreline Clear-Cutting

Clear-cutting the trees and shrubs along your cabin’s shoreline isn’t allowed in a strip that runs 35 feet inland from the ordinary high water mark.

That rule sits inside shoreland zoning, which covers land within 1,000 feet of a navigable lake, flowage or pond.

You can keep a viewing corridor, though it can’t exceed 30 percent of your shoreline frontage or 200 feet.

The DNR says any other vegetation removal would require a permit from the county.

Its list of exceptions includes routine maintenance, invasive species removal and damaged or diseased vegetation.

Your county enforces the buffer through its zoning ordinance.

State law backs county zoning ordinances with forfeitures.

Amounts can vary by county.

Oneida County’s zoning and shoreland ordinance sets a forfeiture of $25 to $250, plus costs, for each violation.

The ordinance also counts each day a violation continues as a separate offense.

6. Building Within 75 Feet of the Water

Building too close to the water on your lot can bring a county forfeiture.

Douglas County’s ordinance sets it at $50 to $200 per offense, plus the taxable costs of the action.

Each day the violation exists counts as a separate offense.

The clock keeps running.

The DNR says all buildings and structures must sit at least 75 feet back from the ordinary high water mark.

Douglas County’s Section 5.1 repeats that 75-foot setback for buildings and structures, except exempt structures.

A cabin lot also has an impervious-surface limit of 15 percent of the lot.

You can go up to 30 percent, but only with shoreland mitigation.

The ordinance also calls every violation a public nuisance that a court can order stopped.

What You Can't Burn

Burning garbage at your cabin is prohibited, according to the DNR.

Today's garbage holds plastics, dyes and other chemicals that release hazardous toxins when burned.

Trash isn't fuel.

The list also rules out plastics of any kind, wood that has been painted, treated, laminated or glued, and barn boards with paint remnants.

You can burn small amounts of dry household rubbish, meaning unrecyclable paper and cardboard, natural fibers and clean, untreated wood, unless a local ordinance prohibits it.