11.220 Animal Licenses.

(1) Dog and Cat Licenses Required. The owner of a dog or cat more than five months of age on January 1st of any year, or five months of age within a license year, shall annually, or on or before the date such dog or cat becomes five months of age, pay the dog or cat license tax and obtain a license for such dog or cat. As used herein, the word owner shall include every person who owns, harbors, or keeps a dog or cat. If the owner has more than three cats or three dogs at any one dwelling, the owner shall apply for a permit pursuant to MMC 14.020(1). No more than one four-animal permit shall be issued per dwelling unit. No dog or cat licenses shall be issued for owners of more than three cats or three dogs unless proof is presented to the City Treasurer that a permit has been approved by the Chief of Police or his designee.

(a) Issuance of License. Upon payment of the required dog or cat license tax and presentation of the required evidence that the dog or cat is currently immunized against rabies, the City Treasurer shall complete and issue to the owner a license for the dog or cat bearing a serial number and in the form prescribed by the State of Wisconsin stating the date of its expiration, owner’s name and address, and the name, sex, spayed or unspayed, neutered or unneutered, breed and color of the dog or cat. The City Treasurer shall keep a duplicate copy of the license on file.

(b) Issuance of Tags. After issuing the license, the City Treasurer shall deliver to the owner a tag of durable material bearing the same serial number as the license, which shall be labeled “Manitowoc County” and specify the license year. The owner shall securely attach the tag to the collar and the collar with the tag attached shall be kept on the dog or cat to which the license is issued at all times, but this requirement does not apply to a show during competition, to a dog or cat securely confined indoors, or to a dog or cat securely confined in a fenced area. A duplicate tag shall be furnished to the owner by the City Treasurer in place of the original tag upon presentation of the license and payment of a fee of $0.50. The City Treasurer shall then endorse the new tag number on the license and keep a record in the file.

(c) Filing and Accounting. The City Treasurer shall comply with all the requirements of Wis. Stat. § 174.07(3) regarding dog licenses and collar tags.

(d) License Tax. The license tax shall be $10.00 for a neutered male dog or cat or spayed female dog or cat and $15.00 for an unneutered male dog or cat or unspayed female dog or cat, or one-half of these amounts if the dog or cat became five months of age after July 1st of any license year. Each owner applying for a neutered or spayed dog or cat license shall, at the time of the application, present to the City Treasurer a certificate signed by a licensed veterinarian that said dog or cat has been neutered or spayed by the veterinarian.

(e) Late Fees. The City Treasurer shall assess and collect a late fee of $5.00 from every owner of a dog or cat five months of age or over, if the owner fails to obtain a license prior to April 1st of each year, or within 30 days of acquiring ownership of a licensable dog or cat, or if the owner failed to obtain a license on or before the dog or cat reached the licensable age. All late fees received or collected shall be paid into the general fund.

(2) Repealed by Ord. 18-892.

(3) Listing of Dogs and Cats. The City Treasurer shall annually ascertain by diligent inquiry the dogs and cats owned or kept within the City of Manitowoc. Every person shall answer frankly and fully all questions asked by the City Treasurer or his/her designate relative to the ownership or keeping of dogs or cats within the City of Manitowoc. The City Treasurer shall enter in the records for personal property assessments, or in a separate record, all dogs and cats in the City of Manitowoc subject to tax, to whom they are assessed, the name, number, sex, spayed or unspayed, neutered or unneutered, breed and color of each dog and cat. The City Treasurer shall maintain a record of the owners of all dogs and cats assessed and all licenses issued. The Police Department may be called upon by the City Treasurer for assistance in performing these duties. The City Treasurer shall make a claim against Manitowoc County for each dog listed by the City Treasurer.

(4) Chickens. No person shall keep, raise, possess or have under such person’s control, either temporarily or permanently, any chickens or ducks without first obtaining a license issued by the City Clerk. The license should be obtained as soon as the fowl are added to the premises and must be renewed annually.

(a) License Application. Application for a chicken license shall be made by the owner thereof upon forms furnished by the City Clerk. Such application shall contain the full name and address of the owner, shall establish that ownership complies with all applicable provisions of Wisconsin Statutes and the Manitowoc Municipal Code, and any other information as designated on the form by the City Clerk. The applicant shall present a copy of his/her Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection livestock premises registration at the time of application.

(b) License Tax and Late Fees. The license tax shall be $10.00 per premises. The City Treasurer shall assess and collect a late fee of $5.00 from owners who fail to obtain a license within one month of ownership or possession of the fowl or by January 31st of each license renewal year. All late fees received or collected shall be paid into the general fund.

(c) Minimum Requirements. The chickens shall be provided with a covered enclosure and must be kept in the covered enclosure or fenced enclosure at all times. The enclosure shall be located at least 25 feet from any residential structure on an adjacent lot. The applicant for license must notify all residents of the property and the owner of the property if the applicant is not the owner or operator. Notification is not needed for renewal of a license.

(d) Prohibitions. No person shall keep more than six chickens at any time. The keeping of roosters, gamecocks, and other fighting birds is prohibited. The slaughtering of chickens is prohibited.

(e) License Revocation. The Chief of Police or his designee, or the Building Inspector or his designee, may revoke a license issued under this section if the owner, within a 12-month period, accumulates two or more violations resulting in conviction of any ordinance regulating the keeping of chickens.

(f) License Term and Renewal. Licenses issued under this subsection shall expire December 31st of the year an application was submitted. Any license holder who wishes to renew a license under this subsection shall submit a completed application and license tax by January 31st in order to avoid incurring a late fee.

(5) Honeybees.

(a) Definitions.

Apiary means the assembly of one or more colonies of honeybees at a single location.

Beekeeper means a person who owns or has charge of one or more colonies of honeybees.

Colony means an aggregate of honeybees consisting principally of workers, but having, when perfect, one queen and at times drones, brood, combs and honey.

Hive means the receptacle inhabited by a colony that is manufactured or created for that purpose.

Honeybee means all life stages of the common domestic honeybee, Apis mellifera species of European origin.

Lot means a contiguous parcel of land under common ownership.

Nucleus colony means a small quantity of honeybees with a queen housed in a smaller than usual hive box designed for a particular purpose.

Undeveloped property means any idle land that is not improved or in the process of being improved with residential, commercial, industrial, church, park, school or governmental facilities or other structures or improvements intended for human occupancy and the grounds maintained in association therewith.

(b) Permit and Fees Required. No person shall keep, maintain, or allow to be kept any hive or other facility for the housing of honeybees on or in any property in the City of Manitowoc without a permit.

1. Permit Application and Fees. Application for a beekeeping permit shall be made by the beekeeper upon forms furnished by the City Clerk. Permit fees shall be $10.00 per premises. The City Treasurer shall assess and collect a late fee of $5.00 from any owner who fails to obtain a permit within one month of ownership or possession of the colony. The following additional information shall be provided at the time of application and with each renewal:

A detailed lot diagram of the beekeeping equipment location including the distances to property lines and from nearby structures and neighboring properties;

Written consent from at least 80 percent of the owners of real estate situated within 100 feet of the applicant’s proposed permitted property;

Written documentation evidencing successful completion of at least one annual inspection by a State Apiary Inspector or at least one annual inspection by a member of a local beekeeping organization approved by the City.

2. Permits shall not be transferable or refundable. Only the owner of the proposed permitted real property, or an occupant of the proposed permitted real property with the owner’s written permission, is eligible to obtain a beekeeping permit. Permits shall expire on December 31st of the year of issuance unless sooner revoked.

(c) Placement. Beekeeping equipment shall be restricted to rear yards and side yards and shall be screened to avoid being visible from the street or sidewalk. Hives may not exceed 20 cubic feet in volume. Hives must be at least three feet from any property line, 10 feet from any public sidewalk, and at least 25 feet from a principal building on an abutting lot. Ten feet of space on the permitted lot shall be maintained in front of each hive.

(d) Standards of Practice. Any person obtaining a permit pursuant to this subsection (5) shall comply with the following standards of practice:

1. No more than two hives per lot will be allowed with an allowance for a temporary nucleus colony. If the beekeeper serves the community by removing a swarm or swarms of honeybees from locations where they are not desired, the beekeeper shall not be considered in violation of this subsection limiting the number of colonies if he/she temporarily houses the swarm on the apiary lot in compliance with the standards of practice set out herein for no more than 30 days from the date acquired. A beekeeper engaging in such practice shall only qualify for this subsection’s exemption if the beekeeper provides the City written notification within 72 hours of engaging in such an action.

2. Hives must have a constant and adequate water supply available to the colony.

3. Hives must have a flyaway barrier comprised of a wall, fence, dense vegetation or combination thereof, which is at least six feet tall and which shields any part of a property line that is within 25 feet of a hive. A flyaway barrier is not required if all property adjoining the apiary lot line is undeveloped, or is zoned agricultural or nonresidential, or is a wildlife management area or naturalistic park land with no horse or foot trails located within 25 feet of the apiary lot line.

4. The beekeeper shall conspicuously post a sign including the words “HONEYBEE HIVE” and his/her name and telephone number clearly readable at 25 feet. A copy of the permit shall be placed in a conspicuous place on the hive.

5. Each beekeeper shall ensure that no wax comb or other materials that might encourage robbing by other bees are left upon the grounds of the apiary lot. Such materials, once removed from the site, shall be handled and stored in sealed containers or placed within a building or other insect-proof container.

6. Each beekeeper shall maintain beekeeping equipment in good condition, including keeping the hives painted, and securing unused equipment from weather, potential theft or vandalism and occupancy by swarms. It shall be a violation of this subsection (5) for any beekeeper’s unused equipment to attract a swarm, even if the beekeeper is not intentionally keeping honeybees.

(e) Inspection and Enforcement.

1. City of Manitowoc staff shall have the right to inspect any permitted beekeeping equipment between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Where practicable, prior notice shall be given to the beekeeper.

2. Violations of this subsection (5) may constitute a public nuisance under MMC 14.560. Nothing in this subsection (5) shall be construed as prohibiting the abatement of public nuisance by the City of Manitowoc or its officials in accordance with the laws of Wisconsin, the laws of the United States, or the Manitowoc Municipal Code.

(f) Penalties. Any person who violates this subsection (5) shall forfeit not less than $50.00 nor more than $200.00 plus costs. Each day such violation continues shall constitute a separate offense. Beekeeping permits may be revoked if any permit holder incurs three or more violations of this subsection (5) within a 24-month period.

(6) Penalties. Any person who shall violate any provisions of this section shall be subject to a forfeiture of not less than $5.00 nor more than $100.00 for each offense.

[Ord. 19-166 § 1, 2019; Ord. 18-892 § 1, 2018; Ord. 18-690 § 1, 2018; Ord. 18-337 § 1, 2018; Ord. 17-1216 § 1, 2017]