Uniform Addressing System - Taylor County, WI

Chapter 61 – Uniform Addressing System Page 1 of 6
CHAPTER 61
UNIFORM ADDRESSING SYSTEM
61.01 PURPOSE. This chapter is enacted for the purpose of establishing and maintaining
a uniform addressing system for Taylor County. The intent of this chapter is to facilitate the
naming of roads, signing of roads, assigning of addresses, location of address signs and
residence numbers to aid emergency personnel in providing fire protection, emergency
medical services, law enforcement services, delivery of mail and meet other general
location needs of the public.
61.02 AUTHORITY. This chapter is adopted pursuant to authorization in Section 59.54(4),
Wisconsin State Statutes, and shall be construed to be consistent with any acts of
amendatory thereto.
61.03 ADMINISTRATION. The Zoning Committee shall be the governing body responsible
for oversight and administration of the Uniform Addressing System for Taylor County. The
towns shall cooperate with the County in the implementation of this system. The Zoning
Committee shall have authority to delegate to an individual(s) the responsibilities for
coordinating the system. These duties shall include assignment of addresses, maintenance
of an accurate road name listing, update of maps, management of address sign installation
and enforcement and policing of the chapter.
61.04 JURISDICTION. This chapter shall apply only to the unincorporated areas, including
unincorporated villages, of Taylor County, Wisconsin.
61.05 DEFINITIONS. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
(1) Address means a physical number for each primary structure as assigned by the
County.
(2) Address sign means an individual address plate placed on a road or driveway
identifying the street or location address of a building or location.
(3) Application form means the form required for assignment of a new address.
(4) Driveway means a private road serving not more than two primary structures.
(5) Primary structure means a building in which is conducted the primary use of the
lot or parcel on which it is located. A primary structure may be used for residential,
commercial, industrial, public-semipublic, recreation or other.
(6) Road means a public or private way that provides primary means of access by
vehicles to adjacent property.
(7) Road sign means a sign posted at a road intersection that identifies the road
name(s).

Chapter 61 – Uniform Addressing System Page 2 of 6
(8) Signpost means a post, permanently affixed in the ground, used solely for display
of the address.
61.06 ASSIGNMENT OF ROAD NAMES.
(1) All public roads shall be named.
(2) All private roads or easements serving more than two (2) residences or lots shall
be named if requested for future development.
(3) Town officials shall be responsible for submitting the proposed name of roads
under their jurisdiction to the County for approval.
(4) The County Zoning Administrator shall make the final decision on disputes
concerning road names.
(5) Duplication of road names within the County shall not be permitted unless
approved by Taylor County Zoning Administrator.
(6) Roads that run continuously from one town into another town within the county
shall bear the same name whenever possible.
(7) The County Zoning Administrator shall be responsible for maintaining the Master
Road Name List.
(8) The assignment of road names to private roads does not obligate the Town or
County to maintain said private road nor does it indicate the private road is suitable for
access by emergency vehicles.
61.07 ROAD SIGNS.
(1) Road name signs shall be erected at the intersections of all roads used for
address assignment within the towns.
(2) Each town shall be responsible for the installation, maintenance and replacement
of these signs within its boundaries.
(3) The road name signs shall be clearly visible from the traveled surface of the
roadway at all times.
(4) Road signs shall be of a uniform pattern and color, mounted on a suitable post
and erected at a uniform height throughout the Town.
(5) The County shall determine minimum road sign specifications. Current signs
may be used if they meet minimum standards.
(6) Damaged, faded or missing signs must be replaced by the Town.

Chapter 61 – Uniform Addressing System Page 3 of 6
(7) Towns are responsible for the cost of signs, or in the case of new roads, the
Town may recover the cost of signage from the developer of the road, or in the case of a
private road or easement, from the landowner(s) or user(s) of said road.
61.08 UNIFORM ADDRESSING SYSTEM.
(1) All homes, businesses, farms, multifamily dwellings, structures for human
habitation, and other establishments, within the unincorporated areas of Taylor County
shall have an assigned uniform address number.
(2) It shall be the property owner's responsibility to obtain an address number for his
residence/building. Property owners will be assigned an address number by the Taylor
County Zoning Administrator. If owner refuses to comply voluntarily, the County shall
assign a number.
(3) The County shall provide a standardized application form available at the Taylor
County Zoning Office to be used by all applicants.
(4) The Zoning Office will keep on hand an updated numbering map with current
changes and which is available for public viewing.
(5) Grid maps produced for the Zoning Office are copyrighted and require
permission to be copies, extracted, etc.
(6) Immediately following enactment of this chapter, Taylor County will undertake a
countywide signing/resigning program in an effort to insure uniformity of signs and location.
(7) Property owners who have address numbers assigned to their residence/building
prior to the effective date of this chapter shall have address signs installed at no cost to
them.
(8) Effective immediately upon passage and publication of this chapter within thirty
(30) days of any application for sanitary permits for new buildings or within thirty (30) days
of any address number assignment, owners of such new residence(s)/building(s) shall post
and maintain at their expense the address number of such residence/building. Sign
installation shall be in accordance with the specifications contained in this chapter. Sources
for purchase of signing materials are available from the County Zoning Office.
61.09 ADDRESSING NUMBER SYSTEM. The Zoning Committee shall establish a
uniform rural road and building identification system throughout Taylor County. The
Committee or its designee shall assign identification/address numbers to all locations
described in Section 61.08(1), Taylor County Code.
The Committee may delegate administration of the program to the Zoning
Administrator. The following rules govern the Uniform Address System of Taylor County:
(1) The grid number shall be the basis of the address system in Taylor County.
(2) Numbers are assigned every 13.2 feet.

Chapter 61 – Uniform Addressing System Page 4 of 6
(3) Base point (origin of numbers) is in the southeast corner of the County (Deer
Creek Township).
(4) All numbers shall be prefixed by N or W. N (North) numbers shall be used on
north and south roads and W (West) numbers shall be used on east and west roads.
(5) All numbers North and East of identified roads shall be even; those West and
South shall be odd numbers.
(6) Only town roads, county or state highways and specified private roads shall be
used as a basis for numbers.
(7) The road/highway that the driveway accesses to is the road the number will be
assigned to.
(8) All new numbers will be assigned through the Zoning office which is responsible
for insuring that such numbers are affixed to appropriate maps and notification made to
police, fire, medical and postal officials.
(9) Multifamily dwellings shall be numbered with a base number and an A, B, C, etc.
(10) A number, once assigned, shall remain with that structure or lot.
(11) Buildings other than habitable dwellings may be numbered for emergency
purposes.
(12) Where roads have large curves, turns, etc., numbers shall follow the general
direction of the road.
(13) Incorrect assignment of an address due to incomplete or incorrect information
on the application for or an error on the part of the person issuing the address shall be
corrected immediately.
(14) Existing addresses that are discovered to have been incorrectly assigned shall
be evaluated by the County Zoning Administrator and determination shall be made if the
situation demands correction. The landowner(s) affected may be required to change their
address to correct the error.
61.10 ADDRESS SIGN SPECIFICATIONS. Address signs shall be a minimum size of six
(6) by eighteen (18) inches, constructed of non-corrosive metal, with reflective white
lettering on a reflective red background. Address numbers and letters shall be a minimum
of three and one-half (3 1/2) inches in height and road names shall be under the address
identification number in letters one (1) inch in height. Reflective materials used for address
signs shall meet federal standards for reflective sheeting, or better. Signs shall have
numbers and roads names applied to both sides of the sign.
61.11 SIGN INSTALLATION.

Chapter 61 – Uniform Addressing System Page 5 of 6
(1) To insure maximum visibility by emergency responders, address signs must be
clearly visible at all times and legible from the roadway by a person with normal vision.
Address signs shall be installed perpendicular to the roadway at the right-of-way line, or
between thirty-three (33) and forty (40) feet from the centerline of the roadway where rightof-way
is more distant, and approximately ten (10) feet from the right edge of the driveway.
Where residences are clustered in close proximity and served by a common access road,
as at the end of a cul-de-sac, signs shall be prominently posted immediately adjacent to the
driveway serving the residence. Signs shall be not less than four (4) feet, nor more than six
(6) feet above ground level. Obstructions such as tall grass, brush, snow berms or drifts,
etc., shall be removed by the owner as necessary to keep signs clearly visible at all times.
(2) Any deviation or variance from these standards and specification must be
approved by the County Zoning Administrator.
(3) Notification of Diggers Hotline. In the event a new post is installed on which to
mount a sign the owner/installer must notify Diggers Hotline (Tel: 1-800-242-8511) at least
three (3) days prior to installing the post. Taylor County and local municipalities therein
assume no responsibility for damages caused by the owner/installer's failure to notify
Diggers Hotline.
61.12 PROHIBITIONS.
(1) No person shall obliterate, vandalize, destroy or remove an official address sign
issued under this chapter.
(2) No person shall fail to reinstall an official address sign under this chapter after
the sign for that person's property has been obliterated, vandalized, destroyed or removed.
Such reinstallations shall be at the expense of the owner.
History: Amended, Ordinance 560, 10/28/2009
(3) Vanity address or road signs shall not interfere with the Taylor County
Addressing System.
61.13 GENERAL.
(1) A cluster of commercial, business, or industrial buildings, residences, or an
apartment or condominium complex served by private roads, may, at the discretion of the
Zoning Administrator, be assigned a separate number for each building under the
procedure established by the Zoning Administrator.
(2) Address numbers shall be assigned on those private roads which are named
pursuant to the rules of the Zoning Administrator. Each such private road shall be shown on
the Taylor County Uniform Address System Map.
(3) Existing signs near property entrances which display erroneous or misleading
information, e.g. obsolete fire numbers, shall be removed.
61.14 NONCOMPLIANCE/PENALTY.

Chapter 61 – Uniform Addressing System Page 6 of 6
(1) Within thirty (30) days after starting construction of a new building, and without
documentation or evidence of progress toward compliance with this chapter, new building
owners will be considered in violation of this chapter.
(2) Penalty for Non-Compliance: Any person, partnership, or corporation found to be
in violation of this chapter shall be subject to a forfeiture of not to exceed $200.00.
61.15 ENFORCEMENT.
(1) Uniform Dwelling Code inspectors, law enforcement officers, or other emergency
responders for Taylor County will verify that road and address signs, placements and
maintenance are in accordance with standards and specifications contained in this chapter.
Violations and/or deficiencies shall be reported to the Taylor County Zoning Administrator.
(2) The Taylor County Zoning Administrator shall report instances of non-compliance
to the Taylor County Sheriff for enforcement action. Taylor County law enforcement
officers may issue citations for violations noted. All emergency response personnel (first
responders, EMT's, ambulance personnel, firefighters, law enforcement officers) in Taylor
County are empowered to report violations of this chapter to the Taylor County Zoning
Administrator.
History: THE COMPLETE CHAPTER 61 WAS REPEALED AND RECREATED ON
6/25/2008 ORDINANCE 550