Fiscal Note
No significant fiscal impact is anticipated.
Title
Amending Section 8.15 of the Madison General Ordinances to add regulation of private use of the Southwest Bike Path right-of-way.
Body
DRAFTER'S ANALYSIS: This ordinance amendment makes certain private uses of the Southwest Bike Path private nuisances. When the City took over control of this State of Wisconsin land for use as a bike path, there existed numerous encroachments from abutting properties. City staff created a policy to balance the public use of the land as a bike path and existing private uses of the land. This policy has not been successful at containing the encroachments in this area. Putting regulation of the bike path into ordinance, rather than policy form will make enforcement of private use of this public land more efficient for the City and will provide an easier way for abutting property owners, potential buyers, and bike path users to know how private use of the bike path is treated.
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The Common Council of the City of Madison do hereby ordain as follows:
Section 8.15 entitled "Regulation Of Private Use Of Greenways And Park Lands" of the Madison General Ordinances is amended to read as follows:
"8.15 REGULATION OF PRIVATE USE OF GREENWAYS, AND PARK LANDS, AND THE SOUTHWEST BIKE PATH.
(1) Greenways and Park Lands.
(a) Public Nuisance. Private use of City-owned or leased greenways and park lands including, but not limited to, fences, retaining walls, outbuilding sites, dog runs, play equipment and gardens, storage of piers, boat hoists, or other private personal property, planting or pruning of trees and shrubs, mowing of grass on park lands, or mowing of grass on greenways when posted for no mowing is a public nuisance and is prohibited unless approval to use City-owned or leased greenways is obtained pursuant to SubsectionSubdivision (2b).
(2b) The City Engineer may approve planting nat...
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