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Parking ramp or portajohn= government building?

GlockRDH

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2010
Messages
626
Location
north of the Peoples Republic of Madison
Would the parking ramps in Madison (all city owned i assume) be considered 'buildings' as far as the statute is concerned? How bout if the city puts up some porta johns (outside the building) for those inside the building?
 

Motofixxer

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Joined
May 14, 2010
Messages
965
Location
Somewhere over the Rainbow
I don't think they could be classified as a building by any stretch of statutes. But then again...it is Madison. Porta jons are a plastic structure leased to an municipality likely sitting on public property like sidewalk etc, I would ask to see the statute defining that.
 
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Canard

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Messages
148
Location
SE, Wisconsin, USA
I've argued this before but I believe parking structures are buildings. They must be reviewed by the state under the "building code" when designed and constructed.
 

JJC

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Messages
283
Location
La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA
I've argued this before but I believe parking structures are buildings. They must be reviewed by the state under the "building code" when designed and constructed.

I must agree, parking ramp is classified as a "Government Building".

Being it's in Madison, only means your in trouble.

Sorry

JJC
 

oliverclotheshoff

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2010
Messages
845
Location
mauston wi
cowboyridin set up the baraboo picnic and looked into whats is classified as a building and he came up with if it has walls and i believe doors it is then classified as a building if it doesnt than it is not he did verify tha with someone i dont remember who it was

if brass magnet wasnt off on his world travels he would be abe to help as well

maybe cowboyridin could chime in on this with his words of wisdom
 

Serpent

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2009
Messages
64
Location
, Wisconsin, USA
Would the parking ramps in Madison (all city owned i assume) be considered 'buildings' as far as the statute is concerned? How bout if the city puts up some porta johns (outside the building) for those inside the building?


They would. When we did the OC picnic, we had to get written permission from the chief to use the shelters AND the bathrooms. If it's owned or controlled by any governmental entity, it's considered a government building.
 

Nutczak

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
2,165
Location
The Northwoods, lakeland area, Wisconsin, USA
Any building is a building, but lets look at the law a little closer and what the intent of the law is. (is intent of law a viable argument in court?)

to classify a portable stinklodge the same as the municipal library is stupid, same as a pit toilet out in a park.

I wish the law was better defined or we could get a ruling on this from Van Hollen.

This very subject coined the phrase "Yard Biscuit" a few years back! I still like it!
 

LR Yote 312

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2010
Messages
458
Location
God's Country, Wi
If the glorified out houses in a wayside are considered a "Government Building"
then it wouldnt surprise me none to see them classify a porta john as a
"Government Building"...it certainly meets the walls and door criteria.

I see both as a direct phone line to my fav politician....Heres a voice mail for ya !!!
"Ffffftttttttt..."

LR Yote
 
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oliverclotheshoff

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2010
Messages
845
Location
mauston wi
They would. When we did the OC picnic, we had to get written permission from the chief to use the shelters AND the bathrooms. If it's owned or controlled by any governmental entity, it's considered a government building.

bathrooms are considered a building because they have walls and doors but the shelters are not they are not enclosed with walls and if they are truely considered a building like you say then the cheif who gave you written permission to use them is breaking the law becuase they cannot give you permission to break a law written or verbal so the cheif either does not know the laws to their extent, or is blowing smoke at you to try and deter you or get you to ask permission so they can keep tabs on people

like i mentioned before cowboyridin orchestrated the baraboo picnic and knows the details better than i do but i am certain that park shelters are not considered buildings from the research and info he shared with us at the picnic


but as for parking ramps since they do have a retaining wall all the way around each level that maybe enough to be considered a building
 
M

McX

Guest
i am not a lawyer..........damn it Jim i'm a doctor, not a lawyer; but one would think the porta-poop, if not on state property, maybe a sidewalk, or other public venue- public domain, would be not under state jurisdiction, so one could; go with confidence, so to speak. the rest i dont know about.
 

MKEgal

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
4,383
Location
in front of my computer, WI
The laws & rulings I've read about (I'll try to find links & add later) specifically exempt parking structures.

Also, there's something in the law to the effect of "an enclosed building where gov't employees regularly work". The little shack where someone sits to take your money as you leave the parking ramp would count as a gov't building, but who ever tries to go in there?

So no, the port-a-pot wouldn't count, neither would a roadside outhouse, but a rest stop that's got an info desk run by State workers (or even cleaned by them) would, even in the middle of the night with nobody else there but you & the predator. I want to know how we can tell if the cleaners are gov't workers or contracted.

Some national park (Mammoth Cave?) wanted to stop people carrying into the cave, and since they couldn't very well argue that a cave is a building, they set up a little guard shack type thing that a gov't employee stays in most of the time, that people are required to walk through in order to get into the cave (fenced off the rest of the opening), so they could prevent armed citizens from visiting their park. No metal detectors, though, so if you cc you're still protected from the predators who will carry.
 

Canard

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Messages
148
Location
SE, Wisconsin, USA
We should be stating codes here instead of shooting from the hip about what we "think" a building is.

State Definition of "Public Building":
101.01(12)
(12) "Public building" means any structure, including exterior parts of such building, such as a porch, exterior platform, or steps providing means of ingress or egress, used in whole or in part as a place of resort, assemblage, lodging, trade, traffic, occupancy, or use by the public or by 3 or more tenants. When used in relation to building codes, "public building" does not include a previously constructed building used as a community-based residential facility as defined in s. 50.01 (1g) which serves 20 or fewer residents who are not related to the operator or administrator or an adult family home, as defined in s. 50.01 (1).

my emphasis

link to the pdf of this chapter: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/Stat0101.pdf
 

GlockRDH

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2010
Messages
626
Location
north of the Peoples Republic of Madison
That definition would seem to also include picnic shelters...hmmmm. The thing about portajohns is that they aren necessarily built to meet any sort of 'building code' as applied to 'structures'...they are also portable...which can make a difference...Its not generally taxed as a 'structure' in that case...my 80x44 pole shed doesnt count as a 'structure' becuse it has a dirt floor....
 
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