A.
Intent.
(1)
The purpose of this chapter is to regulate and control the division
of land within the City of New Berlin in order to promote the public
health, safety, prosperity, aesthetics and general welfare of the
City, and to protect the natural, agricultural, and cultural resources,
wildlife travel corridors, and scenic viewsheds from public roads,
as identified and mapped in the City's Comprehensive Plan.
(2)
Further purposes, particularly with respect to conservation subdivisions,
include utilizing conservation design to encourage restoration of
previously drained wetlands, reforesting former woodlands, replanting
native species grasses and wildflowers in reclaimed prairies, and
utilizing stormwater management strategies to replenish aquifers and
to recharge groundwater supplies through infiltration measures, and
to minimize surface runoff, wherever feasible.
(3)
In addition, conservation subdivision design is recognized as a practical
tool to help protect interconnected networks of open space, to protect
water resources, to sustain a diversity of native vegetation and wildlife,
and to help establish substantial buffers along boundaries with scenic
roadways, existing protected land, and actively worked farmland.
B.
It is the general intent of this chapter to regulate the division
of land so as to:
(1)
Obtain the wise use, conservation, protection, and proper development
of the City's soil, water, wetland, woodland, and wildlife resources
and attain a proper adjustment of land use and development to the
supporting and sustaining natural resource base;
(2)
Implement the objectives and policies of the City's Comprehensive
Plan;
(3)
Lessen congestion in the streets and highways;
(4)
Further the orderly layout and appropriate use of land;
(5)
Secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers;
(6)
Provide adequate light and air;
(7)
Prevent the overcrowding of land;
(8)
Avoid undue concentration of population;
(9)
Facilitate adequate provision for housing, transportation, water,
sewerage, schools, parks, playgrounds, and other public requirements;
(10)
Secure safety from flooding, water pollution, disease, and other
hazards;
(11)
Prevent flood damage to persons and properties and minimize
expenditures for flood relief and flood control projects;
(12)
Prevent and control erosion, sedimentation, and other pollution
of surface and subsurface waters;
(13)
Preserve natural vegetation and cover and promote the natural
beauty of the City;
(14)
Restrict building sites on floodlands, areas covered by poor
soils, or in other areas poorly suited for development;
(15)
Facilitate the further division of larger tracts into smaller
parcels of land;
(16)
Promote monumenting of land subdivided and conveyancing by accurate
legal description;
(17)
Ensure adequate legal description and proper survey monumentation
of subdivided land;
(18)
Provide for the administration and enforcement of this chapter;
and
(19)
Provide penalties for its violation.
These regulations shall be held to be minimum requirements adopted
for the promotion of the public health, safety, convenience, and general
welfare of the City. The regulations are not intended to repeal, abrogate,
annul or in any manner interfere with any existing laws, covenants
or rules, provided that, should these regulations impose a greater
restriction than is provided by existing laws, covenants or rules,
these regulations shall prevail. The word "shall" is always mandatory
and the words "may" or "should" are always permissive and at the discretion
of the City unless otherwise noted.
A.
Terms. The Developer's Handbook and Developer's Agreement
shall have the same meaning as the Development Handbook and the Development
Agreement and are used interchangeably throughout various City documents.
A.
No land within the City shall be divided by a subdivision plat or
certified survey map nor shall any such documents be entitled to be
recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds, nor may any streets
be laid out, nor may any improvements be made to the land, until the
provisions of this chapter and Chapter 236, Wisconsin Statutes, are
met and the plat of the subdivision shall have been approved by the
Plan Commission and the Common Council and certified thereto by the
City Clerk.
B.
Any division of lots in a subdivision recorded in the office of the
Register of Deeds of Waukesha County shall be surveyed in accordance
with the provisions of § 236.34, Wis. Stats. No lands involving
a division of lots in a recorded subdivision shall be sold until the
survey thereof has been approved by the Plan Commission, the Common
Council, and a final certified survey map (CSM) or final subdivision
plat is recorded in the Waukesha County Register of Deeds' office.
The description of the lands provided by such survey shall, after
approval by the Plan Commission and the Common Council, be used in
all conveyancing for all purposes, including assessment, taxation,
devise, descent, and conveyance as defined in § 706.01,
Wis. Stats. Any division of land, other than a subdivision as defined
in § 236.02(12), Wis. Stats., shall be surveyed and a certified
survey map prepared and recorded as provided in § 236.34,
Wis. Stats.
C.
No building permit shall be issued, within the control of this chapter,
for the building on or the tentative improvement of any parcel of
land not of record on July 7, 1962, until the requirements of this
chapter have been met.
D.
This chapter shall not apply to:
(1)
Transfer of interest in land by will or pursuant to court order.
(2)
Leases for a term not to exceed 10 years, mortgages or easements.
(3)
Sale or exchange of parcels of land between owners of adjoining properties,
if additional lots are not thereby created and if the resulting lots
are not reduced below the minimum sizes required by Chapter 236, Wisconsin
Statutes, or any ordinance of the City. A revised plat of survey shall
be filed with the Department of Community Development.
Any division of land, other than a subdivision as defined in § 236.02, Wis. Stats., shall be surveyed and a Certified Survey Map prepared and recorded as provided in § 236.34, Wis. Stats. Such land divisions shall also follow all § 235-15.1 and other applicable procedures set forth in this chapter.
A.
No development prior to approval. No person proposing a subdivision
or in the process of developing a subdivision shall proceed with any
construction work on the proposed subdivision, including grading or
erosion control, until obtaining written approval of a preliminary
plat from the Common Council, all construction plans have been reviewed
and approved, and a development agreement has been executed.
B.
No sale prior to approval. Any developer, applicant, or subdivider
who conveys any lot within a subdivision may be subject to the full
penalties of the law in accordance with § 236.31, Wis. Stats.
The only exception shall be if the developer, applicant, or subdivider
has submitted a preliminary or final plat to the City Clerk for review
and any offer or contract states on its face that it is contingent
upon the approval of the final plat and shall be void if such plat
is not approved.
C.
Compliance with regulations required. No subdivision of land shall
be permitted unless in accordance with these regulations and Chapter
236, Wisconsin Statutes.
Land subject to flooding and land deemed by the Director of
Community Development or his/her designee to be unsuitable for human
habitation because of health or sanitary problems shall not be platted
for residential occupancy, nor for such other uses as may involve
danger to health, life or property, or as may aggravate a flood hazard,
but such land within the plat shall be set aside for such uses as
are appropriate to the existing conditions.
If a court of competent jurisdiction declares any part of this
chapter to be invalid or unenforceable, that ruling shall not affect
any other provisions of this chapter not specifically included in
that ruling.
