A. 
Jurisdiction. Jurisdiction of these regulations shall include all lands and waters within the corporate limits of the City and those lands within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City as established in §§ 62.23(2) and 236.10, Wis. Stats. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to:
(1) 
Cemetery plats made under § 157.07, Wis. Stats., and Assessor's plats made under § 70.27, but such Assessor's plats shall comply with § 236.15(1)(a) to (g) and 236.20(1) and (2)(a) to (e), unless waived under § 236.20(2)(L), Wis. Stats.
(2) 
Sale or exchange of parcels of public utility or railroad right-of-way lands to adjoining property owners if additional lots are not thereby created and if the resulting lots are not reduced below the minimum sizes required by Chapter 236, Wis. Stats., or any other ordinance of the City.
(3) 
Transfers of interests in land by will or pursuant to court order if such division applies to less than five parcels.
(4) 
Leases for a term not to exceed 10 years, mortgages or easements.
(5) 
Sale or exchange of parcels of land between owners of adjoining property if additional lots are not thereby created and the lots resulting are not reduced below the minimum sizes required by these regulations, the zoning ordinance or other applicable laws or ordinances.
(6) 
Assessors' plats made under § 70.27, Wis. Stats., but such Assessors' plats shall comply with §§ 236.15(1)(a) to (g) and 236.20(1) and (2)(a) to (e), Wis. Stats.
B. 
Subdivision requirement. No land within the corporate limits of the City or within the extraterritorial plat approval jurisdiction shall, after the effective date hereof, be divided or consolidated, nor may such document be entitled to be recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds, nor may any street 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 or certified survey map and the plan or plans of the subdivision shall have been approved by the Plan Commission and City Council and certified thereto by the City Clerk.
C. 
Land division requirement. Any division of land which results in a subdivision as defined in § 236.02(12), Wis. Stats., shall be surveyed and a plat thereof approved and recorded as required by this chapter. Any division or consolidation of land which results in other than a subdivision defined in § 236.02(12), Wis. Stats., shall be surveyed and a certified survey map thereof approved and recorded as required by this chapter.
D. 
Compliance. No person shall divide or consolidate any land located within the jurisdictional limits of these regulations so that such division results in a subdivision, minor land division or replat as defined herein; no such subdivision, minor land division, consolidation, or replat shall be entitled to recording; and no street shall be laid out or improvements made to land without compliance with all requirements of this chapter and the following documents:
(1) 
Provisions of Ch. 236, Wis. Stats.
(2) 
Rules of the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, as contained in SPS 383 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, regulating lot size and lot elevation if the land to be subdivided is not served by a public sewer and provisions for such service have not been made.
(3) 
Rules of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, as contained in Ch. Trans 233 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, relating to safety of access and the preservation of the public interest and investment in the highway system if the land owned or controlled by the subdivider abuts on a state trunk highway or connecting street or service road.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
(4) 
Rules of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, as contained in Chs. NR 116 and NR 117 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, setting water quality standards preventing and abating pollution and regulating development within floodland, wetland and shoreland areas.
(5) 
Approved Comprehensive Plan or Comprehensive Plan components of the City.
(6) 
The City zoning ordinance and all other applicable local and county ordinances.
E. 
Building permit requirement. No building permit shall be issued by the City authorizing the building on, occupancy, or improvement of any parcel of land not on record as of the effective date hereof until the provisions and requirements of this chapter have been met, and a resolution approving the land division or consolidation has been adopted by the City Council.
No subdivision plat, certified survey map or condominium plat shall be approved or recorded for any parcel of land whose proposed subdivision or use would not comply with the applicable standards of the City's Comprehensive Plan, Zoning Ordinance, Official Map, and all other ordinances. Subdividers shall refer to the Official Map for site-specific standards related to intersection and driveway placement and spacing; right-of-way dedications and general street and pedestrian facility routing; stormwater management facility locations; and planned community facility locations.
No zoning lot shall hereafter be divided into two or more zoning lots and no portion of any zoning lot shall be sold unless all zoning lots resulting from each such division or sale shall conform to all the applicable bulk regulations of the zoning district in which the property is located.
A. 
Streets, highways, and drainageways. Whenever a tract of land to be subdivided within the jurisdiction of this chapter encompasses all or any part of an arterial or collector street, drainageway, other public way or public access to navigable lakes or streams which has been designated in the adopted regional, county or City Comprehensive Plan or adopted Comprehensive Plan components or on the Official Street System Map, such public way shall be made a part of the plat or certified survey map and dedicated or reserved by the subdivider in the locations and dimensions indicated on such plan, Comprehensive Plan component or map and as set forth in § 650-32 of this chapter.
B. 
Schools, parks, environmental corridors and other open spaces. Whenever a tract of land to be divided within the City encompasses all or part of a school site, park site, environmental corridor or other open space, other than streets, highways, drainageways, other public ways or public access to navigable lakes or streams which has been designated on an adopted regional, County or City Comprehensive Plan or adopted Comprehensive Plan component of the City, such school site, park site, environmental corridor or other open space shall be made a part of the plat or certified survey map and dedicated or reserved by the subdivider in the locations and dimensions indicated on such plan and in accordance with the procedures in § 650-32I of this chapter.
C. 
Proposed public lands outside the corporate limits. Proposed public lands outside of the corporate limits of the City but within the jurisdictional area of these regulations shall be reserved for acquisition by the town or county in accordance with the regulations of the affected jurisdiction.
D. 
Floodlands and shorelands. Whenever floodlands and shorelands are contained in a tract of land proposed to be divided into lots, building sites or parcels of less than five acres in area, all floodlands and those shorelands designated for park, recreation, environmental corridor or other open space land use in a Comprehensive Plan or a component of such a Comprehensive Plan prepared by state, regional, county or municipal agencies and adopted or acknowledged by the City and lying within the below specified distances from the high water elevation shall, at the discretion of the City Council following recommendation by the Plan Commission, be dedicated to the public by the subdivider. In lieu of dedication, all such designated floodlands and shorelands shall be reserved by the subdivider for a period not to exceed 10 years, unless extended by mutual agreement, for acquisition by the state, county or local unit of government at fair market value at the time of the filing of the final plat or shall be reserved for the recreational use of the future residents of the land to be divided, with stream or lake bank maintenance easements given to the unit of government which has jurisdiction. The lot area should generally not include such shorelands and floodlands.
E. 
Proportionate payment in lieu of dedication.
(1) 
Payment in lieu of park dedication (active and passive)
(a) 
If the City Council has determined that such dedication is not feasible or compatible with development of the community, the developer shall in lieu thereof pay to the City a fee, as from time to time established by resolution of City Council, to defray the impact the additional development and residences will have on City parks, and the preserving of the City's agricultural, natural and cultural resources within the City's park system.
(b) 
Such fees shall be placed in separate nonlapsing funds and shall be used exclusively for funding the acquisition or initial improvement of land for public parks as per 2007 Wisconsin Act 44. The improvement of land for public parks means grading, landscaping, installation of utilities, construction of sidewalks, installation of playground equipment, and construction or installation of rest room facilities on land intended for public park purposes. Such fees shall be applied to residential development on the basis of total number of newly created residential dwelling units, newly created lots, and per acre of developable land. Such fees shall apply to units/lots/acres of developable land created by subdivision platting, condominium platting, certified survey map or planned unit development.
(2) 
If the parent parcel on a Certified Survey Map, with an existing dwelling upon it, remains unchanged (meaning no construction or grading), the parent parcel will not be assessed the per acre dedication fee until the time of further division.
(3) 
Payment shall be in a lump sum and shall be paid prior to City execution of the final plat, final condominium plat, certified survey map, or planned development and before the City allows the recording of the documents stated.
(4) 
Where a lot or parcel for which payment has once been made is further divided, payment shall be required for the additional lots or parcels created.
(5) 
For the purpose of this chapter, the definition of nondevelopable land for the per acre dedication fee shall constitute wetlands and/or preservation/conservation easement areas and shall not be charged the per acre dedication fee.
(6) 
The Parks Board, Plan Commission, and City Council will be the governing bodies for determinations of dedication fee "in lieu of" situations, where a developer may make land dedications in return for not having to pay dedication fees.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Before final approval of any plat or certified survey map located within the jurisdictional limits of this chapter, the subdivider shall install street, utility and other public improvements as provided below. If such improvements are not installed as required at the time the final plat or certified survey map is submitted for approval, the subdivider shall, before recording of the final plat or certified survey map, enter into a contract with the City agreeing to install the required improvements and file with such contract a letter of credit, cash or certified check, or surety bond meeting the approval of the City Attorney in an amount 120% of the estimated cost of the improvements, such estimate to be made by the City's Engineering Consultant and the City Manager, as a guarantee that such improvements will be completed by the subdivider or his subcontractors not later than two years from the date of recording of the plat and as a further guarantee that all obligations to subcontractors for work on the development are satisfied. In addition, the following requirements apply:
A. 
Contract approvals. Contracts and contract specifications for the construction of street and utility improvements on dedicated street rights-of-way, as well as the contractors and subcontractors who are to be engaged in the construction of street and utility improvements on dedicated street rights-of-way, shall be subject to review and approval of the City's Engineering Consultant and approval of the City.
B. 
Governmental units. Governmental units to which these bonds and contract provisions apply may file, in lieu of such contract and bond, a letter from officers authorized to act on their behalf agreeing to comply with the provisions of this section.
C. 
Survey monuments. Before final approval of any plat within the corporate limits of the City or its extraterritorial jurisdictional limits, the subdivider shall install survey monuments placed in accordance with § 236.15, Wis. Stats., and as may be required by the City's Engineering Consultant.
D. 
Plats outside the corporate limits. Before final approval by the City of any plat or certified survey map located outside the corporate limits of the City, but within the plat approval jurisdiction of the City, the subdivider shall give evidence that he has complied with all street and utility improvements of the town in which the land being platted is located.
E. 
Waiver of monuments. The City Plan Commission may waive the placing of monuments, required under § 236.15(1)(b), (c) and (d) for a reasonable time on condition that the subdivider executes a surety bond to insure the placing of such monuments within the time required.
F. 
Advance reimbursement. The subdivider shall pay the City in advance of signing the subdivided agreement for all fees, expenses and disbursements which are incurred by the City and reimburse the City, without limitation by reason of enumeration, for design, engineering, preparation, checking and review of designs, plans and specifications; supervision and inspection to insure that construction is in compliance with applicable plans, specifications, regulations and ordinances; and legal, administrative and fiscal work undertaken to assure and implement such compliance.
A. 
Upon and after the effective date of this chapter, no lot shall be created which does not meet the minimum zoning district area requirements of each zoning district or the minimum lot area requirements of each zoning district or which does not meet the lot dimension requirements of each zoning district.
B. 
Nothing in these regulations shall prevent the construction of a permitted building or structure, or the establishment of a permitted use in the relevant zoning district on a lawfully existing parcel which does not contain the required minimum area, minimum buildable area, or minimum lot frontage on a street, but which, as of the date of initial adoption of these regulations, and continuously thereafter, was owned separately from an adjoining lot, as evidenced by deed(s) recorded with the Jefferson County Register of Deeds. A previously existing lot that does not have frontage on an accepted street must have access to an accepted street over a permanent right-of-way or easement.
C. 
Where two or more nonconforming lots are contiguous, and in one ownership, such parcels may be required to be combined or merged to create a conforming lot or a more conforming lot to the maximum extent possible.
A. 
Hardship from literal enforcement. Where in the judgment of the City Plan Commission it would be inappropriate to apply literally the provisions of § 650-32 and where, in the judgment of the City Council, it would be inappropriate to apply literally the provisions of § 650-33 of this chapter because the proposed subdivision is located outside the corporate limits of the City or because exceptional or undue hardship would result, the Plan Commission or City Council may grant a special exception from any requirement to the extent deemed just and proper.
B. 
Finding of fact. No special exception to the provisions of this chapter shall be granted unless the Plan Commission finds all the following facts and conditions exist and so indicates in the minutes of its proceedings:
(1) 
Exceptional circumstances. There are exceptional, extraordinary or unusual circumstances or conditions where a literal enforcement of the requirements of this chapter would result in severe hardship. Such hardships should not apply generally to other properties or be of such a recurrent nature as to suggest that this chapter should be changed.
(2) 
Preservation of property rights. Such variance is necessary for preservation and enjoyment of substantial property rights possessed by other properties in the same vicinity.
(3) 
Absence of detriment. The variance will not create substantial detriment to adjacent property and will not materially impair or be contrary to the purpose and spirit of this chapter or the public interest.
(4) 
A minimum of five affirmative Plan Commission member votes shall be required to grant any special exception to this chapter.
(5) 
The City Council may waive the placing of monuments required under § 236.15(1)(b), (c), and (d), Wis. Stats., for a reasonable time, not to exceed one year, on condition that the subdivider execute a surety bond to insure the placing of such monuments within the required time limits established by statute. Additional time may be granted upon show of cause.
C. 
Public interest. When such relief is granted, it shall be without detriment to the public good, without impairing the intent and purpose of this chapter or the desirable general development of the City in accordance with the adopted City Comprehensive Plan or adopted plan components. The reasons shall be entered in the Plan Commission minutes.
No land shall be subdivided as a plat or certified survey map which is determined to be unsuitable for such use by the Plan Commission, upon the recommendation of the City's Engineering Consultant or any other agency as determined by the Plan Commission, for reason of flooding, inadequate drainage, adverse soil or rock formations with severe limitations for development, severe erosion potential, unfavorable topography, inadequate water supply or sewage disposal capabilities or any other feature likely to be harmful to the health, safety or welfare of future residents of the proposed subdivision or the City. In addition:
A. 
Floodlands.
(1) 
No lot served by public sanitary sewerage facilities shall have less than its required lot area, as specified in the zoning district regulations, below the elevation of the one-hundred-year recurrence interval flood or, where such data is not available, the elevation shall be determined by a registered professional engineer and the sealed documents shall be approved by the City's engineering consultant.
(2) 
For planned development projects served by public sanitary sewerage facilities, no lot shall have less than the average lot area, as specified by the Plan Commission, below the elevation of the one-hundred-year recurrence interval flood or, where such data is not available, the elevation shall be determined by a registered professional engineer and the sealed documents shall be approved by the City's engineering consultant.
(3) 
No lot of one acre or less in area served by an on-site sanitary sewage disposal (septic tank or mound) system shall include floodlands. All lots more than one acre in area served by a septic tank system or mound system shall contain not less than 40,000 square feet of land which is at an elevation above the elevation of the one-hundred-year recurrence interval flood or, where such data is not available, the elevation shall be determined by a registered professional engineer and the sealed documents shall be approved by the City's engineering consultant.
B. 
Shorelands. Shorelands shall not be divided into building sites which are to be served by soil absorption waste disposal systems.
C. 
Fill materials.
(1) 
Lands made, altered or filled with non-earth materials within the last 10 years shall not be divided into building sites which are to be served by soil absorption waste disposal systems.
(2) 
Lands made, altered or filled with non-earth materials within the preceding 20 years shall not be divided into building sites which are to be served by soil absorption waste disposal systems except where soil tests prepared by a professional soil scientist clearly show the soils are suited to such use. Soil reports shall include, but need not be limited to, an evaluation of soil permeability, depth to groundwater, depth to bedrock, soil-bearing capacity, and soil compaction. To accomplish this purpose, a minimum of one test per acre shall be made initially. The City does not guarantee, warrant or represent that the required samples represent conditions on an entire property and thereby asserts that there is no liability on the part of the City Council, its agencies or employees for sanitary problems or structural damages that may occur as a result of reliance upon such tests.
D. 
Steep slopes. Each lot proposed to be served by an on-site soil absorption sewerage disposal system shall have 50% of its minimum required lot area or 20,000 square feet, whichever is less, in slopes of less than 12%.
E. 
Shallow bedrock. Lands having bedrock within six feet of the natural undisturbed surface shall not be divided into building sites to be served by soil absorption sewage disposal systems.
F. 
Shallow groundwater table. Lands having groundwater within six feet of the natural undisturbed surface shall not be divided into building sites to be served by soil absorption sewage disposal systems.
G. 
Percolation rates. Soils having a percolation rate slower than 60 minutes per inch shall not be divided into building sites to be served by soil absorption sewage disposal systems.
H. 
Findings. The Plan Commission, in applying the provisions of this section, shall in writing recite the particular facts upon which it bases its conclusion that the land is unsuitable for residential use and afford the subdivider an opportunity to present evidence in rebuttal to such finding of unsuitability, if he so desires. Thereafter, the Commission may affirm, modify or withdraw its determination of unsuitability.
Heavily wooded areas should be preserved insofar as possible and by application of reservation and dedication provisions of this chapter and other applicable ordinances. The subdivider shall not remove trees in anticipation of a land division until final subdivision approval is received. Each tree exceeding six inches diameter at 4.5 feet above the ground that is removed in preparation for development shall be replaced on a one to one ratio. Replacement trees shall be of species approved by the City Forester and measure between 1.5 inches and 2.5 inches in trunk diameter at one foot above ground. If complete tree mitigation is not feasible within the subject subdivision development, the City may require tree plantings within parks, conservation lands, street rights-of-way, or other publicly owned lands or require payment to a reforestation fund at a rate commensurate with planting said mitigation trees.
A. 
Determination required. A preliminary plat, final plat, or certified survey shall not be approved unless the City Manager determines that adequate public facilities and public services are available to meet the needs of the proposed land division and that no public funds, other than those already provided in an adopted capital or operating budget, are required.
B. 
Submit required data. The applicant shall furnish any data requested by the City Manager, who shall transmit this information to the appropriate commission(s), committee(s), or staff for review of the adequacy of water, sanitary and storm sewers, fire service, police, parks, open space, recreation, and transportation facilities.
C. 
Required conditions. Public facilities and public services for a proposed land division may be found by the City Manager to be adequate when the following conditions exist:
(1) 
The proposed land division is located in an urban service area where adequate sewer service is presently available for extension, is under construction, or is designated by the City Council for extension of sewer service within the current capital budget year and funds are specifically provided for such extension either from public or private financing. The City Manager shall consider the recommendations of the City's engineering consultant, Public Works Director, and the Wastewater Treatment Superintendent on the capacity of trunk lines and of sewerage treatment facilities and any other information presented.
(2) 
The proposed land division is located within the corporate limits of the City and it is contiguous to an arterial transmission water main of adequate capacity for the proposed development, or the water distribution system that is needed is under construction or scheduled for construction within the current budget year, and public or private funds are available for the program. The City Manager shall consider the recommendations of the Public Works Board, the Public Works Director, and the City's consulting engineer on line capacities, water sources and storage facilities as well as any other information presented.
(3) 
The City Manager verifies that adequate funds, either public or private, are available to insure the installation of all necessary stormwater management facilities.
(4) 
The Director of Public Works can demonstrate to the City Manager that street maintenance and refuse collection services, either public or private, are so situated that adequate and timely service can be provided so as not to involve danger or injury to the health, safety, or general welfare to the future residents of the proposed land division or existing City residents.
(5) 
The Facilities and Grounds Director verifies to the City Manager that the future residents of the proposed land division can be assured park, recreation and open space facilities and services which meet the standards of the City's Comprehensive Plan for parks and open spaces.
[Amended 8-3-2021 by Ord. No. 1226]
(6) 
The Police Department and Fire Department verify that timely and adequate service can be provided to the residents.
(7) 
The proposed land division is accessible by existing or officially mapped, publicly maintained, all-weather roadway system, adequate to accommodate both existing traffic and that traffic to be generated by the proposed land division in accordance with the Official Map and City standards.
(8) 
Where the City Manager determines that one or more public facilities or services are not adequate for the proposed development, but that a portion of the area could be served adequately, or that careful phasing of the development could result in all public facilities and public services being adequate, the City Manager shall recommend that conditional approval may include only such portions or may specify phasing of the development.
D. 
Finding in writing. No land shall be divided which has been officially mapped as public lands or a stormwater management facility or is determined by the City Manager, in consultation with the City's engineering consultant, to be unsuitable for use by reason of flooding, bad drainage, soil or rock formations with severe limitations for development, severe erosion potential, or unfavorable topography, or any other feature likely to be harmful to the quality of the subdivision as it relates to the health, safety, or welfare of future residents or landowners in the proposed land division. The City Manager, in applying the provisions of this subsection, shall recite the particular facts in writing upon which conclusions that the land is not suitable for the proposed use are based and shall afford the subdivider an opportunity to present evidence regarding such unsuitability to the Plan Commission. Thereafter, the Plan Commission may affirm, modify or withdraw the determination of unsuitability.
E. 
Conform to zoning regulations. In the case of any land division, lot sizes shall conform to the area and width requirements prescribed for the zoning district in which the property is located.
Approval of the proposed subdivision shall be conditional upon compliance with:
A. 
The provisions of Chapter 236, Wis. Stats.
B. 
All applicable ordinances of the City.
C. 
The Comprehensive Plan, if consistent with any applicable zoning ordinances. The Comprehensive Plan shall be deemed consistent even if it has more restrictive requirements than found in the zoning ordinance, provided the requirements of the Comprehensive Plan are not inconsistent with the applicable zoning regulations.
D. 
The Official Map.
E. 
The rules of the State Department of Safety and Professional Services relating to lot size and lot elevation necessary for proper sanitary conditions in a subdivision not served by a public sewer where provision for such service has not been made.
F. 
The rules of the State Department of Transportation relating to the provision for the safety of entrance upon and departure from abutting state trunk highways or connecting highways and for the preservation of the public interest and investment in such highways.
G. 
As a further condition of approval, the City Council may require that the subdivider make and install any public improvements reasonably necessary, and that the subdivider execute a developer's agreement with the City and post a surety bond to ensure that the developer will make those improvements within a reasonable time and manner.
H. 
As a condition of approval, the City may require prior to accepting the dedication of public streets, alleys, or other ways, or prior to permitting private streets, alleys or other public ways to be placed on the Official Map, that designated facilities shall be provided without cost to the City, and that they be constructed according to municipal specifications and under municipal inspection, or that a specified portion of such costs shall be paid in advance as provided in § 66.0709(2), Wis. Stats. The designated facilities include, but are not limited because of enumeration, storm sewer and appurtenances; sanitary sewer mains and laterals; water mains and laterals; grading and improvement of streets, alleys, sidewalks and other public ways; streetlighting; street trees; parkland; or other facilities designated by the City. No street tree fees or fees in lieu of parkland or park development fees may be required as a condition of approval if the preliminary plat or CSM has initially been filed with the City Clerk after June 14, 2006.
I. 
As a condition of approval, the City may require that the subdivider be responsible for making or causing to be made any necessary alterations to any existing utilities serving the subdivision, which, by virtue of the subdivision, fall within the public right-of-way, provided a rational relationship between the alterations and the subdivision is found to exist by the City Council.
J. 
As a condition of approval, the City may require that the subdivider comply with stormwater regulations as set forth in Administrative Rule 02-01, which is incorporated herein by reference.[1] In complying with said stormwater regulations, the subdivider may be required to provide stormwater management facilities within the subdivision or on other property owned or controlled by the subdivider outside the subdivision, provided such facilities directly serve the stormwater management needs of the subdivision, No fees in lieu of stormwater management facilities may be required as a condition of approval if the preliminary plat or CSM has been initially filed with the City Clerk after June 14, 2006.
[1]
Editor's Note: Said Administrative Rule 02-01 is on file in the City offices.