[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Grafton 5-2-2022 by Ord. No. 004-2022.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 18, Subdivisions, adopted as Title 18 of the 1979 Code, as amended.
This title shall apply to all land and water within the corporate limits of the Village of Grafton, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, and to all lands within the extraterritorial land division approval jurisdiction of the Village.
All proposed land divisions, except those exempted in accordance with this title, shall be subject to Village review and approval in which the Village shall approve, approve with conditions and/or deed restrictions, or reject proposed plats and certified survey maps.
A. 
Subdivisions. Any division of land within the Village or the extraterritorial land division approval jurisdiction of the Village that results in a subdivision as defined in Chapter 18.02, Definitions, shall be surveyed and a plat thereof approved and recorded pursuant to the provisions this title and Chapter 236 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
B. 
Minor land divisions. Any division of land within the Village or the extraterritorial land division approval jurisdiction of the Village that results in a minor land division as defined in Chapter 18.02 shall be surveyed and a certified survey map of such division approved and recorded as required by this title and Chapter 236 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
C. 
Condominiums. Any development within the Village that creates a condominium as defined in Chapter 18.02 shall be surveyed and a condominium plat thereof approved and recorded pursuant to § 18.04.08 of this title and Chapter 703 of the Wisconsin Statutes. Any condominium that creates a new lot, parcel, or outlot shall also comply with the requirements of Chapter 236 of the Wisconsin Statutes and the requirements of this title as applicable to land divisions. It is the express intent of this title to regulate condominiums having one or more principal structures on any lot or parcel, except for condominium conversions of existing buildings where no additional units are being developed, provided such conversions comply with Chapter 703 of the Wisconsin Statutes. In no case shall the maximum number of units in a condominium exceed the maximum number of lots the same parcel could have accommodated under the Village Zoning Ordinance if the parcel had been conventionally divided or developed.
A. 
The provisions of this title, as it applies to division of tracts of land into four or fewer lots or parcels, shall not apply to:
1. 
Transfers 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 (i.e., lot line adjustments) between owners of adjoining property, subject to review and approval by the Community Development Director to ensure compliance with the requirements of this title and the Village Zoning Ordinance, if additional lots are not thereby created and the lots resulting are not reduced below the minimum sizes required by this title, the Zoning Ordinance, or other applicable laws or ordinances and the Village approves the sale or exchange to ensure compliance with such requirements and ordinances.
4. 
Lot combinations of adjoining property if owned by the same party, subject to Village review and approval to ensure compliance with the requirements of this title and the Village Zoning Ordinance.
B. 
All of the following specific uses and activities are exempted from this title:
1. 
Condominium developments where there are no parcels created.
2. 
Cemetery plats made under § 157.07 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
3. 
Assessors' plats made under § 70.27 of the Wisconsin Statutes; however, assessors' plats shall comply with §§ 236.15(1)(a) through (g) and 236.20(1) and (2)(a) through (e) of the Wisconsin Statutes, unless waived under § 236.20(2)(L).
4. 
Public transportation project plats made under § 84.095 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
5. 
Sale or exchange of parcels of public utilities or railway rights-of-way to adjoining property owners if the Village Board and all other approval authorities approve such sale or exchange on the basis of applicable local ordinances or the provisions of Chapter 236 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
No person, firm, or corporation shall divide any land located within the jurisdictional limits of the Village which results in a subdivision, minor land division, replat, or condominium as defined herein unless specifically exempted under § 18.03.03; and no such subdivision, minor land division, replat, or condominium shall be entitled to record without compliance with:
A. 
All requirements of this title.
B. 
The Village Comprehensive Plan or any component thereof, the Zoning Ordinance, the Official Map Ordinance, and the Erosion Control and Stormwater Management Ordinance.
C. 
The provisions of Village Municipal Code Chapter 23.01, Stormwater Management Regulations, and Chapter 23.04, Control of Construction Site Erosion.
D. 
The provisions of Chapter 236 of the Wisconsin Statutes for proposed land divisions.
E. 
The provisions of Chapter 703 of the Wisconsin Statutes for proposed condominiums.
F. 
The rules of the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services regulating lot size and lot elevation necessary for proper sanitary conditions if any lot or unit is not served by a public sewer and provisions for such service have not been made.
G. 
The rules of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Ozaukee County highway department relating to provision for the safety of entrance upon and departure from county and state trunk highways or connecting highways and for the preservation of the public interest and investment in such highway systems if the land owned or controlled by the subdivider abuts on a county or state trunk highway or connecting highway or street.
H. 
The rules of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources setting water quality standards preventing and abating pollution, and regulating development within floodplain, wetland, and shoreland areas.
I. 
The rules of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
J. 
All other applicable ordinances and state and federal regulations.
A. 
No land shall be subdivided which is judged by the Plan Commission to be unsuitable for use by reason of flooding, inadequate drainage, adverse soil or rock formation, unfavorable topography, or any other feature likely to be harmful to the health, safety, or welfare of future residents or land owners in the proposed subdivision or of the community. The Village Plan Commission, in applying the provisions of this title, shall in writing recite the particular facts upon which it bases its conclusion that the land is not suitable for the proposed use, and afford the subdivider an opportunity to present evidence regarding such unsuitability, if he so desires. Thereafter, the Village Plan Commission may affirm, modify, or withdraw its determination of unsuitability.
B. 
In the case of land divisions and platted subdivisions, lot sizes shall conform to the area and width requirements prescribed for the zoning district in which the property is located.
C. 
Subdivision policies. The Village of Grafton subscribes to the policy that urbanizing land should be located in a compact manner within the Village where a full range of urban services and facilities will be available. Subdivisions shall conform to the following policies:
1. 
To preserve and enhance the Village and encourage compact balanced growth.
2. 
To direct new growth to those areas capable of providing a full range of urban services and facilities.
3. 
To prevent scattered and noncontiguous development.
4. 
To ensure that new development will not be detrimental to the physical, social, and economic well being of residents of the Village.
5. 
To ensure that new development will be organized and timed so as to permit urban services and facilities to be provided as economically and efficiently as possible.
6. 
To discourage new developments in those areas that are premature in terms of planning and timing for the provision of adequate public services and facilities.
A. 
Wherever a tract of land to be subdivided includes all or any part of a major street, drainage way, or other public way which has been designated in the Comprehensive Plan or component part thereof, or on an official map of the Village of Grafton, said public way shall be made a part of the plat and/or certified survey map and dedicated or reserved or treated by the developer as determined by the Plan Commission, in the locations and dimensions indicated on such plan or map, and as set forth in this title.
B. 
Wherever a proposed playground, park, school site or other public land, other than streets or drainage ways, designated in a Comprehensive Plan, component part thereof, or on an official map of the Village of Grafton is embraced, all or in part, in a tract of land to be subdivided, these proposed public lands shall be so designated as to be made an integral part of the plat and/or certified survey map and may be dedicated; but in any case, shall be reserved for acquisition at undeveloped land costs, by the agency having jurisdiction.
C. 
Wherever a subdivision or land division abuts a public use area, such as a park, lake, stream, or any similar type of public recreational area, the subdivider, at the option of the Plan Commission, shall provide an access thoroughfare up to 60 feet wide connecting such public area with a public street or pedestrian path, so that there shall be adequate public access to the public use area, as determined by the Plan Commission.
D. 
The dedication of land for public purposes, such as parks, rights-of-way, school sites and easements, becomes effective at the time of approval and recording of the certified survey map or the final plat.
E. 
On sites reserved for eventual public acquisition, no building development is permitted during the time of reservation. Land so reserved shall be shown on the plat of the subdivision or on a certified survey map of other divisions.
F. 
Public sites and open spaces. In order that adequate open space and sites for public uses may be properly located and preserved as the community develops, and in order that the cost of providing the park and recreation sites and facilities necessary to serve the additional families brought into the community by subdivision development may be more equitably apportioned on the basis of the additional need created by the individual subdivision development, the following provisions are established:
1. 
Reservation of potential sites: In the design of a subdivision, condominium development, or land division, consideration shall be given to the adequate provision of and correlation with such public sites or open spaces where it is determined by the Plan Commission that a portion of the area is required for such public sites or open spaces, the subdivider may be required to reserve such area.
2. 
Dedication of sites: Where feasible and compatible with the Comprehensive Plan and/or Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, the subdivider shall dedicate to the public adequate land to provide for the park and recreation needs of the subdivision, condominium or land division. The amount of land to be provided per residential dwelling unit shall be determined by the Village of Grafton Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan.
3. 
Proportionate payment in lieu of dedication: Where the Village, at its sole discretion, determines such dedication is not feasible or compatible with the Comprehensive Plan and/or Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, the subdivider shall, in lieu thereof, pay to the Village a fee equivalent to the value of the required dedication. Such fee shall be established by the Village Board and updated annually. No payment shall be required for a lot created by a subdivision, condominium instrument, or certified survey map if such land division does not create or allow additional housing units.
4. 
Determination of feasibility: The determination as to the feasibility of dedication shall be made by the Plan Commission.
G. 
Excessive street dedication. In the case of a major thoroughfare lying within the plat, the subdivider may be required to dedicate the width in excess of that required by this title.
H. 
Land divisions outside the corporate limits. Before final approval by the Village of Grafton of any land division or condominium located outside the corporate limits of the Village, but within the extraterritorial plat approval jurisdiction of the Village of Grafton, the subdivider shall give evidence that they have complied with all street and utility improvement requirements of the Town in which the land being platted is located.
No person, firm, or corporation shall build upon, divide, convey, record, or place monuments on any land in violation of this title or the Wisconsin Statutes. No person, firm, or corporation shall be issued a zoning, building, erosion control, or utility permit by the Village authorizing any land disturbing activity, building, or improvement of, any subdivision, minor land division, replat, or condominium within the jurisdiction of this title not of record as of the effective date of this title, until the provisions and requirements of this title have been fully met. The Village may institute appropriate action or proceedings to enjoin violations of this title.
Any person, firm, or corporation who fails to comply with the provisions of this title or Chapter 236 of the Wisconsin Statutes shall, upon conviction thereof, face penalties as set forth below plus any additional costs incurred by the Village for each violation. Each day a violation exists or continues shall constitute a separate offense. Violations and concomitant penalties shall include the following:
A. 
Recordation improperly made carries penalties as provided in § 236.30 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
B. 
Conveyance of lots in unrecorded plats carries penalties as provided for in § 236.31 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
C. 
Monuments disturbed or not placed carries penalties as provided for in § 236.32 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
D. 
Dividing a lot or parcel, or use if so divided, in a recorded plat or certified survey map for purposes of sale or building development not in compliance with the provisions of Chapter 236 of the Wisconsin Statutes, to any applicable ordinance of an approving authority, or to the rules of the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services carries penalties as provided in § 236.335 of the Wisconsin Statutes.
E. 
An assessor's plat made under § 70.27 of the Wisconsin Statutes may be ordered as a remedy by the Village, at the expense of the subdivider, when a subdivision, as defined in this title, is created by successive divisions.
Any person aggrieved by an objection to a plat or a failure to approve a plat may appeal such objection or failure to approve, as provided in § 236.13(5) of the Wisconsin Statutes, within 30 days of notification of the rejection of the plat. Where failure to approve is based on an unsatisfied objection, the agency making the objection shall be made a party to the action. The court shall direct that the plat be approved if it finds that the action of the approving or objecting agency is arbitrary, unreasonable, or discriminatory.