A. 
This chapter applies to all lands in the Town of Buchanan. The Town Board authorizes the Town Administrator to administer and enforce this chapter unless it designates by resolution such other authority.
B. 
Compliance. No person, firm or corporation shall divide any land located within the jurisdictional limits of these regulations which results in a subdivision, land division, certified survey map or replat as defined herein; no such subdivision, land division, certified survey may or replat shall be entitled to record; and no streets shall be laid out or improvements made to land without compliance with all requirements of this chapter, and:
(1) 
Provisions of Chapter 236, and § 82.18, Wis. Stats.
(2) 
Rules of the Wisconsin State Department of Safety and Professional Services, 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 State Department of Transportation 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 subdivision abuts on a state trunk highway or connecting street.
(4) 
All other applicable state statutes and administrative rules.
(5) 
An adopted Comprehensive Land Use Plan, or any component thereof; Chapter 525, Zoning; Official Map; and all other applicable ordinances.
(6) 
Applicable local and county rules and regulations.
C. 
Exceptions. In no instance shall the provisions of this chapter 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) 
The 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 size required by this chapter.
D. 
Permits. No person shall request, nor be issued, a driveway or culvert permit, building permit or any other permit or license authorizing any construction, installation or improvement on any land within the Town of Buchanan, except land subject to a land division that was of record as of the effective date of this chapter, until the provisions and requirements of this chapter have been fully met by the land divider. The Town Board may institute the appropriate action or proceedings to enjoin violations of this chapter. There may be additional state and county requirements that apply.
E. 
No persons shall make, record or replat any land division, except as provided under § 70.27(1), Wis. Stats., if it alters acres dedicated to the public without proper court action to vacate or discontinue such plat, map or part thereof.
Parcels shall be combined into one parcel when a use, structure or structural addition occupies more than one parcel under the same ownership.
A. 
No lot or parcel shall hereafter be created or altered by deed or any other means other than by an approved and recorded certified survey map, condominium or subdivision plat, right-of-way plat or some other form of public dedication.
B. 
No land division shall be allowed where such division shall increase the nonconformity of a structure, use or parcel, or where a nonconforming structure, use or parcel would be created as a result of the division without a properly reviewed and approved variance.
A. 
No land shall be subdivided for residential, commercial or industrial use which is held unsuitable for such use by the Board, upon the recommendation of the Plan Commission, for reason of: flooding, inadequate drainage, wetlands, incompatible surrounding land use, adverse soil or rock formation, unfavorable topography, inadequate water supply or sewage disposal capabilities, unfavorable impact on groundwater supply, quantity or quality, poor management of environmentally sensitive areas or any feature likely to be harmful to the health, safety, or welfare of the future users of the proposed subdivision or of the community.
B. 
The determination of land suitability for division shall be made by the Plan Commission during the Concept Plan review process or prior to final approval for any land division/subdivision. The Plan Commission, in applying the provisions of this section, shall in writing recite the particular facts upon which it bases its conclusion the land is not suitable for the proposed use and afford the land divider/subdivider an opportunity to present evidence regarding such unsuitability if so desired. Thereafter, the Plan Commission may affirm, modify or withdraw its determination of unsuitability. The Board shall consider the Plan Commission's recommendation when considering approval of a land division/subdivision.
C. 
Where the land division or subdivision of a tract of land contains a portion of land unsuitable for development because of poor drainage, floodable conditions, adverse soil conditions, rock formations, unfavorable topography, inadequate water supply or sewage disposal capabilities, or for any other reason, such areas shall not be divided into buildable sites, and shall be handled as follows:
(1) 
Poor drainage. Land subject to ponding, poor permeability or poor drainage, or for other causes as determined by the Plan Commission, or its designated agent, and if said land is not zoned as a conservancy or wetland-floodplain district or similar district, on an applicable zoning district map in which buildings are prohibited, it shall be subject to the following requirements:
(a) 
If said land is designated as park, parkway, other open space, or other public use on the adopted plan, the developer may dedicate said land to Buchanan, but in any case, must reserve said land for not less than two years for acquisition by Buchanan;
(b) 
If said land is not designated as a park, parkway, or other public use on an adopted Buchanan plan, then the developer shall cause said land to be identified as an outlot and restricted for building purposes by easement, and no permit shall be issued for building purposes. In addition, appropriate notations shall be placed on the face of the plat.
(c) 
In lieu of the requirements set forth above, the developer may, at his expense, prepare a development proposal to be accompanied by a site plan and adequate engineering data to ensure the public health, safety and welfare will be promoted if approved, and to provide a financial guarantee to insure the development will be done at a specified time if approved.
(2) 
Floodable conditions/drainageways. If floodplains have been determined and are delineated on applicable district maps, or as determined by the Plan Commission from sources available to it, no development shall be allowed except as permitted in applicable floodplain and shoreland ordinances. In designing plats and CSMs, drainage easements shall be designated on the plat and as determined by the Plan Commission or as determined by sources available to it, and building permits shall not be issued therein.
(3) 
Adverse soil and rock formation.
(a) 
Soil suitability for contemplated development in a proposed land division/subdivision shall be determined by the Plan Commission from sources available to it. Where soil interpretations determine a tract of land is unsuitable for development under existing conditions, the developer may submit a proposal for development indicating how, through site and engineering design, the soil problems can be overcome. The proposal shall include a site plan and adequate engineering data. If the plan is approved, the developer shall provide a financial guarantee to insure all conditions attached to the approval will be done by a specified time.
(b) 
In order to determine the precise location of soil types, on-site investigation by soil scientists may be necessary but in areas where no public sewer is available, this investigation is mandatory and may be made by a professional surveyor, engineer or soil scientist at the expense of the developer, and according to procedures established by the State Department of Safety and Professional Services.
D. 
Existing flora. The land divider/subdivider shall make every effort to protect and retain all existing trees of over two-inch caliper, groupings of trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, and other non-noxious plants not actually lying in public roadways, drainageways, building foundation sites, private driveways, waste disposal areas, paths and trails. The land divider/subdivider shall protect and preserve such trees and other flora during construction in accordance with best management practices (such as the possibility of preserving trees by well islands or retaining walls), whenever abutting grades are altered, pursuant to a landscaping plan filed by the land divider/subdivider. Tree protection measures shall be indicated and described on the landscape plan.
No person shall build upon, divide, convey, record or monument any land in violation of this chapter or the Wisconsin Statutes. No permit shall be issued authorizing the building on or improvement of any subdivision, replat or certified survey map within the jurisdiction of this chapter and not of record as of January 1, 2009, until the provisions and requirements of this chapter have been fully met. The Town may institute appropriate action or proceedings to enjoin violations of this chapter or the applicable Wisconsin Statutes.
Any person, partnership, corporation or other legal entity that fails to comply with the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, forfeit not less than $200, plus any additional applicable costs incurred by the Town for each offense. Each day a violation exists or continues shall constitute a separate offense. Violations and concomitant penalties are not limited to, but may include the following:
A. 
Recordation improperly made shall be subject to the provisions of § 236.30, Wis. Stats.
B. 
Conveyance of parcels in unrecorded plats shall be subject to the provisions of § 236.31, Wis. Stats.
C. 
Monuments disturbed or not placed shall be subject to the provisions of § 236.32, Wis. Stats.
D. 
All assessor's plat may be ordered by the Town when a subdivision is created by successive divisions as provided in § 236.31(2), Wis. Stats.
The subdivider shall pay the Town all required fees at the specified time and before any land division approvals are granted. Fees shall be established in the Town of Buchanan Fees and Licenses Schedule from time to time by the Town Board.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Fees and Licenses Schedule is on file in the Town Administrator's office.
When it is proposed to replat a recorded land division or part thereof so as to change the exterior boundaries of a recorded land division or part thereof, the subdivider or person wishing to replat shall vacate or alter the recorded plat as provided in Ch. 236, Wis. Stats. The subdivider or person wishing to replat shall then proceed as specified in this chapter. The Administrator shall schedule a public hearing before the Town of Buchanan Plan Commission when a proposed preliminary plat of a replat of lands within the Town limits is filed and shall cause notices of the proposed replat and public hearing to be mailed to the owners of all properties within the limits of the exterior boundaries of the proposed replat and to the owners of all properties within 300 feet if located in the Darboy Sanitary District or 500 feet if outside the sanitary district of the exterior boundaries of the proposed replat.