[Amended by Ord. No. 701-89; Ord. No. 728-91]
Jurisdiction of these regulations shall include all lands within the corporate limits of the City and those lands within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City as established in §§ 62.23(2) and 66.0105, Wis. Stats. The provisions of this chapter, as it applies to divisions of tracts of land into fewer than five parcels, shall not apply to the following:
A. 
Transfers of interest in land by will or pursuant to court order.
B. 
Leases for a term not to exceed 10 years, mortgages or easements.
C. 
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 these regulations, the zoning ordinances or other applicable laws or ordinances.
D. 
Cemetery plats made under § 157.07, Wis. Stats.
E. 
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.
No person shall divide 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 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:
A. 
Chapter 236, Wis. Stats.
B. 
Rules of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce 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.
C. 
Rules of the Wisconsin 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 subdivider abuts on a state trunk highway or connecting street.
D. 
Rules of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources setting water quality standards, preventing and abating pollution and regulating development within floodland, wetland and shoreland areas.
E. 
Duly approved comprehensive plan or area development plans of the City.
F. 
The Zoning Code and all other applicable local and county ordinances.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 430, Zoning.
G. 
A developer's or subdivider's agreement between the City and the developer or subdivider.
A. 
Streets, highways and drainageways. Whenever a tract of land to be divided encompasses all or any part of a major street, public drainageway or other public way which has been designated in the Comprehensive Plan, area development plan or on the Official Map of the City, said public way shall be made a part of the plat and dedicated or reserved by the subdivider in the locations and dimensions indicated on said plan or component and as set forth in Article VIII of this chapter. Streets within the extraterritorial plat review jurisdiction of the City shall be dedicated by the subdivider to the appropriate town. Should the town require less dedication than is specified by Article VIII of this chapter or by the Official Map, the excess right-of-way shall be reserved for future acquisition by the City.
B. 
Public sites and open spaces. In order that adequate open spaces and sites for public uses may be properly located and preserved as the community develops, the following provisions are established:[1]
(1) 
In the design of the plat, due consideration shall be given to the reservation of suitable sites of adequate area for future schools, parks, playgrounds, drainageways and other public purposes. If designated on the Comprehensive Plan, such areas shall be made a part of the plat. If not so designated, consideration shall be given in the location of such sites to the preservation of scenic and historic sites, stands of fine trees, marshes, lakes and ponds, watercourses, watersheds and ravines.
(2) 
Reservation of potential sites shall be accomplished as follows:
(a) 
Immediate site acquisition. When a portion of a plat is required for public sites and the site is within the corporate limits of the City and the development of the site is imminent, the subdivider shall provide for immediate acquisition by the City of adequate land to provide for the school, park and recreation needs of the City. The subdivider shall not be paid more than fair market value for land involved. An appraisal shall be done by an outside appraiser approved by the subdivider and the City. Cost of the appraisal shall be shared equally by the subdivider and the City.
(b) 
Reservation may be required. Where it is determined by the Plan Commission that a portion of the plat is required for such public sites or open spaces but the sites will not be immediately developed by the City, the subdivider may be required to reserve such area for a period of not to exceed two years, after which the City shall either acquire the property or release the reservation.
(c) 
Design consideration. In the design of all plats, consideration shall be given to the correlation with the Park and Recreation Commission's Master Plan for Public Sites and Open Spaces. In all cases, small subdivision parks shall be avoided unless the Park and Recreation Commission sees the need to develop a tot lot and equip the same.
(3) 
Reservation of land for potential public sites. When it is determined that a portion of a plat is required to be reserved for a future possible public site, the subdivider shall be paid 10% if the fully improved appraised value of the land in question is in the form of an option, said option not to exceed two years. The subdivider shall not be paid more than current fair market value for the land involved. An appraisal shall be done by an outside appraiser approved by the subdivider and the City. Cost of the appraisal shall be shared equally by the subdivider and the City.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: Original § 19.02(3)(b)4, which immediately followed this subsection and provided for payment in lieu of land reservation, was deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).
Before final approval of any plat, the subdivider shall enter into an agreement with the City to install the required improvements and shall file with the subdivider's agreement an irrevocable letter of credit or other appropriate sureties meeting the approval of the City Attorney equal to the estimated cost of the improvements. Improvement cost estimates shall be made by the developer, reviewed by the Director of Public Works and approved by the Council. The improvements may be installed after approval of a preliminary plat or certified survey map by the subdivider or his subcontractors, but not later than one year from the date of recording of the final plat, or as provided in the subdivider's agreement. The subdivider's agreement shall specify a completion date for all improvements. In addition:
A. 
Plans and specifications for all improvements shall be reviewed and approved by the Director of Public Works, in writing, prior to commencement of construction. The subdivider may submit an interim final plat with the improvement plans; however, review and approval of a final plat shall not be initiated until the improvement plans have been reviewed and approved and until the subdivider's agreement has been fully executed.
B. 
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 providing such work, shall be subject to the prior written approval of the Director of Public Works in accordance with City standards and specifications.
C. 
Governmental units to which these bond and contract provisions apply may file, in lieu of said contract and bond, a letter from officers authorized to act on their behalf agreeing to comply with the provisions of this section.
D. 
Before final approval of any plat within the City or its extraterritorial jurisdictional limits, the subdivider shall install survey monuments placed in accordance with the requirements of § 236.15, Wis. Stats., and as may be required by the Director of Public Works.
E. 
Prior to the acceptance of a final plat, the subdivider shall furnish, when required by the City, a consent and waiver of the statutory provisions for special assessments for the installation of sanitary sewer, storm sewer, sewer laterals, water main, water laterals, curb and gutter, sidewalks, street surfacing, underground streetlighting services and all other utilities, which shall be in a form approved by the City Attorney, pursuant to § 66.0703(7)(b), Wis. Stats., and shall be recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds in the same manner as a lis pendens. Such consent and waiver shall provide that the installation of such services shall be made at the discretion of the Council.
A. 
General. Where, in the judgment of the Council, it would be inappropriate to apply literally the provisions of § 425-12 below and Article VIII and § 425-9 of this chapter because exceptional or undue hardship would result, the Council may waive or modify any requirement to the extent deemed just and proper. No variance to the provisions of this chapter shall be granted unless the Council finds that 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 the 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.
B. 
Monuments. The Council may waive the placing of monuments, required under § 236.15(1)(b), (c) and (d), Wis. Stats., for a reasonable time on condition that the subdivider execute a surety bond or irrevocable letter of credit to insure the placing of such monuments within the required time limits established by the City.
No land shall be subdivided for residential use which is determined to be unsuitable for such use by the Council for 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 the future residents of the proposed subdivision or of the City. The Council, in applying the provisions of this section, shall, in writing, recite the particular facts upon which it bases its conclusion that the land is not suitable for residential use and afford the subdivider an opportunity to present evidence regarding such unsuitability if he so desires. Thereafter the Council, upon the recommendation of the Plan Commission, may affirm, modify or withdraw its determination of unsuitability.
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), Wis. Stats., 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.