236.293 Restrictions for public benefit. Any restriction placed on platted land by covenant, grant of easement or in any other manner, which was required by a public body or which names a public body or public utility as grantee, promisee or beneficiary, vests in the public body or public utility the right to enforce the restriction at law or in equity against anyone who has or acquires an interest in the land subject to the restriction. The restriction may be released or waived in writing by the public body or public utility having the right of enforcement. History: 1979 c. 248. The hidden dangers of placing easements on plats. Ishikawa. WBB Apr. 1988.
236.295 Correction instruments. (1) Correction instruments shall be recorded in the office of the register of deeds in the county in which the plat or certified survey map is recorded and may include any of the following: (a) Affidavits to correct distances, angles, directions, bearings, chords, block or lot numbers, street names, or other details shown on a recorded plat or certified survey map. A correction instrument may not be used to reconfigure lots or outlots.
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(b) Ratifications of a recorded plat or certified survey map signed and acknowledged in accordance with ch. 140. (c) Certificates of owners and mortgagees of record at time of recording. (2) (a) Each affidavit in sub. (1) (a) correcting a plat or certified survey map that changes areas dedicated to the public or restrictions for the public benefit must be approved prior to recording by the governing body of the municipality or town in which the subdivision is located. The register of deeds shall include on the plat or certified survey map a notation of the document number of the affidavit or instrument and, if the affidavit or instrument is assigned a volume and page number, the volume and page where the affidavit or instrument is recorded. The record of the affidavit or instrument, or a certified copy of the record, is prima facie evidence of the facts stated in the affidavit or instrument. (b) Notwithstanding par. (a), in a county that maintains a tract index pursuant to s. 59.43 (12m), a correction may be made by reference in the tract index to the plat or certified survey map. History: 1971 c. 41 s. 11; 1979 c. 248; 1999 a. 85; 2001 a. 16; 2005 a. 41; 2017 a. 102; 2019 a. 125. This section does not apply to assessors’ plats. 61 Atty. Gen. 25.
SUBCHAPTER VI PENALTIES AND REMEDIES 236.30 Forfeiture for improper recording. Any person causing his or her final plat to be recorded without submitting such plat for approval as herein required, or who shall fail to present the same for record within the time prescribed after approval, shall forfeit not less than $100, nor more than $1,000 to each municipality, town or county wherein such final plat should have been submitted. History: 1979 c. 248 s. 25 (5).
236.31 Penalties and remedies for transfer of lots without recorded plat. (1) Any subdivider or the subdivider’s agent who offers or contracts to convey, or conveys, any subdivision as defined in s. 236.02 (12) or lot or parcel which lies in a subdivision as defined in s. 236.02 (12) knowing that the final plat thereof has not been recorded may be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned not more than 6 months or both; except where the preliminary or final plat of the subdivision has been filed for approval with the town or municipality in which the subdivision lies, an offer or contract to convey may be made if that offer or contract states on its face that it is contingent upon approval of the final plat and shall be void if such plat is not approved. (2) Any municipality, town, county, or state agency with subdivision review authority may institute injunction or other appropriate action or proceeding to enjoin a violation of any provision of this chapter, an ordinance, or a rule adopted under this chapter. Any such municipality, town, or county may impose a forfeiture for violation of any such ordinance, and order an assessor’s plat to be made under s. 70.27 at the expense of the subdivider or the subdivider’s agent when a subdivision is created under s. 236.02 (12) (am) 2. by successive divisions. (3) Any conveyance or contract to convey made by the subdivider or the subdivider’s agent contrary to this section or involving a plat which was not entitled to be recorded under s. 236.25 (2) shall be voidable at the option of the purchaser or person contracting to purchase, his or her heirs, personal representative or trustee in insolvency or bankruptcy within one year after the execution of the document or contract; but such document or con-
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tract shall be binding on the vendor, the subdivider’s assignee, heir or devisee. History: 1979 c. 248 s. 25 (6); 1979 c. 355, 357; 1983 a. 189 s. 329 (23); 2013 a. 272. Sub. (3) does not allow a purchaser to force a seller to violate sub. (1) and become subject to criminal penalties by doing so. Gordie Boucher Lincoln-Mercury Madison Inc. v. J&H Landfill, Inc., 172 Wis. 2d 333, 493 N.W.2d 375 (Ct. App. 1992). Certified survey maps under s. 236.34 cannot substitute for subdivision surveys under s. 236.02 (8) [now s. 236.02 (12)]. Penalties under this section apply to improper use of certified surveys. 67 Atty. Gen. 294.
236.32 Penalty for disturbing or not placing monuments. (1m) Any of the following may be fined not more than $250 or imprisoned not more than one year in county jail for any of the following violations: (a) Any owner, professional land surveyor, or subdivider who fails to place monuments as prescribed in this chapter when subdividing land. (b) Any person who knowingly removes or disturbs any such monument without the permission of the governing body of the municipality or county in which the subdivision is located or fails to report such disturbance or removal to it. (c) Any person who fails to replace properly any monuments that have been removed or disturbed when ordered to do so by the governing body of the municipality or county in which the subdivision is located. (2m) Each monument to which a violation under sub. (1m) applies constitutes a separate violation. History: 2013 a. 358.
236.33 Division of land into small parcels in cities of the first class prohibited; penalty. It shall be unlawful to divide or subdivide and convey by deed or otherwise any lot in any recorded plat or any parcel or tract of unplatted land in any city of the first class so as to create a lot or parcel of land which does not have street or public highway frontage of at least 4 feet or an easement to a street or public highway of a minimum width of 4 feet but this section shall not apply to conveyances by tax deed or through the exercise of eminent domain or to such reductions in size or area as are caused by the taking of property for public purposes. This section shall not prohibit the dividing or subdividing of any lot or parcel of land in any such city where the divided or subdivided parts thereof which become joined in ownership with any other lot or parcel of land comply with the requirements of this section, if the remaining portion of such lot or parcel so divided or subdivided complies. Any person who shall make such conveyance or procure such a sale or act as agent in procuring such sale or conveyance shall be fined not less than $100 or more than $500 or imprisoned not more than 6 months or both. 236.335 Prohibited subdividing; forfeit. No lot or parcel in a recorded plat may be divided, or used if so divided, for purposes of sale or building development if the resulting lots or parcels do not conform to this chapter, to any applicable ordinance of the approving authority or to the rules of the department of safety and professional services under s. 236.13. Any person making or causing such a division to be made shall forfeit not less than $100 nor more than $500 to the approving authority, or to the state if there is a violation of this chapter or the rules of the department of safety and professional services. History: 1979 c. 221; 1995 a. 27 s. 9130 (4); 1997 a. 3; 2007 a. 20; 2011 a. 32. Discussing the circumstances under which lots in a recorded subdivision may be legally divided without replatting. 64 Atty. Gen. 80.
236.34 Recording of certified survey map; use in changing boundaries; use in conveyancing. (1) DESCRIPTION AND USES. (am) A certified survey map of not more than 4 parcels of land, or such greater maximum number speci-
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fied by an ordinance enacted or resolution adopted under par. (ar) 1., consisting of lots or outlots may be recorded in the office of the register of deeds of the county in which the land is situated. (ar) 1. Notwithstanding s. 236.45 (2) (ac) and (am), a municipality, town, or county that has established a planning agency may enact an ordinance or adopt a resolution that specifies a maximum number of parcels that is greater than 4 into which land that is situated in the municipality, town, or county and zoned for commercial, multifamily dwelling, as defined in s. 101.01 (8m), industrial, or mixed-use development may be divided by certified survey map. 2. Before the enactment of an ordinance or the adoption of a resolution under subd. 1., the governing body of the municipality, town, or county shall receive the recommendation of its planning agency and shall hold a public hearing on the ordinance or resolution. Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication of a class 2 notice, under ch. 985. Any ordinance enacted or resolution adopted shall be published in a form suitable for public distribution. 3. Notwithstanding subd. 1., an ordinance enacted or resolution adopted under subd. 1. by a municipality may specify the number of parcels into which land within the extraterritorial plat approval jurisdiction of the municipality, as well as land within the corporate limits of the municipality, may be divided by certified survey map if the municipality has the right to approve or object to plats within that area under s. 236.10 (1) (b) 2. and (2). 4. If more than one governing body has authority to enact an ordinance or adopt a resolution under subd. 1. with respect to the same land and those governing bodies enact ordinances or adopt resolutions with conflicting provisions, any certified survey map affecting that land must comply with the most restrictive provisions. (bm) A certified survey map may be used to change the boundaries of lots and outlots within a recorded plat, recorded assessor’s plat under s. 70.27, or recorded certified survey map if the reconfiguration does not result in a subdivision or violate a local ordinance or resolution. (cm) A certified survey map may not alter areas previously dedicated to the public or a restriction placed on the platted land by covenant, by grant of an easement, or by any other manner. (dm) A certified survey map that crosses the exterior boundary of a recorded plat or assessor’s plat shall apply to the reconfiguration of not more than 4 parcels, or such greater maximum number specified by an ordinance enacted or resolution adopted under par. (ar) 1., by a single owner, or if no additional parcels are created. Subject to sub. (2m), such a certified survey map must be approved in the same manner as a final plat of a subdivision must be approved under s. 236.10, must be monumented in accordance with s. 236.15 (1), and shall contain owners’ and mortgagees’ certificates that are in substantially the same form as required under s. 236.21 (2) (a). (1m) PREPARATION. A certified survey must meet the following requirements: (a) The survey shall be performed and the map prepared by a professional land surveyor. The error in the latitude and departure closure of the survey may not exceed the ratio of one in 3,000. (b) All corners shall be monumented in accordance with s. 236.15 (1) (ac), (c), (d), and (g). (c) The map shall be prepared in accordance with ss. 236.16 (4) and 236.20 (2) (a), (b), (c), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), and (L) and (3) (b), (d), and (e) at a graphic scale of not more than 500 feet to an inch, which shall be shown on each sheet showing layout features. The map shall be prepared with a binding margin 1.5 inches wide and a 0.5 inch margin on all other sides on
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durable white media that is 8 1/2 inches wide by 14 inches long, or on other media that is acceptable to the register of deeds, with a permanent nonfading black image. When more than one sheet is used for any map, each sheet shall be numbered consecutively and shall contain a notation giving the total number of sheets in the map and showing the relationship of that sheet to the other sheets. “CERTIFIED SURVEY MAP” shall be printed on the map in prominent letters with the location of the land by government lot, recorded private claim, quarter-quarter section, section, township, range and county noted. Seals or signatures reproduced on images complying with this paragraph shall be given the force and effect of original signatures and seals. (d) The map shall include a certificate of the professional land surveyor who surveyed, divided, and mapped the land which has the same force and effect as an affidavit and which gives all of the following information: 1. By whose direction the professional land surveyor made the survey, division, and map of the land described on the certified survey map. 2. A clear and concise description of the land surveyed, divided, and mapped by government lot, recorded private claim, quarter-quarter section, section, township, range and county; and by metes and bounds commencing with a monument at a section or quarter section corner of the quarter section that is not the center of a section, or commencing with a monument at the end of a boundary line of a recorded private claim or federal reservation in which the land is located. If, however, the land is shown in a recorded subdivision plat, recorded addition to a recorded subdivision plat, or recorded certified survey map that has previously been tied to the monumented line of a quarter section, government lot, recorded private claim, or federal reservation in which the land is located, the land shall be described by the subdivision name or certified survey map number and the description of the lot and block thereof. 3. A statement that the map is a correct representation of all of the exterior boundaries of the land surveyed and the division of that land. 4. A statement that the professional land surveyor has fully complied with the provisions of this section in surveying, dividing, and mapping the land. (e) A certified survey map may be used for dedication of streets and other public areas, and for granting easements to the public or any person, society, or corporation marked or noted on the map, when owners’ certificates and mortgagees’ certificates which are in substantially the same form as required by s. 236.21 (2) (a) have been executed and the city council or village or town board involved have approved such dedication or grant. Approval and recording of such certified surveys shall have the force and effect provided by s. 236.29. (em) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., if the certified survey map divides land into more than 4 parcels in accordance with an ordinance enacted or resolution adopted under sub. (1) (ar) 1., notwithstanding pars. (b) and (c), the survey and the map shall comply with ss. 236.15, 236.20, and 236.21 (1) and (2) and the map shall be submitted to the department of administration for a review of the compliance with those sections. 2. Subdivision 1. does not apply if any of the following applies: a. The certified survey map is only changing the boundaries of lots and outlots in a recorded plat, recorded assessor’s plat under s. 70.27, or recorded certified survey map, regardless of whether the certified survey map crosses the exterior boundary of the recorded plat, assessor’s plat, or certified survey map. b. The certified survey map is dividing land that is wholly situated in a 1st class city.
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c. The certified survey map is dividing unincorporated land in a county with a population of 750,000 or more. (er) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., the certified survey map and survey shall comply with the rules of the department of transportation described in s. 236.13 (1) (e) and the map shall be submitted to the department of transportation for a review of the compliance with those rules if all of the following apply: a. The certified survey map divides land into more than 4 parcels in accordance with an ordinance enacted or resolution adopted under sub. (1) (ar) 1. b. The certified survey map is changing the external boundary of a recorded plat, recorded assessor’s plat, or recorded certified survey map. c. The certified survey map or recorded plat, recorded assessor’s plat, or recorded certified survey map shows lots that abut or adjoin a state trunk highway or connecting highway. 2. Subdivision 1. does not apply if any of the following applies: a. The certified survey map is dividing land that is wholly situated in a 1st class city. b. The certified survey map is dividing unincorporated land in a county with a population of 750,000 or more. (f) Within 90 days of submitting a certified survey map for approval, the approving authority, or its agent authorized to approve certified survey maps, shall take action to approve, approve conditionally, or reject the certified survey map and shall state in writing any conditions of approval or reasons for rejection, unless the time is extended by agreement with the subdivider. Failure of the approving authority or its agent to act within the 90 days, or any extension of that period, constitutes an approval of the certified survey map and, upon demand, a certificate to that effect shall be made on the face of the map by the clerk of the authority that has failed to act. (2) RECORDING. (a) Certified survey maps prepared in accordance with subs. (1) and (1m) shall be numbered consecutively by the register of deeds and shall be recorded in a bound volume kept in the register of deeds’ office, known as the “Certified Survey Maps of .... County”, or stored electronically in the register of deeds office. (b) If the certified survey map is approved by a local unit of government, the register of deeds may not accept the certified survey map for record unless all of the following apply: 1. The certified survey map is offered for record within 12 months after the date of the last approval of the map and within 36 months after the date of the first approval of the map. 2. The certified survey map shows on its face all of the certificates and affidavits required under subs. (1) and (1m). (2m) COUNTY APPROVAL AUTHORITY. (a) Except as provided in par. (b), a county planning agency under s. 236.10 (1) (b) 3. or (c) 2. has no authority to approve or object to a certified survey map that divides land that is located in a town that has, before the certified survey map is submitted for approval, enacted an ordinance under s. 60.23 (34) or (35) withdrawing the town from county zoning and the county development plan. (b) A county planning agency under s. 236.10 (1) (b) 3. or (c) 2. may object to any of the following portions of a certified survey map that divides land located in a town described in par. (a): 1. Any land shown on and subject to the certified survey map that is shoreland, as defined in s. 59.692 (1) (b), in the county. 2. Any land shown on and subject to the certified survey map that is in a 100-year floodplain in the county. (3) USE IN CONVEYANCING. When a certified survey map has been recorded in accordance with this section, the parcels of land in the map shall be, for all purposes, including assessment, taxa-
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tion, devise, descent, and conveyance, as defined in s. 706.01 (4), described by reference to all of the following: (a) The number of the map. (b) The lot or outlot number of the parcel. (c) If the map is assigned a document number, the document number assigned to the map. (d) If the map is assigned a volume and page number, the volume and page where the map is recorded. (e) The name of the county. (4) VACATION. A certified survey map may be vacated by the circuit court of the county in which the parcels of land are located in the same manner and with like effect as provided in ss. 236.40 to 236.44, except that application for vacation of the certified survey map may be made by any of the following: (a) The owner of any lot or outlot in the land that is the subject of the certified survey map. (b) The county board if the county has acquired an interest by tax deed in any lot or outlot in the land that is the subject of the certified survey map. History: 1979 c. 248 ss. 22, 25 (3); 1983 a. 189 s. 329 (26); 1983 a. 473; 1987 a. 390; 1997 a. 99; 1999 a. 96; 2001 a. 16; 2005 a. 9, 41; 2013 a. 272, 358; 2015 a. 48, 178; 2017 a. 102; 2017 a. 207 s. 5; 2017 a. 243; 2021 a. 238 s. 45; 2023 a. 264. While s. 236.29 (1) provides that every donation or grant to the public marked or noted as such on a properly recorded plat shall be deemed a sufficient conveyance to vest the fee simple of all parcels of land so marked or noted, statutory dedication requires compliance with statutory procedure. For the state to rely on s. 236.29 (1) to convey property via a certified survey map (CSM) that marked a parcel as a dedication, the property first has to be properly dedicated in accordance with sub. (1m) (e). Under that statute, the city council or village or town board involved must have approved the dedication. As no governmental board involved in the development in this case approved any road dedication or land grant for inclusion in the CSM, the CSM lacked the force and effect required to convey the property to the state. Somers USA, LLC v. DOT, 2015 WI App 33, 361 Wis. 2d 807, 864 N.W.2d 114, 14-1092. Sub. (2) requires that certified survey maps be numbered consecutively without dependent reference to ownership, developer, or surveyor. 61 Atty. Gen. 34. Certified survey maps under this section cannot substitute for subdivision surveys under s. 236.02 (8) [now s. 236.02 (12)]. Penalties under s. 236.31 apply to improper use of certified surveys. 67 Atty. Gen. 294.
SUBCHAPTER VII SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISIONS 236.35 Sale of lands abutting on private way outside corporate limits of municipality. (1) No person shall sell any parcel of land of one acre or less in size, located outside the corporate limits of a municipality, if it abuts on a road which has not been accepted as a public road unless the seller informs the purchaser in writing of the fact that the road is not a public road and is not required to be maintained by the town or county. (2) Any person violating this section may be fined not more than $200 or imprisoned not more than 30 days or both. SUBCHAPTER VIII VACATING AND ALTERING PLATS 236.36 Replats. Except as provided in s. 70.27 (1), replat of all or any part of a recorded subdivision, if it alters areas dedicated to the public, may not be made or recorded except after proper court action, in the county in which the subdivision is located, has been taken to vacate the original plat or the specific part thereof. A recorded subdivision may be replatted under this section without undertaking the court proceedings set forth in ss. 236.40, 236.41, and 236.42 if the replat complies with the requirements of this chapter applicable to original plats and does not alter areas dedicated to the public. 58 Atty. Gen. 145. A replat of a recorded subdivision must comply with the formal platting requirements of this chapter relating to new subdivision plats, including those relating to the survey, approval, and recording. 63 Atty. Gen. 193. This section permits the replat of a part of a previously recorded subdivision plat,
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without circuit court action, if the only areas dedicated to the public in that portion of the original subdivision being replatted are discontinued streets fully and properly vacated under s. 66.296 [now s. 66.1003]. 63 Atty. Gen. 210. Discussing the circumstances under which lots in a recorded subdivision may be legally divided without replatting. 64 Atty. Gen. 80. This chapter does not require a replat when the division of a lot or redivision of more than one lot does not meet the definition of a “subdivision” under s. 236.02. 67 Atty. Gen. 121.
236.40 Who may apply for vacation of plat. Any of the following may apply to the circuit court for the county in which a subdivision is located for the vacation or alteration of all or part of the recorded plat of that subdivision: (1) The owner of the subdivision or of any lot in the subdivision. (2) The county board if the county has acquired an interest in the subdivision or in any lot in the subdivision by tax deed. 236.41 How notice given. Notice of the application for the vacation or alteration of the plat shall be given at least 3 weeks before the application: (1) By posting a written notice thereof in at least 2 of the most public places in the county; and (2) By publication of a copy of the notice as a class 3 notice, under ch. 985; and (3) By service of the notice in the manner required for service of a summons in the circuit court on the municipality or town in which the subdivision is located, and if it is located in a county having a population of 750,000 or over, on the county; and (4) By mailing a copy of the notice to the owners of record of all the lots in the subdivision or the part of the subdivision proposed to be vacated or altered at their last-known address. History: 2017 a. 207 s. 5. The provisions of this section relating to vacation of streets are inapplicable to assessors’ plats under s. 70.27. Once properly filed and recorded, an assessor’s plat becomes the operative document of record, and only sections specified in s. 236.03 (2) apply to assessors’ plats. Schaetz v. Town of Scott, 222 Wis. 2d 90, 585 N.W.2d 889 (Ct. App. 1998), 98-0841.
236.42 Hearing and order. (1) After requiring proof that the notices required by s. 236.41 have been given and after hearing all interested parties, the court may in its discretion grant an order vacating or altering the plat or any part thereof except: (a) The court shall not vacate any alleys immediately in the rear of lots fronting on county trunk highways without the prior approval of the county board or on state trunk highways without the prior approval of the department of transportation. (b) The court shall not vacate any parts of the plat which have been dedicated to and accepted by the public for public use except as provided in s. 236.43. (2) The vacation or alteration of a plat shall not affect: (a) Any restriction under s. 236.293, unless the public body having the right to enforce the restriction has in writing released or waived such restriction. (b) Any restrictive covenant applying to any of the platted land. History: 1977 c. 29 s. 1654 (8) (c).
236.43 Vacation or alteration of areas dedicated to the public. Parts of a plat dedicated to and accepted by the public for public use may be vacated or altered as follows: (1) The court may vacate streets, roads or other public ways on a plat if: (a) The plat was recorded more than 40 years previous to the filing of the application for vacation or alteration; and (b) During all that period the areas dedicated for streets, roads or other public ways were not improved as streets, roads or other public ways; and
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(c) Those areas are not necessary to reach other platted property; and (d) All the owners of all the land in the plat or part thereof sought to be vacated and the governing body of the city, village or town in which the street, road or other public way is located have joined in the application for vacation. (2) The court may vacate land platted as a public square upon the application of the municipality or town in which the dedicated land is located if: (a) The plat was recorded more than 40 years previous to the filing of the application for vacation or alteration; and (b) The land was never in fact developed or utilized by the municipality or town as a public square. (3) The court may vacate land, in a city, county, village or town, platted as a public park or playground upon the application of the local legislative body of such city, county, village or town where the land has never been developed by said city, county, village or town as a public park or playground. (4) When the plat is being vacated or altered in any 2nd, 3rd or 4th class city or in any village or town which includes a street, road, alley or public walkway, said street, road, alley or public walkway may be vacated or altered by the circuit court proceeding under ss. 236.41 and 236.42 upon the following conditions: (a) A resolution is passed by the governing body requesting such vacation or alteration. (b) The owners of all frontage of the lots and lands abutting on the portion sought to be vacated or altered request in writing that such action be taken. History: 1993 a. 246; 1997 a. 172; 2003 a. 286. Cross-reference: See s. 66.1003 for other provisions for vacating streets. Although dedicated as a street, an improvement of land as another public way may meet the requirements of sub. (1) (b). A walkway cleared and improved to be conducive to pedestrian traffic is a public way improved in accordance with sub. (1) (b). K.G.R. Partnership v. Town of East Troy, 187 Wis. 2d 376, 523 N.W.2d 120 (Ct. App. 1994). A municipality is not an owner under sub. (1) (d). Closser v. Town of Harding, 212 Wis. 2d 561, 569 N.W.2d 338 (Ct. App. 1997), 96-3086. Isolated improvements to provide for a scenic outlook were not improvements as a street, road, or public way under sub. (1). Closser v. Town of Harding, 212 Wis. 2d 561, 569 N.W.2d 338 (Ct. App. 1997), 96-3086. 1997 Wis. Act 172 makes several things clear: 1) a local government has no obligation to improve a lake or stream access, regardless of when that access is created; 2) a lake or stream access may not be discontinued under s. 80.32 [now s. 82.19]; and 3) a lake or stream access may be vacated under this section only, and only if the governing municipality agrees. Vande Zande v. Town of Marquette, 2008 WI App 144, 314 Wis. 2d 143, 758 N.W.2d 187, 07-2354.
236.44 Recording order. The applicant for the vacation or alteration shall record in the office of the register of deeds the order vacating or altering the plat together with the plat showing the part vacated if only part of the plat is vacated or the altered plat if the plat is altered. 236.445 Discontinuance of streets by county board. Any county board may alter or discontinue any street, slip or alley in any recorded plat in any town in such county, not within any city or village, in the same manner and with like effect as provided in s. 66.1003. History: 1999 a. 150 s. 672.
SUBCHAPTER IX SUBDIVISION REGULATION AND REGIONAL PLANS 236.45 Local subdivision regulation. (1) DECLARATION OF LEGISLATIVE INTENT. The purpose of this section is to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community and the regulations authorized to be made are designed to further the orderly layout and use of land; to secure safety from fire, panic, and other dangers; to provide adequate light and air,
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including access to sunlight for solar collectors and to wind for wind energy systems; to facilitate adequate provision for transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, playgrounds, and other public requirements; and to facilitate the further resubdivision of larger tracts into smaller parcels of land. The regulations provided for by this section shall be made with reasonable consideration, among other things, of the character of the municipality, town, or county with a view of conserving the value of the buildings placed upon land, providing the best possible environment for human habitation, and for encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the municipality, town, or county. NOTE: Sub. (1) is shown as amended eff. 7-1-26 by 2025 Wis. Act 68. Prior to 7-1-26 it reads: (1) DECLARATION OF LEGISLATIVE INTENT. The purpose of this section is to promote the public health, safety and general welfare of the community and the regulations authorized to be made are designed to lessen congestion in the streets and highways; to further the orderly layout and use of land; to secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers; to provide adequate light and air, including access to sunlight for solar collectors and to wind for wind energy systems; to prevent the overcrowding of land; to avoid undue concentration of population; to facilitate adequate provision for transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, playgrounds and other public requirements; to facilitate the further resubdivision of larger tracts into smaller parcels of land. The regulations provided for by this section shall be made with reasonable consideration, among other things, of the character of the municipality, town or county with a view of conserving the value of the buildings placed upon land, providing the best possible environment for human habitation, and for encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the municipality, town or county.
(2) DELEGATION OF POWER. (ac) To accomplish the purposes listed in sub. (1), any municipality, town or county that has established a planning agency may enact ordinances governing the subdivision or other division of land that are more restrictive than the provisions of this chapter, except that no ordinance may modify in a more restrictive way time limits, deadlines, notice requirements, or other provisions of this chapter that provide protections for a subdivider. (am) Ordinances under par. (ac) may include provisions regulating divisions of land into parcels larger than 1 1/2 acres or divisions of land into less than 5 parcels, and, except as provided in s. 59.69 (4) (intro.) and subject to s. 66.1002, may prohibit the division of land in areas where such prohibition will carry out the purposes of this section. Such ordinances shall make applicable to such divisions all of the provisions of this chapter, or may provide other surveying, monumenting, mapping and approving requirements for such division. The governing body of the municipality, town, or county shall require that a plat of such division be recorded with the register of deeds and kept in a book provided for that purpose or stored electronically. “COUNTY PLAT,” “MUNICIPAL PLAT,” or “TOWN PLAT” shall be printed on the map in prominent letters with the location of the land by government lot, recorded private claim, quarter-quarter section, section, township, range, and county noted. When so recorded, the lots included in the plat shall be described by reference to “COUNTY PLAT,” “MUNICIPAL PLAT,” or “TOWN PLAT,” the name of the plat and the lot and block in the plat, for all purposes, including those of assessment, taxation, devise, descent, and conveyance as defined in s. 706.01 (4). Such ordinance, insofar as it may apply to divisions of less than 5 parcels, shall not apply to: 1. Transfers of interests 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 sizes required by this chapter or other applicable laws or ordinances; 4. Such other divisions exempted by such ordinances. (b) This section and any ordinance adopted pursuant thereto shall be liberally construed in favor of the municipality, town or
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county and shall not be deemed a limitation or repeal of any requirement or power granted or appearing in this chapter or elsewhere, relating to the subdivision of lands. (3) AREAS IN WHICH SUBDIVISION ORDINANCES APPLY. (a) An ordinance adopted hereunder by a municipality may regulate the division or subdivision of land within the extraterritorial plat approval jurisdiction of the municipality as well as land within the corporate limits of the municipality if it has the right to approve or object to plats within that area under s. 236.10 (1) (b) 2. and (2). (b) Notwithstanding par. (a) and subs. (1) and (2), a municipality may not deny approval of a plat or certified survey map under this section or s. 236.10 or 236.13 on the basis of the proposed use of land within the extraterritorial plat approval jurisdiction of the municipality, unless the denial is based on a plan or regulations, or amendments thereto, adopted by the governing body of the municipality under s. 62.23 (7a) (c). (4) PROCEDURE. Before adoption of a subdivision ordinance or any amendments thereto the governing body shall receive the recommendation of its planning agency and shall hold a public hearing thereon. Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication of a class 2 notice, under ch. 985. Any ordinance adopted shall be published in form suitable for public distribution. (5) REGULATION OF FEDERAL SURPLUS LAND. With respect to any surplus lands in excess of 500 acres in area, except the Bong air base in Kenosha County, sold in this state by the federal government for private development, the department, in accordance with the procedure specified in ch. 227, may regulate the subdivision or other division of such federal surplus land in any of the ways and with the same powers authorized hereunder for municipalities, towns or counties. Before promulgating such rules, the department shall first receive the recommendations of any committee appointed for that purpose by the governor. (6) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL CONDITIONS. (ac) In this subsection, “improvement of land for public parks” means grading, landscaping, installation of utilities, construction of sidewalks, installation of playground equipment, and construction or installation of restroom facilities on land intended for public park purposes. (am) Notwithstanding subs. (1) and (2) (ac), a municipality, town, or county may not, as a condition of approval under this chapter, impose any fees or other charges to fund the acquisition or improvement of land, infrastructure, or other real or personal property, except that a municipality or town may impose a fee or other charge to fund the acquisition or initial improvement of land for public parks if the fee or other charge is imposed under a subdivision ordinance enacted or amended in accordance with the procedures under s. 66.0617 (3) to (5) and meets the requirements under s. 66.0617 (6) to (10). (b) Any land dedication, easement, or other public improvement or fee for the acquisition or initial improvement of land for a public park that is required by a municipality, town, or county as a condition of approval under this chapter must bear a rational relationship to a need for the land dedication, easement, or other public improvement or parkland acquisition or initial improvement fee resulting from the subdivision or other division of land and must be proportional to the need. (c) If a subdivision ordinance of a municipality, town, or county requires, as a condition of approval under this chapter, that a subdivider dedicate land for a public park, the municipality, town, or county may offer the subdivider the option of either dedicating land consistent with the municipality’s, town’s, or county’s park plan and comprehensive plan or paying a fee or other charge under par. (am) in lieu of the dedication. If the subdivider elects to pay a fee or other charge under this paragraph,
May 22, 2026, are designated by NOTES. (Published 5-22-26)
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the fee or other charge is payable by the landowner to the municipality, town, or county upon the issuance of a building permit by the municipality, town, or county. If the subdivider elects to dedicate land under this paragraph, unless the municipality, town, or county agrees otherwise, the subdivider only may dedicate land that is consistent with the municipality’s, town’s, or county’s park plan and comprehensive plan. History: 1979 c. 221, 248, 355; 1981 c. 354; 1983 a. 189 s. 329 (26); 2001 a. 16; 2005 a. 477; 2007 a. 44; 2009 a. 376, 399; 2015 a. 48, 391; 2017 a. 243; 2025 a. 68. This section authorizes towns to regulate minimum lot size. Town of Sun Prairie v. Storms, 110 Wis. 2d 58, 327 N.W.2d 642 (1983). The assessment of school and park land dedication fees as a condition for rezoning and issuance of a building permit was authorized. Black v. City of Waukesha, 125 Wis. 2d 254, 371 N.W.2d 389 (Ct. App. 1985). This section does not prevent municipalities from adopting and enforcing more than one ordinance that relates to subdivisions. Manthe v. Town Board, 204 Wis. 2d 546, 555 N.W.2d 167 (Ct. App. 1996), 95-1312. A city may not condition extraterritorial plat approval on annexation. Hoepker v. City of Madison Plan Commission, 209 Wis. 2d 633, 563 N.W.2d 145 (1997), 952013. It was not a violation of this section, s. 61.34, or the public purpose doctrine for a municipality to assume the dual role of subdivider of property it owned and reviewer of the plat under this chapter. Town of Beloit v. County of Rock, 2001 WI App 256, 249 Wis. 2d 88, 637 N.W.2d 71, 00-1231. Affirmed on other grounds. 2003 WI 8, 259 Wis. 2d 37, 657 N.W.2d 344, 00-1231. A municipality has the authority under sub. (2) to impose a temporary town-wide prohibition on land division while developing a comprehensive plan under s. 66.1001. Wisconsin Realtors Ass’n v. Town of West Point, 2008 WI App 40, 309 Wis. 2d 199, 747 N.W.2d 681, 06-2761. A city may not use its extraterritorial plat approval authority to impose land use regulation that should have been done in cooperation with neighboring towns through extraterritorial zoning. Although purporting to be a density standard, the city’s 35-acre density restriction was a use prohibition, the very essence of zoning. Lake Delavan Property Co. v. City of Delavan, 2014 WI App 35, 353 Wis. 2d 173, 844 N.W.2d 632, 13-1202. Although they often work together, zoning and subdivision regulations provide separate and distinct means of regulating the development of land. There are areas of overlap between the two powers, but there are also key differences. Subdivision control is concerned with the initial division of undeveloped land, while zoning more specifically regulates the further use of this land. State ex rel. Anderson v. Town of Newbold, 2021 WI 6, 395 Wis. 2d 351, 954 N.W.2d 323, 18-0547. In this case, the town’s ordinance set minimum lot frontage requirements for each lake within its borders. Pursuant to the Zwiefelhofer, 2012 WI 7, factors, the town’s ordinance was not a zoning ordinance. It did not concern land use, and it did not separate compatible and incompatible land uses, which is a key purpose of a zoning ordinance. Because it was not a zoning ordinance, the restrictions on town enactment of zoning ordinances set by s. 59.692 did not apply, and the ordinance was a permissible exercise of the town’s subdivision authority pursuant to this section. State ex rel. Anderson v. Town of Newbold, 2021 WI 6, 395 Wis. 2d 351, 954 N.W.2d 323, 18-0547. A subdivision plat prepared in compliance with a local ordinance enacted under the authority of this section is not required by statutes to be submitted for state level review unless such land division results in a “subdivision,” as defined in s. 236.02 (8) [now s. 236.02 (12)]. 59 Atty. Gen. 262. If subdivision regulations, adopted under this section, conflict, a plat must comply with the most restrictive requirement. 61 Atty. Gen. 289. Discussing the application of municipal and county subdivision control ordinances within the municipality’s extraterritorial plat approval jurisdiction. 66 Atty. Gen. 103. A county’s minimum lot size zoning ordinance applies to parcels created by a court through division in a partition or probate action, even if such division would be exempted from a municipality’s subdivision authority under sub. (2) (am) 1. A county can enact a subdivision ordinance requiring prior review of sales or exchanges of parcels between adjoining landowners in order to determine whether the division would comply with minimum lot size requirements. OAG 1-14.
236.46 County plans. (1) (a) The county planning agency may prepare plans, in such units as it may determine, for the future platting of lands within the county, but without the limits of any municipality, or for the future location of streets or highways or parkways, and the extension or widening of existing streets and highways. Before completion of these plans, the county planning agency shall fix the time and place it will hear all persons who desire to be heard upon the proposed plans, and shall give notice of that hearing as required below for the passage of the ordinance by the county board. After these hearings the county planning agency shall certify the plans to the county board, who may, after having submitted the same to the town boards of the several towns in which the lands are located and obtained the approval of the town boards, adopt by ordinance the proposed plans for future platting or for street or highway or parkway location in towns
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which may have approved the same, and upon approval of those towns may amend the ordinance. Before the ordinance or any amendments to the ordinance are adopted by the county board, notice shall be given by publication of a class 2 notice, under ch. 985, of a hearing at which all persons interested shall be given an opportunity to be heard at a time and place to be specified in the notice. The ordinance with any amendments as may be made shall govern the platting of all lands within the area to which it applies. (b) In counties having a population of less than 750,000 any plan adopted under this section does not apply in the extraterritorial plat approval jurisdiction of any municipality unless that municipality by ordinance approves the same. This approval may be rescinded by ordinance. (2) A plan adopted under this section may be any of the following: (a) A system of arterial thoroughfares complete for each town. (b) A system of minor streets for the complete area surrounded by any such main arterial thoroughfares and connecting therewith. (c) The platting of lots for any area surrounded completely by any such arterial thoroughfares or any such minor streets or both. (3) Such system of arterial thoroughfares and such system of minor streets within such system of arterial thoroughfares and such platting of lots within any such system of minor streets may be adopted by the same proceeding. For the purpose of this section a parkway may be considered either an arterial thoroughfare or a minor street if it performs the function of an arterial thoroughfare or minor street. A natural obstacle like a lake or river or an artificial obstacle like a railroad or town line may, where necessary, be the boundary of a plan adopted under this section instead of a street or highway or parkway. History: 1979 c. 248; 2017 a. 207 s. 5.
SUBCHAPTER X GENERAL PROVISIONS 236.50 Date chapter applies; curative provisions as to plats before that date. (1) (a) This chapter shall take effect upon July 1, 1956, but any plat recorded prior to December 31, 1956, may be approved and recorded in accordance with this chapter or ch. 236, 1953 stats. This chapter shall not require that any subdivision made prior to July 1, 1956, which was platted under the laws in force at that time or which did not constitute a subdivision under the laws in force at that time, be platted and the plat approved and recorded as provided in this chapter. (b) This chapter shall not require the preparation and recording of a plat of any subdivision which has been staked out and in which sales or contracts of sales have actually been made prior to June 28, 1935, and nothing herein contained shall require the recording of a plat showing property sold or contracted for sale by metes and bounds or by reference to an unrecorded plat prior to June 28, 1935, as a condition precedent to the sale or contract of sale of the whole or part thereof. (2) No plat which was recorded in the office of any register of deeds prior to July 1, 1956, shall be held invalid by reason of noncompliance with any statute regulating the platting of lands, in force at the time of such recording. Any unaccepted offer of donation or dedication of land attempted to be made in any such plat shall be as effectual as though all statutory requirements had been complied with unless an action to set aside such offer of donation or dedication is commenced prior to July 1, 1958.
May 22, 2026, are designated by NOTES. (Published 5-22-26)