Citation Numbers: 66 Op. Att'y Gen. 103
Judges: BRONSON C. La FOLLETTE, Attorney General
Filed Date: 3/31/1977
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/6/2016
ERIC J. LUNDELL, District Attorney, St. Croix County
Your predecessor asked whether the requirements of a municipal subdivision control ordinance, adopted pursuant to sec.
Section
Assuming that the specific ordinance provisions adopted by the municipality and the county are otherwise valid, the answer to this *Page 104
general question is obviously controlled by the provisions of sec.
"(4) Where more than one governing body or other agency has authority to approve or to object to a plat and the requirements of such bodies or agencies are conflicting, the plat shall comply with the most restrictive requirements."1
This subsection is intended to safeguard the rights of the subdivider by eliminating delays in plat approval occasioned by conflicting plat requirements. As stated in the 1955 Report ofthe Wisconsin Legislative Council (Vol. IV, Subdivision and Platting of Land), which recommended the adoption of sec.
"A subdivider sometimes finds himself caught between the conflicting requirements of more than one agency whose requirements must be met in order to entitle his plat to record. At present he has no recourse except to try to work out a compromise between the agencies. One subdivider complained to the advisory committee that he had the approval of a plat delayed a year while the town board and the city council attempted to settle their differences on requirements. The committee proposal will provide a statutory standard for settling these conflicts so that the subdivider can proceed without too much delay. It is also legislative recognition of the fact that these conflicts should not be a burden on the subdivider." 1955 Report, p. 20.
Section
"Under sub. (3) the subdivision regulations apply in any area where the municipality, town or county has the right to approve or object to plats. It must be remembered that under s.
236.13 where those regulations conflict, the more restrictive apply. . . ."
Your predecessor also requested my opinion as to whether a municipal subdivision control ordinance must contain a specific provision making it applicable to the municipality's "extraterritorial plat approval jurisdiction" before the municipality may apply its ordinance extraterritorially.
The answer to this question is no.
Section
"(1) To entitle a final plat of a subdivision to be recorded, it shall have the approval of the following in accordance with the provisions of s.
236.12 :
"***
"(b) If within the extraterritorial plat approval jurisdiction of a municipality:
"***
"2. The governing body of the municipality if, by July 1, 1958, or thereafter it adopts a subdivision ordinance or an official map; and . . . ." (Emphasis added.)
The foregoing statute, read with sec.
"(5) Any municipality may waive its right to approve plats within any portion of its extraterritorial plat approval *Page 106 jurisdiction by a resolution of the governing body filed with the register of deeds . . . ."
In light of the foregoing, it is evident that a municipal subdivision control ordinance, enacted under sec.
BCL:JCM