Wisconsin Legislature: Chapter Trans 233

Ch. Trans 233 NoteNote: Chapter Hy 33 was renumbered chapter Trans 233, under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 1., Stats., Register, August, 1996, No. 488. Chapter Trans 233 as it existed on January 31, 1999, was repealed and a new Chapter Trans 233 was created effective February 1, 1999.

Ch. Trans 233 NoteNote: In the case of Wisconsin Builders Association, et al. v. Wisconsin Department of Transportation 2005 WI App 160, the Court of Appeals ruled that the rules in Ch. Trans 233 were invalid to the extent that they apply to land divisions other than subdivisions.

Ch. Trans 233 NoteNote: On April 16, 2009, in Dane County Circuit Court Case No. 06-CV-4294, Madison Area Builders Association, et al. v. Wisconsin Department of Transportation; et al., it was ordered and adjudged that the 1999 and 2001 amendments to Chapter Trans 233 were declared to be invalid and unenforceable, but that that order had no effect on the legal validity or enforceability of Chapter Trans 233 as it existed prior to the adoption of the 1999 amendments on February 1, 1999.

Ch. Trans 233 NoteChapter Trans 233 as it existed prior to the adoption of the 1999 amendments on February 1, 1999, is printed as a note following section Trans 233.13.

Trans 233.01Trans 233.01 Purpose. Dividing or developing lands, or both, affects highways by generating traffic, increasing parking requirements, reducing sight distances, increasing the need for driveways and other highway access points and, in general, impairing highway safety and impeding traffic movements. The ability of state trunk highways and connecting highways to serve as an efficient part of an integrated intermodal transportation system meeting interstate, statewide, regional and local needs is jeopardized by failure to consider and accommodate long-range transportation plans and needs during land division processes. This chapter specifies the department’s minimum standards for the division of land that abuts a state trunk highway or connecting highway, in order to provide for the safety of entrance upon and departure from those highways, to preserve the public interest and investment in those highways, to help maintain speed limits, and to provide for the development and implementation of an intermodal transportation system to serve the mobility needs of people and freight and foster economic growth and development, while minimizing transportation-related fuel consumption, air pollution, and adverse effects on the environment and on land owners and users. Preserving the public investment in an integrated transportation system also assures that no person, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, is excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any transportation program or activity. The authority to impose minimum standards for subdivisions is s. 236.13 (1) (e), Stats. The authority to impose minimum standards for land divisions under ss. 236.34, 236.45 and 703.11, Stats., is s. 86.07 (2), Stats. The authority to impose minimum standards for land divisions to consider and accommodate long-range transportation plans and needs is ss. 1.11 (1), 1.12 (2), 1.13 (3), 20.395 (9) (qx), 66.1001 (2) (c), 84.01 (2), (15), and (17), 84.015, 84.03 (1), 85.02, 85.025, 85.05, 85.16 (1), 86.31 (6), 88.87 (3), and 114.31 (1), Stats.

Trans 233.01 NoteNote: The Department is authorized and required by ss. 84.01 (15), 84.015, 84.03 (1) and 20.395 (9) (qx), to plan, select, lay out, add to, decrease, revise, construct, reconstruct, improve and maintain highways and related projects, as required by federal law, Title 23, USC and all acts of Congress amendatory or supplementary thereto, and the federal regulations issued under the federal code; and to expend funds in accordance with the requirements of acts of Congress making such funds available. Among these federal laws that the Department is authorized and required to follow are 23 USC 109 establishing highway design standards; 23 USC 134, requiring development and compliance with long-range (minimum of 20 years) metropolitan area transportation plans; and 23 USC 135, requiring development and compliance with long-range (minimum of 20 years) statewide transportation plans. Similarly, the Department is authorized and required by the state statutes cited and other federal law to assure that it does not unintentionally exclude or deny persons equal benefits or participation in transportation programs or activities on the basis of race, color, national origin and other factors, and to give appropriate consideration to the effects of transportation facilities on the environment and communities. A “state trunk highway” is a highway that is part of the State Trunk Highway System. It includes State numbered routes, federal numbered highways, the Great River Road and the Interstate System. A listing of state trunk highways with geographic end points is available in the Department’s “Official State Trunk Highway System and the Connecting Highways” booklet that is published annually as of December 31. The County Maps published by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation also show the breakdown county by county. As of January 1, 1997, there were 11,813 miles of state trunk highways and 520 center-line miles of connecting highways. Of at least 116 municipalities in which there are connecting highways, 112 are cities and 4 or more are villages.

Trans 233.01 Note A “connecting highway” is not a state trunk highway. It is a marked route of the State Trunk Highway System over the streets and highways in municipalities which the Department has designated as connecting highways. Municipalities are responsible for their maintenance and traffic control. The Department is generally responsible for construction and reconstruction of the through lanes of connecting highways, but costs for parking lanes and related municipal facilities and other desired local improvements are local responsibilities. The Department reimburses municipalities for the maintenance of connecting highways in accordance with a lane mile formula. See ss. 84.02 (11), 84.03 (10), 86.32 (1) and (4), and 340.01 (60), Stats. A listing of connecting highways with geographic end points is also available in the Department’s “Official State Trunk Highway System and the Connecting Highways” booklet that is published annually as of December 31.

Trans 233.01 Note A “business route” is an alternate highway route marked to guide motorists to the central or business portion of a city, village or town. The word “BUSINESS” appears at the top of the highway numbering marker. A business route branches off from the regular numbered route, passes through the business portion of a city and rejoins the regularly numbered route beyond that area. With very rare exceptions, business routes are not state trunk highways or connecting highways. The authorizing statute is s. 84.02(6), Stats. This rule does not apply to business routes.

Trans 233.01 HistoryHistory: Cr. Register, January, 1999, No. 517, eff. 2-1-99; am. Register, January, 2001, No. 541, eff. 2-1-01; corrections made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register January 2004 No. 577.

Trans 233.012Trans 233.012 Applicability.

Trans 233.012(1)(1) In accordance with ss. 86.07 (2), 236.12, 236.34 and 236.45, Stats., this chapter applies to all land division maps reviewed by a city, village, town or county, the department of administration and the department of transportation. This chapter applies to any land division that is created by plat or map under s. 236.12 or 236.45, Stats., by certified survey map under s. 236.34, Stats., or by condominium plat under s. 703.11, Stats., or other means not provided by statute, and that abuts a state trunk highway, connecting highway or service road.

Trans 233.012(2)(2) Structures and improvements lawfully placed in a setback area under ch. Trans 233 prior to February 1, 1999, or lawfully placed in a setback area before a land division, are explicitly allowed to continue to exist. Plats that have received preliminary approval prior to February 1, 1999, are not subject to the standards under this chapter as first promulgated effective February 1, 1999, if there is no substantial change between the preliminary and final plat, but are subject to ch. Trans 233 as it existed prior to February 1, 1999. Plats that have received final approval prior to February 1, 1999, are not subject to the standards under this chapter as first promulgated effective February 1, 1999, but are subject to ch. Trans 233 as it existed prior to February 1, 1999. Land divisions on which the department acted between February 1, 1999 and February 1, 2001 are subject to ch. Trans 233 as it existed February 1, 1999.

Trans 233.012(3)(3) Any structure or improvement lawfully placed within a setback area under ch. Trans 233 prior to February 1, 1999, or lawfully placed within a setback area before a land division, may be kept in a state of repair, efficiency or validity in order to preserve from failure or decline, and if unintentionally or tortiously destroyed, may be replaced substantially in kind.

Trans 233.012 HistoryHistory: Cr. Register, January, 1999, No. 517, eff. 2-1-99; renum. Trans 233.012 to be (1), cr. (2) and (3), Register, January, 2001, No. 541, eff. 2-1-01; correction made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register January 2004 No. 577.

Trans 233.015Trans 233.015 Definitions. Words and phrases used in this chapter have the meanings given in s. 340.01, Stats., unless a different definition is specifically provided. In this chapter:

Trans 233.015(1)(1) “Certified survey map” or “CSM” means a map that complies with the requirements of s. 236.34, Stats.

Trans 233.015(1m)(1m) “Desirable traffic access pattern” means traffic access that is consistent with the technical and professional guidance provided in the department’s facilities development manual.

Trans 233.015 NoteNote: Guidelines established in the Department’s Facilities Development Manual are not considered “rules,” as defined in s. 227.01 (13), Stats., and so are not subject to the requirements under s. 227.10, Stats.

Trans 233.015(1r)(1r) “District office” means an office of the division of transportation districts of the department.

Trans 233.015(2)(2) “Improvement” means any permanent addition to or betterment of real property that involves the expenditure of labor or money to make the property more useful or valuable. “Improvement” includes parking lots, driveways, loading docks, in-ground swimming pools, wells, septic systems, retaining walls, signs, buildings, building appendages such as porches, and drainage facilities. “Improvement” does not include sidewalks, terraces, patios, landscaping and open fences.

Trans 233.015(2m)(2m) “In-ground swimming pool” includes a swimming pool that is designed or used as part of a business or open to use by the general public or members of a group or association. “In-ground swimming pool” does not include any above-ground swimming pools without decks.

Trans 233.015(3)(3) “Land divider” means the owner of land that is the subject of a land division or the land owner’s agent for purposes of creating a land division.

Trans 233.015(4)(4) “Land division” means a division under s. 236.12, 236.34, 236.45 or 703.11, Stats., or other means not provided by statute, of a lot, parcel or tract of land by the owner or the owner’s agent for the purposes of sale or of building development.

Trans 233.015(5)(5) “Land division map” means an official map of a land division, including all certificates required as a condition of recording the map.

Trans 233.015(5m)(5m) “Major intersection” means the area within one-half mile of the intersection or interchange of any state trunk highway or connecting highway with a designated expressway, or freeway, under s. 84.295, Stats., or a designated interstate highway under s. 84.29, Stats.

Trans 233.015(6)(6) “Public utility” means any corporation, company, individual or association that furnishes products or services to the public, and that is regulated under ch. 195 or 196, Stats., including railroads, telecommunications or telegraph companies, and any company furnishing or producing heat, light, power, cable television service or water, or a rural electrical cooperative, as described in s. 32.02 (10), Stats.

Trans 233.015(6m)(6m) “Reviewing municipality” means a city or village to which the department has delegated authority to review and object to land divisions under s. Trans 233.03 (7).

Trans 233.015(6r)(6r) “Secretary” means the secretary of the department of transportation.

Trans 233.015(7)(7) “Structure” includes a temporary or non-permanent addition to or betterment of real property that is portable in nature, but that adversely affects the safety of entrance upon or departure from state trunk or connecting highways or the preservation of public interest and investment in those highways, as determined by the department. “Structure” does not include portable swing sets, movable lawn sheds without pads or footings, and above ground swimming pools without decks.

Trans 233.015(7m)(7m) “Technical land division” means a land division involving a structure or improvement that has been situated on the real property for at least 5 years, does not result in any change to the use of existing structures and improvements and does not negatively affect traffic. “Technical land division” includes the conversion of an apartment building that has been in existence for at least 5 years to condominium ownership, the conversion of leased commercial spaces in a shopping mall that has been in existence for at least 5 years to owned spaces, and the exchange of deeds by adjacent owners to resolve mutual encroachments.

Trans 233.015(8)(8) “Unplatted” means not legally described by a plat, land division map, certified survey map or condominium plat.

Trans 233.015(8m)(8m) “User” means a person entitled to use a majority of the property to the exclusion of others.

Trans 233.015(9)(9) “Utility facility” means any pipe, pipeline, duct, wire line, conduit, pole, tower, equipment or other structure used for transmission or distribution of electrical power or light or for the transmission, distribution or delivery of heat, water, gas, sewer, telegraph or telecommunication service, cable television service or broadcast service, as defined in s. 196.01 (1m), Stats.

Trans 233.015 HistoryHistory: Cr. Register, January, 1999, No. 517, eff. 2-1-99; cr. (1m), (1r), (2m), (5m), (6m), (6r), (7m) and (8m), Register, January, 2001, No. 541, eff. 2-1-01.

Trans 233.017Trans 233.017 Other abuttals. For purposes of this chapter, land shall be considered to abut a state trunk highway or connecting highway if the land is any of the following:

Trans 233.017(1)(1) Land that contains any portion of a highway that is laid out or dedicated as part of a land division if the highway intersects with a state trunk highway or connecting highway.

Trans 233.017(2)(2) Separated from a state trunk highway or connecting highway by only unplatted lands that abut a state trunk highway or connecting highway if the unplatted lands are owned by, leased to or under option, whether formal or informal, or under contract or lease to the owner.

Trans 233.017(3)(3) Separated from a state trunk highway or connecting highway by only a service road.

Trans 233.017 HistoryHistory: Cr. Register, January, 1999, No. 517, eff. 2-1-99.

Trans 233.02Trans 233.02 Basic principles. To control the effects of land divisions on state trunk highways and connecting highways and to carry out the purposes of ch. 236, Stats., the department promulgates the following basic requirements: