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SB541-SSA1,4,14 11(4) Department approval of applications. (a) No later than 90 days after
12receiving an application under sub. (2), the department shall hold a public hearing
13and provide public notice by publishing a class 2 notice under ch. 985 and by posting
14notice on the department's website.
SB541-SSA1,4,2015 (b) No later than 90 days following the public hearing under par. (a), the
16department shall make a determination on whether to approve the application under
17sub. (2). The department and the applicant may agree to extend this timeline. The
18failure of the department to act within 90 days or within any timeline agreed to by
19the department and the applicant may not be deemed to be an approval by the
20department.
SB541-SSA1,4,2121 (c) Determinations made under par. (b) are subject to review under ch. 227.
SB541-SSA1,2 22Section 2. 30.2039 of the statutes is created to read:
SB541-SSA1,4,24 2330.2039 Great Lakes and river waterfront property. (1) Definitions. In
24this section:
SB541-SSA1,5,3
1(a) “Concession” means a private allowable use that is a structure or facility
2that provides lodging, restaurant and food and beverage services, or retail services
3that support public access and use of navigable waters.
SB541-SSA1,5,54 (b) “Great Lakes water” means Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Green Bay, or
5Sturgeon Bay.
SB541-SSA1,5,66 (c) Notwithstanding s. 30.01 (4), “municipality” means a city or village.
SB541-SSA1,5,87 (d) “Public use” means public access and use, including access to and use of
8parkland, trails and roads, and public recreational facilities.
SB541-SSA1,5,109 (e) “Record title holder” means a person with a claim of ownership of property
10based on a recorded conveyance of an ownership interest in the property.
SB541-SSA1,5,1411 (f) “Upland” means property that remained at an elevation above the current
12ordinary high water mark from December 9, 1977, to the effective date of this
13paragraph .... [LRB inserts date], other than for temporary maintenance activities
14or because of accretion or reliction.
SB541-SSA1,5,18 15(2) Waterfront development plan. (a) Authority. A municipality may create
16a waterfront development plan with respect to parcels that include land that may
17have been part of a riverbed or that may have been part of the submerged bed of a
18Great Lakes water at the time of statehood.
SB541-SSA1,5,2019 (b) Elements of the plan. A municipality shall include all of the following
20information in a waterfront development plan under this subsection:
SB541-SSA1,5,2121 1. A map identifying parcels of land that are subject to the proposed plan area.
SB541-SSA1,5,2322 2. An approximate delineation of the shoreland at statehood based on existing
23government survey maps.
SB541-SSA1,6,224 3. A delineation of upland areas. In determining whether portions of the
25proposed plan area are upland, the municipality may use photographs, survey data,

1publicly available global positioning system mapping, geographic information
2system mapping, or other documentation.
SB541-SSA1,6,43 4. A delineation of any area that is subject to a lake bed grant or a submerged
4land lease or a shoreline established under s. 30.2038.
SB541-SSA1,6,85 5. An overall plan for the development of the proposed plan area, including a
6map showing areas that will be dedicated to the public for public use and areas that
7will allow for private uses. The boundary between the proposed public use areas and
8remaining areas shall be surveyed and delineated on the map under subd. 1.
SB541-SSA1,6,129 6. A description of areas and types of proposed public use consistent with the
10standards established under par. (d) and any restrictions on public use to be proposed
11for safety or security reasons. The plan shall describe how the public use areas will
12be accessible to the public.
SB541-SSA1,6,1713 7. A plan for implementing and enforcing the development and perpetual
14maintenance of the public use areas, including appropriate ordinances. The plan
15shall require that the record title owner grant an easement to the department
16ensuring that future use of public use areas will be consistent with the plan and shall
17include appropriate mechanisms for department enforcement.
SB541-SSA1,6,1918 (c) Plan review. 1. The municipality shall consult with any record title holders
19within the plan area proposed under par. (b) prior to approval by the municipality.
SB541-SSA1,6,2120 2. Upon adoption of the waterfront development plan by the municipality, the
21municipality shall provide the plan to the department for review and approval.
SB541-SSA1,6,2522 3. No later than 90 days after receiving a request for review under this
23paragraph, the department shall hold a public hearing and shall provide public
24notice by publishing a class 2 notice under ch. 985 and by posting notice on the
25department's website.
SB541-SSA1,7,5
14. No later than 90 days following the public hearing under subd. 3., the
2department shall make a determination under par. (d). The department and the
3applicant may agree to extend this timeline. The failure of the department to act
4within 90 days or within any timeline agreed to by the department and the applicant
5may not be deemed to be an approval by the department.
SB541-SSA1,7,96 (d) Determinations by the department. The department may impose additional
7restrictions and conditions on a plan submitted under par. (c) 2. but may not approve
8a plan, with or without additional restrictions and conditions, unless the department
9determines all of the following:
SB541-SSA1,7,1010 1. The plan meets the requirements of par. (b).
SB541-SSA1,7,1211 2. The private uses proposed in the plan are not inconsistent with existing lake
12bed grants or submerged land leases.
SB541-SSA1,7,1613 3. The amount and location of the public use areas provide a net benefit to the
14public interest. Appropriate public uses in public use areas may include concessions
15open to the public under long-term lease with a municipality if the concessions
16provide a significant benefit to the public interest.
SB541-SSA1,7,1817 4. The plan contains sufficient provisions to ensure that the public uses
18proposed in the plan will be implemented and perpetually maintained.
SB541-SSA1,7,2319 5. The plan requires that the proceeds from any lease or license to private or
20public entities to create or operate a concession be used by the municipality to
21promote the public interest in navigable waters pursuant to a plan approved by the
22department. This paragraph does not apply to revenue from real property taxes
23received by the municipality.
SB541-SSA1,8,424 (e) Effect of determination. 1. An approval under par. (d) constitutes a
25determination by the department that the public interest is served by

1implementation of the plan and, with respect to areas that may have been part of the
2submerged bed of a Great Lakes water at the time of statehood, the boundary
3established between land that is held in trust by the state or is otherwise publicly
4owned and land held in private fee title ownership is in the public interest.
SB541-SSA1,8,155 2. Following an approval under par. (d), the applicant shall record the approval
6with the register of deeds and the department shall post the approval on the
7department's website. Upon implementation of the portions of the plan approved
8under par. (d) that relate to the public use areas, and any conditions imposed in the
9approval related to those areas, areas designated for private use that may have been
10part of a riverbed at the time of statehood shall not be subject to a navigational
11servitude and, for areas that may have been part of the submerged bed of a Great
12Lakes water at the time of statehood, the boundary between land that is held in trust
13by the state or is otherwise publicly owned and land held in private fee title
14ownership shall have the same effect as if the boundary were confirmed in a quiet
15title action granted by a court under s. 841.10.
SB541-SSA1,8,1716 3. This section does not alter the right of property owners to seek a quiet title
17action under common law.
SB541-SSA1,8,2018 (f) Boundary amendments. A municipality may seek to amend a public use
19boundary approved under par. (d) only by preparing and submitting a new plan using
20the process under this subsection.
SB541-SSA1,8,2221 (g) Review. Determinations made under par. (d) are subject to review under ch.
22227.
SB541-SSA1,9,7 23(3) Title to nonriparian parcels. A parcel that may include areas that were
24part of the submerged bed of a Great Lakes water at the time of statehood and that
25remained separated from a Great Lakes water by one or more other parcels from

1December 9, 1977, to the effective date of this subsection .... [LRB inserts date], for
2which there is a record title holder, and that was not filled pursuant to a fill
3authorization as defined in s. 30.2034 (1) (a), is deemed to be not part of the lake bed
4of a Great Lakes water and to be held in fee title ownership. For land held in fee title
5ownership as determined under this subsection, this determination operates in the
6same manner as if a person were granted quiet title to the property by a court under
7s. 841.10.
SB541-SSA1,9,17 8(4) Exception for existing uses. The department shall treat upland property
9adjacent to a Great Lakes water, all or part of which may have been land that was
10part of the submerged lake bed of the Great Lakes water at the time of statehood, as
11riparian property and owned by the record title holder for purposes of exercising any
12regulatory authority, if the property includes portions of land that are upland and
13the use of such property has not materially changed since the effective date of this
14subsection .... [LRB inserts date]. In this subsection, “materially changed” means a
15material modification or termination of an existing use and does not include the
16maintenance, repair, replacement, restoration, rebuilding, remodeling, or expansion
17of any part of any existing structure or the transfer of the property.
SB541-SSA1,3 18Section 3. 885.335 of the statutes is created to read:
SB541-SSA1,9,23 19885.335 Actions concerning real estate abutting Great Lakes water. No
20claim or counterclaim may be made in an action relating to the possession or title of
21any real estate if the claim or counterclaim is based on an assertion that the property
22includes portions of land that may have at one time been submerged beneath a Great
23Lakes water if any of the following apply:
SB541-SSA1,9,25 24(1) The property is upland, as defined in s. 30.2039 (1) (f), and the use of the
25property has not materially changed, as defined in s. 30.2039 (4).
SB541-SSA1,10,3
1(2) The property was designated as land held in fee title ownership by a
2determination made under s. 30.2039 (2) (d) that establishes the boundary between
3land held in trust by the state and land held in fee title ownership.
SB541-SSA1,10,5 4(3) The property is held in fee title ownership as determined under s. 30.2039
5(3).
SB541-SSA1,10,6 6(4) The use of the property is approved under s. 30.2034.
SB541-SSA1,4 7Section 4. Nonstatutory provisions.
SB541-SSA1,10,98 (1) Notwithstanding s. 13.097 (2), the department of natural resources may not
9prepare a report under s. 13.097 (2) (a) for this bill.
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