Chapter 236

236.10 Annotation A city improperly included lots not within its extraterritorial plat approval jurisdiction in the city’s calculation of fees assessed to a developer. Brookhill Development, Ltd. v. City of Waukesha, 103 Wis. 2d 27, 307 N.W.2d 242 (1981).

236.10 Annotation Section 236.12 (2) (a) does not restrict a town’s authority to impose public improvements as conditions for plat approval during a contested annexation. When a town is legally contesting the annexation, sub. (1) (a) requires both the annexing municipality and the town from which the area has been annexed to approve a final plat in accordance with s. 236.12. KW Holdings, LLC v. Town of Windsor, 2003 WI App 9, 259 Wis. 2d 357, 656 N.W.2d 752, 02-0706.

236.10 Annotation Artificial Lakes and Land Subdivisions. Kusler. 1971 WLR 369.

236.11 236.11 Submission of plats for approval.

236.11(1) (1) 

236.11(1)(a) (a) Before submitting a final plat for approval, the subdivider may submit, or the approving authority may require that the subdivider submit, a preliminary plat. It shall be clearly marked “preliminary plat” and shall be in sufficient detail to determine whether the final plat will meet layout requirements. Within 90 days the approving authority, or its agent authorized to approve preliminary plats, shall take action to approve, approve conditionally, or reject the preliminary plat 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 extension thereof, constitutes an approval of the preliminary plat.

236.11(1)(b) (b) If the final plat conforms substantially to the preliminary plat as approved, including any conditions of that approval, and to local plans and ordinances adopted as authorized by law, it is entitled to approval. If the final plat is not submitted within 36 months after the last required approval of the preliminary plat, any approving authority may refuse to approve the final plat or may extend the time for submission of the final plat. The final plat may, if permitted by the approving authority, constitute only that portion of the approved preliminary plat that the subdivider proposes to record at that time.

236.11(1)(c) (c) A professional engineer, a planner, or another person charged with the responsibility to review plats shall provide the approving authority with his or her conclusions as to whether the final plat conforms substantially to the preliminary plat and with his or her recommendation on approval of the final plat. The conclusions and recommendation shall be made a part of the record of the proceeding at which the final plat is being considered and are not required to be submitted in writing.

236.11(2) (2) 

236.11(2)(a) (a) The subdivider or subdivider’s agent shall submit to the body or bodies having authority to approve plats an electronic copy of the final plat or a copy of the final plat that is capable of legible reproduction. The approving authority or authorities shall approve or reject the final plat within 60 days of its submission, unless the time is extended by agreement with the subdivider or subdivider’s agent. When the approving authority is a municipality and determines to approve the plat, it shall give at least 10 days’ prior written notice of its intention to the clerk of any municipality whose boundaries are within 1,000 feet of any portion of such proposed plat but failure to give such notice shall not invalidate any such plat. If a plat is rejected, the reasons therefor shall be stated in the minutes of the meeting and a copy thereof or a written statement of the reasons shall be supplied to the subdivider or subdivider’s agent. If the approving authority fails to act within 60 days and the time has not been extended by agreement and if no unsatisfied objections have been filed within that period, the plat shall be deemed approved, and, upon demand, a certificate to that effect shall be made on the face of the plat by the clerk of the authority that has failed to act.

236.11(2)(b) (b) The approval of the approving authority or authorities may be based on the copy submitted under par. (a) but the approval must be inscribed on the recordable plat document. Before inscribing its approval, the approving authority shall require the subdivider or subdivider’s agent to certify the respects in which the recordable plat document differs from the copy, if any. An approving authority must approve all modifications in the final plat before it gives final approval to the plat. No approving authority may inscribe its final approval on a plat before the affixing of the certificate by the department under s. 236.12 (3).

236.11 History History: 1979 c. 248; 1997 a. 332; 2009 a. 376; 2013 a. 358.

236.11 Annotation Under sub. (1) (a), a village must act within the stated time limit as to a preliminary plat, even though the plat allegedly violates the official city map. Tabling consideration of the plat within the stated time is not sufficient. State ex rel. Lozoff v. Board of Trustees, 55 Wis. 2d 64, 197 N.W.2d 798 (1972).

236.12 236.12 Procedure for approval of plats.

236.12(1) (1) This section shall not apply to cities of the first class nor to unincorporated land in a county having a population of 750,000 or more.

236.12(2) (2) 

236.12(2)(ac) (ac) The subdivider or subdivider’s agent shall submit an electronic copy of the preliminary or final plat, or a copy of the preliminary or final plat that is capable of clearly legible reproduction, to the department, which shall examine the plat for compliance with ss. 236.15, 236.16, 236.20, and 236.21 (1) and (2).

236.12(2)(ap) (ap) Within 2 days after a preliminary or final plat is submitted under par. (ac), the department shall transmit an electronic copy of the plat, or, if the department prefers, 2 legible hard copies of the plat, to each state agency authorized to object to the plat under this paragraph. If the subdivision abuts or adjoins a state trunk highway or connecting highway, the department shall transmit a copy or copies of the plat to the department of transportation so that the agency may determine whether it has any objection to the plat on the basis of its rules as provided in s. 236.13. If the subdivision is not served by a public sewer and provision for that service has not been made, the department shall transmit a copy or copies of the plat to the department of safety and professional services so that the agency may determine whether it has any objection to the plat on the basis of its rules as provided in s. 236.13. In lieu of this procedure the agencies may designate local officials to act as their agents in examining the plats for compliance with the statutes or their rules by filing a written delegation of authority with the approving body.

236.12(2)(b) (b) Within 2 days after a preliminary or final plat is submitted under par. (ac), the department shall transmit an electronic copy of the plat, or, if the department prefers, 4 legible hard copies of the plat, to the county planning agency, if the agency employs on a full-time basis a professional engineer, a planner, or other person charged with the duty of administering planning legislation and adopts a policy requiring submission so that the body may determine if it has any objection to the plat on the basis of a conflict with park, parkway, expressway, major highways, airports, drainage channels, schools, or other planned public developments. If no county planning agency exists, then 2 copies to the county park commission except that in a county with a county executive or county administrator, 2 copies to the county park manager, if the subdivision abuts a county park or parkway so that the body may determine if it has any objection to the plat on the basis of a conflict with the park or parkway development.

236.12(3) (3) Within 20 days after the date of receiving the copies of the plat any agency having authority to object under sub. (2) shall notify the subdivider or subdivider’s agent and all other agencies having the authority to object of any objection based upon failure of the plat to comply with the statutes or rules that its examination under sub. (2) is authorized to cover, or, if there is no objection, it shall so certify on the face of a copy of the plat and return that copy to the department. After each agency and the department have certified that they have no objection or that their objections have been satisfied, the department shall so certify on the face of the plat. If an agency fails to act within 20 days from the date on which it received the copy or copies of the plat, and the department fails to act within 30 days from the date on which it received the copy of the plat, it shall be deemed that there are no objections to the plat and, upon demand, the department shall so certify on the face of the plat.

236.12(4m) (4m) In order to facilitate approval of the final plat whenever more than one approval is required, the subdivider or subdivider’s agent shall file with each approving authority a true copy of the plat that the subdivider or subdivider’s agent submitted to the department.

236.12(7) (7) The department and the state agencies referred to in s. 236.13 (1) may charge reasonable service fees for all or part of the costs of activities and services provided by the department under this section and s. 70.27. A schedule of such fees shall be established by rule by each such agency.

236.12 History History: 1973 c. 90; 1977 c. 29 s. 1654 (3), (8) (c); 1979 c. 221; 1979 c. 248 ss. 5, 25 (6); 1979 c. 355; 1985 a. 29; 1995 a. 27; 1997 a. 27; 2011 a. 32; 2013 a. 358; 2017 a. 207 s. 5; 2017 a. 364 s. 49.

236.12 Annotation A “planned public development” under sub. (2) (b) is one that a county board has adopted by ordinance. Reynolds v. Waukesha County Park & Planning Commission, 109 Wis. 2d 56, 324 N.W.2d 897 (Ct. App. 1982).

236.12 Annotation Because sub. (2) (a) grants only to a “town or municipality” within which a plat lies the authority to require public improvements as a condition of plat approval, and a county is not a municipality for purposes of this chapter, a county may not regulate the size of cul-de-sacs, the length of street blocks, and the location of town roads when the plat is located within a town. Rogers Development, Inc. v. Rock County Planning & Development Committee, 2003 WI App 113, 265 Wis. 2d 214, 666 N.W.2d 504, 02-0017.

236.13 236.13 Basis for approval.

236.13(1) (1) Approval of the preliminary or final plat shall be conditioned upon compliance with:

236.13(1)(a) (a) The provisions of this chapter.

236.13(1)(b) (b) Any municipal, town, or county ordinance that is in effect when the subdivider submits a preliminary plat, or a final plat if no preliminary plat is submitted.

236.13(1)(d) (d) The rules of the department of safety and professional services relating to lot size and lot elevation necessary for proper sanitary conditions in a subdivision not served by a public sewer, where provision for public sewer service has not been made.

236.13(1)(e) (e) The rules of the department of transportation relating to provision for the safety of entrance upon and departure from the abutting state trunk highways or connecting highways and for the preservation of the public interest and investment in such highways.

236.13(2) (2) 

236.13(2)(ad) (ad) In this subsection:

236.13(2)(ad)1. 1. “Binder course” means the non-surface-level course that is attached to the packed-level gravel course.

236.13(2)(ad)2. 2. “Land disturbing activity” means any man-made alteration of the land surface resulting in a change in the topography or existing vegetative or nonvegetative soil cover that may result in runoff and lead to an increase in soil erosion and movement of sediment into waters of this state. “Land disturbing activity” includes clearing and grubbing, demolition, excavating, pit trench dewatering, filling, and grading activities.

236.13(2)(ad)3. 3. “Total cost to complete a public improvement” includes the cost to make and install storm water facilities. “Total cost to complete a public improvement” does not include any of the following:

236.13(2)(ad)3.a. a. Any fees charged by the governing body of the town or municipality.

236.13(2)(ad)3.b. b. Land disturbing activities that are necessary to achieve the desired subgrade for public improvements.

236.13(2)(am) (am)

236.13(2)(am)1. 1.

236.13(2)(am)1.a. a. As a further condition of approval, the governing body of the town or municipality within which the subdivision lies may require that the subdivider make and install any public improvements reasonably necessary or that the subdivider provide security to ensure that the subdivider will make those improvements within a reasonable time. The governing body may not require the subdivider to provide security at the commencement of a project in an amount that is more than 120 percent of the estimated total cost to complete the required public improvements, as determined under subd. 1d.

236.13(2)(am)1.b. b. The subdivider may construct the project in such phases as the governing body of the town or municipality approves, which approval may not be unreasonably withheld. If the subdivider’s project will be constructed in phases, the amount of security required by the governing body under subd. 1. a. is limited to the phase of the project that is currently being constructed. The governing body may not require that the subdivider provide any security for improvements sooner than is reasonably necessary before the commencement of the installation of the improvements.

236.13(2)(am)1.c. c. If the governing body of the town or municipality requires a subdivider to provide security under subd. 1. a., the governing body may not require the subdivider to provide the security for more than 14 months after the date the public improvements for which the security is provided are substantially completed and upon substantial completion of the public improvements, the amount of the security the subdivider is required to provide may be no more than an amount equal to the total cost to complete any uncompleted public improvements plus 10 percent of the total cost of the completed public improvements.

236.13(2)(am)1.d. d. This paragraph applies to all preliminary and final plats, regardless of whether submitted for approval before, on, or after August 1, 2014.

236.13(2)(am)1d. 1d. The estimated total cost to complete the required public improvements under subd. 1. shall be determined as follows:

236.13(2)(am)1d.a. a. A governing body of the town or municipality may provide an initial estimate to the subdivider of the estimated total cost to complete the required public improvements. If the subdivider accepts the initial estimate, then the initial estimate is the estimated total cost to complete the required public improvements.

236.13(2)(am)1d.b. b. If the governing body of the town or municipality does not provide an initial estimate to the subdivider or the subdivider rejects the initial estimate, the subdivider shall provide the governing body with a bona fide bid from the subdivider’s contractor to complete the required public improvements in the event of a default. If the governing body accepts the subdivider’s bona fide bid, the bona fide bid is the estimated total cost to complete the required public improvements.

236.13(2)(am)1d.c. c. If the governing body of the town or municipality rejects the subdivider’s bona fide bid, the governing body shall provide the subdivider with an estimate for the cost to complete the public improvements in the event of a default. If the governing body’s estimate does not exceed the subdivider’s bona fide bid by more than 10 percent, the governing body’s estimate is the estimated total cost to complete the required public improvements. If the governing body’s estimate exceeds the subdivider’s bona fide bid by 10 percent or more, the estimated total cost to complete the required public improvements is the amount agreed upon by the subdivider’s engineer and the governing body’s engineer.

236.13(2)(am)1m. 1m.

236.13(2)(am)1m.a. a. If the governing body of the town or municipality requires a subdivider to provide security under subd. 1. a., the governing body shall accept a performance bond or a letter of credit, or any combination thereof, at the subdivider’s option, to satisfy the requirement.

236.13(2)(am)1m.b. b. The subdivider and the governing body of the town or municipality may agree that all or part of the requirement to provide security under subd. 1. a. may be satisfied by a performance bond provided by the subdivider’s contractor that names the town or municipality as an additional obligee provided that the form of the contractor’s performance bond is acceptable to the governing body of the town or municipality.

236.13(2)(am)1m.c. c. Unless the governing body of a town or municipality demonstrates that a bond form does not sufficiently ensure performance in the event of default, the governing body of the town or municipality shall accept a performance bond under this subdivision if the person submitting the performance bond demonstrates that the performance bond is consistent with a standard surety bond form used by a company that, on the date the bond is obtained, is listed as an acceptable surety on federal bonds in the most recent circular 570 published by the federal department of the treasury, as required under 31 CFR 223.16, and the performance bond is issued by a surety company licensed to do business in this state.

236.13(2)(am)2. 2. For purposes of subd. 1., public improvements reasonably necessary for a project or a phase of a project are considered to be substantially completed upon the installation of the asphalt or concrete binder course on roads to be dedicated or, if the required public improvements do not include a road to be dedicated, at the time that 90 percent of the public improvements by cost are completed.

236.13(2)(am)3. 3.

236.13(2)(am)3.a. a. With regard to public improvements to which subd. 1. applies, no town or municipality may enact an ordinance relating to the substantial completion of such a public improvement that is inconsistent with subd. 2.

236.13(2)(am)3.b. b. Upon such substantial completion, any outstanding local building permits that are related to, and dependent upon, substantial completion shall be released.

236.13(2)(am)3.c. c. The governing body of a town or municipality shall, upon a subdivider’s request, issue a permit to commence construction of a foundation or any other noncombustible structure before substantial completion of a public improvement if all public improvements related to public safety are complete and the security requirement under subd. 1. a. has been met. The subdivider may not commence work on a building until the governing body of the town or municipality approves or issues a permit for the construction of the building.

236.13(2)(b) (b) Any city or village may require as a condition for accepting the dedication of public streets, alleys or other ways, or for permitting private streets, alleys or other public ways to be placed on the official map, that designated facilities shall have been previously provided without cost to the municipality, but which are constructed according to municipal specifications and under municipal inspection, such as, without limitation because of enumeration, sewerage, water mains and laterals, storm water management or treatment facilities, grading and improvement of streets, alleys, sidewalks and other public ways, street lighting or other facilities designated by the governing body, or that a specified portion of such costs shall be paid in advance as provided in s. 66.0709.

236.13(2)(c) (c) Any county, town, city or village may require as a condition of approval that the subdivider be responsible for the cost of any necessary alterations of any existing utilities which, by virtue of the platting or certified survey map, fall within the public right-of-way.

236.13(2)(d) (d) As a further condition of approval, any county, town, city or village may require the dedication of easements by the subdivider for the purpose of assuring the unobstructed flow of solar or wind energy across adjacent lots in the subdivision.

236.13(2m) (2m) As a further condition of approval when lands included in the plat lie within 500 feet of the ordinary high-water mark of any lake, any navigable stream, or any other body of navigable water or if land in the proposed plat involves lake or navigable stream shorelands referred to in s. 236.16, the department of natural resources, to prevent pollution of navigable waters, or the department of safety and professional services, to protect the public health and safety, may require assurance of adequate drainage areas for private on-site wastewater treatment systems and building setback restrictions, or provisions by the owner for public sewage disposal facilities for waters of the state, as defined in s. 281.01 (18), industrial wastes, as defined in s. 281.01 (5), and other wastes, as defined in s. 281.01 (7). The public sewage disposal facilities may consist of one or more systems as the department of natural resources or the department of safety and professional services determines on the basis of need for prevention of pollution of the waters of the state or protection of public health and safety.

236.13(3) (3) No approving authority or agency having the power to approve or object to plats shall condition approval upon compliance with, or base an objection upon, any requirement other than those specified in this section.

236.13(4) (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.

236.13(5) (5) 

236.13(5)(a) (a) Any person aggrieved by an objection to a plat or a failure to approve a plat may appeal therefrom as provided in s. 62.23 (7) (e) 10. a., 14. and 15., within 30 days of notification of the rejection of the plat. For the purpose of an appeal under this paragraph, the term “board of appeals” means an “approving authority”. Where the failure to approve is based on an unsatisfied objection, the agency making the objection shall be made a party to the action. The court shall direct that the plat be approved if it finds that the action of the approving authority or objecting agency is arbitrary, unreasonable, or discriminatory.

236.13(5)(b) (b) Notwithstanding par. (a), a decision of an approving authority on an application for an approval, as defined in s. 781.10 (1) (a), is subject to review under the procedures contained in s. 781.10.

236.13(6) (6) An outlot may not be used as a building site unless it is in compliance with restrictions imposed by or under this section with respect to building sites. An outlot may be conveyed regardless of whether it may be used as a building site.

236.13 History History: 1977 c. 29 ss. 1384, 1654 (8) (c); 1977 c. 162; 1979 c. 221, 248; 1981 c. 289 s. 19; 1981 c. 354; 1993 a. 414; 1995 a. 27 ss. 6310, 6311, 9116 (5); 1995 a. 227; 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 9; 1999 a. 150 s. 672; 2001 a. 30; 2007 a. 44; 2009 a. 372, 376; 2011 a. 32, 146; 2013 a. 280, 358; 2015 a. 195; 2017 a. 243; 2017 a. 364 s. 49; 2021 a. 238 s. 45; 2023 a. 16.

236.13 Annotation Local units of government may not reject a proposed plat under this section unless the plat conflicts with an existing statutory requirement or an existing written ordinance, master plan, official map, or rule under sub. (1). State ex rel. Columbia Corp. v. Town of Pacific, 92 Wis. 2d 767, 286 N.W.2d 130 (Ct. App. 1979).

236.13 Annotation Under sub. (2) (a), authority to condition plat approval on public improvements is granted solely to the governing body of the municipality in which the subdivision is located. Rice v. City of Oshkosh, 148 Wis. 2d 78, 435 N.W.2d 252 (1989).

236.13 Annotation Municipalities have no authority to impose conditions upon a subdivision that extend beyond the municipality’s borders. Pedersen v. Town of Windsor, 191 Wis. 2d 664, 530 N.W.2d 427 (Ct. App. 1995).

236.13 Annotation Sub. (2) (a) does not grant a municipality the power to establish public improvement requirements without an ordinance. Pedersen v. Town of Windsor, 191 Wis. 2d 664, 530 N.W.2d 427 (Ct. App. 1995).

236.13 Annotation Sub. (1) (d) does not prevent municipalities from enacting more restrictive sewer regulations than the rules cited in that paragraph. Manthe v. Town of Windsor, 204 Wis. 2d 546, 555 N.W.2d 156 (Ct. App. 1996), 95-1312.

236.13 Annotation So long as any issues addressed in both a master plan and an official map are not contradictory, for purposes of sub. (1) (c), the master plan is consistent with the official map. A master plan is not inconsistent with an official map if the plan contains elements the map does not. Lake City Corp. v. City of Mequon, 207 Wis. 2d 155, 558 N.W.2d 100 (1997), 94-3240.

236.13 Annotation In the area of minimum lot size regulation, the power of a plan commission authorized to review plats is not limited or detracted by zoning regulations. Lake City Corp. v. City of Mequon, 207 Wis. 2d 155, 558 N.W.2d 100 (1997), 94-3240.

236.13 Annotation As sub. (5) [now sub. (5) (a)] does not expressly designate the “appealing authority” to whom appeal papers should be directed, the appellant’s service of an appeal on the county planning and development department rather than on the planning and development committee, which had made the disputed decision, was not grounds for dismissal when there had been pervasive use of department personnel and stationery in the process. Weber v. Dodge County Planning & Development Department, 231 Wis. 2d 222, 604 N.W.2d 297 (Ct. App. 1999), 99-1116.

236.13 Annotation Sub. (2) (a) does not restrict a town’s authority to impose public improvements as conditions for plat approval during a contested annexation. When a town is legally contesting the annexation, s. 236.10 (1) (a) requires both the annexing municipality and the town from which the area has been annexed to approve a final plat in accordance with s. 236.12. KW Holdings, LLC v. Town of Windsor, 2003 WI App 9, 259 Wis. 2d 357, 656 N.W.2d 752, 02-0706.

236.13 Annotation This chapter does not authorize the Department of Transportation to regulate land divisions that are not subdivisions within the meaning of s. 236.02 (12). Wisconsin Builders Ass’n v. DOT, 2005 WI App 160, 285 Wis. 2d 472, 702 N.W.2d 433, 04-2388.

236.13 Annotation A city’s extraterritorial plat condition that allowed lots of less than 20 acres only when attached to the public sanitary sewer system had the effect of requiring a public sanitary sewer system for lot sizes smaller than 20 acres, violating the ruling of Rice, 148 Wis. 2d 78 (1989), that authority to condition plat approval on public improvements is granted solely to the governing body of the municipality in which the subdivision is located. Town of Delton v. Liston, 2007 WI App 120, 301 Wis. 2d 720, 731 N.W.2d 308, 06-1288.

subch. III of ch. 236 SUBCHAPTER III

LAYOUT REQUIREMENTS

236.15 236.15 Surveying requirements. For every subdivision of land there shall be a survey meeting the following requirements:

236.15(1) (1) Monuments.

236.15(1)(ac) (ac) All of the monuments required in pars. (ag) to (h) shall be placed flush with the ground if practicable. Whenever placement of a monument under this subsection is required at a corner or point that falls within a street or proposed future street, the monument shall be placed in the side line of the street if practicable.

236.15(1)(ag) (ag) The external boundaries of a subdivision shall be monumented in the field by monuments of concrete containing a ferrous rod one-fourth inch in diameter or greater imbedded its full length, not less than 18 inches in length, not less than 4 inches square or 5 inches in diameter, and marked on the top with a cross, brass plug, iron rod, or other durable material securely embedded; or by iron rods or pipes at least 18 inches long and 2 inches in diameter weighing not less than 3.65 pounds per lineal foot. Solid round or square iron bars of equal or greater length or weight per foot may be used in lieu of pipes wherever pipes are specified in this section. These monuments shall be placed at all corners, at each end of all curves, at the point where a curve changes its radius, at all angle points in any line and at all angle points along the meander line, said points to be not less than 20 feet back from the determined or approximated ordinary high water mark.

236.15(1)(b) (b) All internal boundaries and those corners and points not required to be marked by par. (ag) shall be monumented in the field by like monuments as defined in par. (ag). These monuments shall be placed at all block corners, at each end of all curves, at the point where a curve changes its radius, and at all angle points in any line.

236.15(1)(c) (c) All lot, outlot, park and public access corners and the corners of land dedicated to the public shall be monumented in the field by iron pipes at least 18 inches long and one inch in diameter, weighing not less than 1.13 pounds per lineal foot, or by round or square iron bars at least 18 inches long and weighing not less than 1.13 pounds per lineal foot.

236.15(1)(d) (d) The lines of lots, outlots, parks and public access and land dedicated to the public that extend to lakes or to navigable streams shall be monumented in the field by iron pipes at least 18 inches long and one inch in diameter weighing not less than 1.13 pounds per lineal foot, or by round or square iron bars at least 18 inches long and weighing not less than 1.13 pounds per lineal foot. These monuments shall be placed at the point of intersection of the lake or navigable stream lot line with a meander line established not less than 20 feet back from the determined or approximated ordinary high water mark.

236.15(1)(f) (f) Any durable metal or concrete monuments may be used in lieu of iron pipes provided that they are uniform within the platted area and have a permanent magnet embedded near the top or bottom or both.