236.16 Layout requirements.

(1) Minimum lot width and area. In counties having a population of 40,000 or more, each lot in a residential area shall have a minimum average width of 50 feet and a minimum area of 6,000 square feet; in counties of less than 40,000, each lot in a residential area shall have a minimum average width of 60 feet and a minimum area of 7,200 square feet. In municipalities, towns and counties adopting subdivision control ordinances under s. 236.45, minimum lot width and area may be reduced to dimensions authorized under such ordinances if the lots are served by public sewers.

(2) Minimum street width. All streets shall be of the width specified on the master plan or official map or of a width at least as great as that of the existing streets if there is no master plan or official map, but no full street shall be less than 60 feet wide unless otherwise permitted by local ordinance. Widths of town roads platted after January 1, 1966, shall, however, comply with minimum standards for town roads prescribed by s. 82.50. Streets or frontage roads auxiliary to and located on the side of a full street for service to the abutting property may not after January 1, 1966, be less than 49.5 feet wide.

(3) Lake and navigable stream shore plats; public access.

(a) All subdivisions abutting on a lake or a navigable stream shall provide public access at least 60 feet wide providing access to the water's edge so that there will be public access, which is connected to existing public roads, at not more than one-half mile intervals as measured along the lake or the navigable stream shore except where greater intervals and wider access is agreed upon by the department of natural resources and the department, and excluding shore areas where public parks or open-space streets or roads on either side of the navigable stream are provided.

(b) No public access established under this chapter may be vacated except by circuit court action as provided in s. 236.43, except that such public access may be discontinued under s. 66.1003, subject to s. 66.1006.

(c) Except as provided in par. (d), this subsection does not require any local unit of government to improve land provided for public access.

(d) All of the owners of all of the land adjacent to a public access established under par. (a) to an inland lake, as defined in s. 30.92 (1) (bk), may petition the city, village, town or county that owns the public access to construct shoreline erosion control measures. Subject to par. (e), the city, village, town or county shall construct the requested shoreline erosion control measures or request the department of natural resources to determine the need for shoreline erosion control measures. Upon receipt of a request under this paragraph from a city, village, town or county, the department of natural resources shall follow the notice and hearing procedures in s. 30.208 (3) to (5). Subject to par. (e), the city, village, town or county shall construct shoreline erosion control measures as required by the department of natural resources if the department of natural resources determines all of the following:

1. Erosion is evident along the shoreline in the vicinity of the public access.

2. The shoreline erosion control measures proposed by the owners of the property adjacent to the public access are designed according to accepted engineering practices.

3. Sufficient property owners, in addition to the owners of all property adjacent to the public access, have agreed to construct shoreline erosion control measures so that the shoreline erosion control project is likely to be effective in controlling erosion at the location of the public access and its vicinity.

4. The shoreline erosion control project is not likely to be effective in controlling erosion at the location of the public access and its vicinity if the city, village, town or county does not construct shoreline erosion control measures on the land provided for public access.

(e) A city, village, town or county may not be required to construct shoreline erosion control measures under par. (d) on land other than land provided for public access.

(f) Paragraphs (b) to (e) apply to public access that exists on, or that is established after, May 7, 1998.

(4) Lake and navigable stream shore plats; land between meander line and water's edge. The lands lying between the meander line, established in accordance with s. 236.20 (2) (g), and the water's edge, and any otherwise unplattable lands which lie between a proposed subdivision and the water's edge shall be included as part of lots, outlots or public dedications in any plat abutting a lake or a navigable stream. This subsection applies not only to lands proposed to be subdivided but also to all lands under option to the subdivider or in which the subdivider holds any interest and which are contiguous to the lands proposed to be subdivided and which abut a lake or a navigable stream.

History: 1971 c. 164; 1979 c. 221; 1979 c. 248 ss. 9, 25 (2); 1997 a. 172; 2003 a. 118, 214; 2013 a. 358.

NOTE: 2003 Wis. Act 214, which affected this section, contains extensive explanatory notes.

When a strip of land was labeled on a plat “Public Access" that abutted a lake and connected to a public highway, the plat substantially met the statutory requirement of a “clear dedication to the public." While the dedication did not contain the exact formula found in s. 236.20 (4), under Hunt, 19 Wis. 2d 113, that is not necessary. Vande Zande v. Town of Marquette, 2008 WI App 144, 314 Wis. 2d 143, 758 N.W.2d 187, 07-2354.

The circumstances under which the statutory platting standards set forth in subs. (1), (2), and (3) and s. 236.20 (4) (d) may be waived or varied, with specific reference to the approval of island subdivision plats, are discussed. 62 Atty. Gen. 315.

Each of 2 adjacent platted lots may not be divided for the purpose of sale or building development if the division will result in lots or parcels that do not comply with minimum lot width and area requirements established under sub. (1). Section 236.335 clearly limits the division of a lot in a recorded plat if the resulting lots or parcels do not conform to this chapter. 63 Atty. Gen. 122.

Sub. (3) does not apply to a navigable lake created by artificially enlarging a previously nonnavigable watercourse. 64 Atty. Gen. 146.

The extent to which local governments may vary the terms of ss. 236.16 (1) and (2) and 236.20 (4) (d) by ordinance is discussed. 64 Atty. Gen. 175.

Sub. (4) aims at preventing subdividers from creating narrow, unplatted buffer zones between platted lands and water's edge, thus avoiding public access requirements. 66 Atty. Gen. 85.