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2014 Op. Wis. Att'y Gen. 1 (2014)

handle is hein.sag/sagwi0106 and id is 1 raw text is: STATE OF WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 114 East, State Capitol J.B. VAN HOLLEN P.O. Box 7857 ATTORNEY GENERAL Madison, WI 53707-7857 608/266-1221 Kevin M. St. John TTY 1-800-947-3529 Deputy Attorney General January 24, 2014 OAG-01-14 Mr. David L. Grindell Corporation Counsel Burnett County 7410 County Road K, #121 Siren, WI 54872 Dear Mr. Grindell: 1. You asked two questions relating to the intersection of land division and zoning regulation: (1) whether a circuit court judgment dividing land can override the minimum lot size requirements of a county zoning ordinance; and (2) whether a county may enact an ordinance or regulation requiring prior review of sales or exchanges of land between adjoining landowners in order to assure that such sales or exchanges satisfy minimum lot size requirements. 2. In my opinion, the exception in the subdivision law for transfers of land by will or pursuant to court order does not override applicable zoning regulations. Zoning ordinances continue to apply following a court-ordered division, and the court should consider such ordinances in determining whether partition would be appropriate. A county has the authority to enact an ordinance providing for review of proposed sales or exchanges between adjoining landowners to determine whether the resulting lots would be reduced below the minimum lot size required by zoning or other regulations. The county may impose a reasonable fee for this review. 3. Your first question relates to the applicability of Burnett County's minimum lot size zoning ordinance to land divided by a circuit court judgment. Burnett County's zoning ordinance mandates that all lots in its shoreland zoning district have a minimum width of 150 feet, a minimum depth of 200 feet, a minimum area of at least 30,000 square feet, and a minimum setback of at least 75 feet from navigable waters. With respect to property abutting navigable waters, section 4.4(6)(a) of the ordinance provides that no lot area shall be so reduced that the dimensional and yard requirements required by this ordinance cannot be met. 4. You advise that property owners in the shoreland zoning district have commenced partition actions against co-owners of the same property, apparently for the purpose of evading these requirements. For example, one co-owner of a conforming 150-foot wide parcel may commence a partition action against the other, obtaining an unopposed judgment that divides the parcel into two, separately-owned 75-foot wide parcels. You indicate that a similar issue may

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