About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

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

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most