LRB-4413/1
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2003 - 2004 LEGISLATURE
March 10, 2004 - Introduced by Representatives D. Meyer and Friske,
cosponsored by Senators S. Fitzgerald and Kanavas. Referred to Committee
on Urban and Local Affairs.
AB944,1,2
1An Act to create 30.104 of the statutes;
relating to: determinations of ordinary
2high-water marks by counties and by the Department of Natural Resources.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill provides that if there is a difference between the determination by a
county and by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as to the location of an
ordinary high-water mark (OHWM) on a lake, the county's determination prevails.
The ordinary high-water mark is the point on the lakeshore where there is a
distinctive mark that shows, by certain physical characteristics such as erosion
marks or a change of vegetation, that the presence or action of surface water ends
at that point. The area below the OHWM is considered to be part of the lake bed and
owned by the state. The OHWM is also used in determining the rights of lakefront
property owners and in determining what are "shorelands" for zoning ordinances
enacted by counties. These zoning ordinances must meet certain standards
promulgated by DNR. Current law defines a "shoreland" for these ordinances as
being the area within 1,000 feet of the OHWM.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB944, s. 1
3Section
1. 30.104 of the statutes is created to read:
AB944,2,2
430.104 Determinations of ordinary high-water marks by counties. If
5a county determines that an ordinary high-water mark on a lake at a given location
1is different from the ordinary high-water mark at the location as determined by the
2department, the determination by the county shall prevail.
