LRB-2113/3
MES&PJK:jld&kjf:nwn
2007 - 2008 LEGISLATURE
May 16, 2007 - Introduced by Representatives Gottlieb, Strachota, LeMahieu,
Albers, Ballweg, Berceau, Davis, Honadel, Jorgensen
and Kerkman,
cosponsored by Senators Erpenbach, Grothman and Olsen. Referred to
Committee on Urban and Local Affairs.
AB341,1,8 1An Act to renumber and amend 66.0617 (6) (g) and 236.45 (6) (a); to amend
266.0617 (4) (a) 3., 66.0617 (9) (a) and (b), 236.13 (2) (b) and 236.45 (6) (b); and
3to create 66.0617 (2) (d), 66.0617 (6) (g) 1., 2. and 3., 66.0617 (9) (c), 66.0628
4(3), 236.29 (4) and 236.45 (6) (ac) of the statutes; relating to: imposing fees for
5acquiring public park land, dedicating storm water treatment facilities to the
6public, changing the time relating to when impact fees must be paid and used,
7and regulating the costs of certain professional services provided through a
8political subdivision.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, a city, village, or town (municipality) may impose an impact
fee on a developer to pay for the capital costs to construct certain public facilities that
are necessary to accommodate land development. Former law required that impact
fees not used within a reasonable period of time to pay for the capital costs had to be
refunded to the current owner of the property with respect to which the impact fee
was imposed.
The "reasonable time" provision was changed in 2005 Wisconsin Act 203 (Act
203). Under Act 203, which is now current law, an impact fee must be used within
seven years after it is collected or the fee must be refunded to the current owner of

the property with respect to which the impact fee was imposed, although a
three-year extension is possible in the case of extenuating circumstances or
hardship. The change from "reasonable time" to a generally seven-year limit first
applied, retroactively, to impact fees that were imposed under an impact fee
ordinance that was in effect on April 11, 2006, the effective date of Act 203.
This bill extends the time period during which impact fees must be used to ten
years, and maintains the three-year extension if the municipality generates detailed
written findings that describe the extenuating circumstances. Also under the bill,
the general ten-year time limit for using impact fees applies to fees that are collected
after April 10, 2006. Fees that are collected before January 1, 2003, must be used
by December 31, 2012, or they must be refunded. Fees that are collected after
December 31, 2002, and before April 11, 2006, must be used within approximately
ten years after they were collected or they must be refunded.
Current law requires that an impact fee be paid by the developer or property
owner to a municipality within 14 days of the issuance of a building permit, or within
14 days of the issuance of an occupancy permit. Under this bill, an impact fee must
be paid either at a time agreed to by the parties or no later than the earliest of
approximately five years after the municipality grants final approval for the land
development that gave rise to the imposition of an impact fee, upon the issuance of
a building permit, or upon the issuance of an occupancy permit.
Also under the bill, if a municipality or a county (political subdivision)
purchases engineering, legal, or other professional services from another person, and
the political subdivision passes along the cost of such services to a third person under
a separate contract, the rate charged the third person for the services may not exceed
the rate charged to the political subdivision by the service provider.
Current law specifies whether a county, town, city, or village has the right to
approve or object to a plat, which is the map of a subdivision. Plat approval is
conditioned on the plat's compliance with the local ordinances and comprehensive,
master, or development plan of the local governmental unit or units that have the
right to approve the plat. Current law provides that, as a further condition of
approval, the governing body of the town or incorporated city or village within which
a subdivision lies may require the subdivider to make and install reasonably
necessary public improvements or to execute a surety bond to ensure that the
improvements will be made, and provides that any land dedication, easement, or
other public improvement required as a condition of approval must bear a rational
relationship to a need for the land dedication, easement, or other public
improvement resulting from the subdivision. However, current law prohibits a
county, town, or incorporated city or village from imposing, as a condition of approval
of a subdivision plat, any fees or other charges to fund the acquisition or
improvement of land. This bill provides an exception to that prohibition for the
acquisition or improvement of public park land and requires that any fee for the
acquisition or improvement of public park land must bear a rational relationship to
a need for it resulting from the subdivision, and that any such fee or land dedication,
easement, or other public improvement required as a condition of approval of a
subdivision must be proportional to the need for it. In addition, the bill defines the

improvement of public park land to mean initial grading, landscaping, construction
of sidewalks, and installation of utilities, playground equipment, or restroom
facilities on land intended for public park purposes.
Under current law, if areas are designated on a plat as dedicated to the public,
such as land to be used for streets, alleys, commons, or other public uses, the approval
and recording of the plat constitutes acceptance of those areas for the designated
purpose. The town, city, or village in which the plat is located holds the land
dedicated to the public in trust for the designated purposes. This bill provides that
the dedication of any lands within a plat of a subdivision located in a municipality
that are intended to include a permanent man-made facility designed for reducing
the quantity or quality impact of storm water runoff from more than one lot is not
accepted when the plat is approved and recorded but, unless the municipality agrees
to an earlier date, when at least 80 percent of the lots in the subdivision have been
sold and a professional engineer has certified to the municipality that the facility is
functioning properly; any required plantings are adequate, well-established, and
reasonably free of invasive species; and any necessary maintenance has been
properly performed.
For further information see the local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB341, s. 1 1Section 1. 66.0617 (2) (d) of the statutes is created to read:
AB341,3,52 66.0617 (2) (d) A municipality may not withhold any approval or permit as a
3result of a developer or property owner failing to reach an agreement with the
4municipality on a date to pay an impact fee that is earlier than a day or event
5specified in sub. (6) (g) 1. to 3.
AB341, s. 2 6Section 2. 66.0617 (4) (a) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB341,3,117 66.0617 (4) (a) 3. A detailed estimate of the capital costs of providing the new
8public facilities or the improvements or expansions in existing public facilities
9identified in subd. 2., including an estimate of the cumulative effect of recovering
10these capital costs through
all proposed and existing impact fees on the availability
11of affordable housing within the municipality.
AB341, s. 3
1Section 3. 66.0617 (6) (g) of the statutes is renumbered 66.0617 (6) (g) (intro.)
2and amended to read:
AB341,4,73 66.0617 (6) (g) (intro.) Shall be payable by the developer or the property owner
4to the municipality in full within 14 days of the issuance of a building permit or
5within 14 days of the issuance of an occupancy permit by the municipality.
according
6to terms that are agreed to by the parties or, if no agreement on the timing of the
7payment is reached, no later than the earliest of the following:
AB341, s. 4 8Section 4. 66.0617 (6) (g) 1., 2. and 3. of the statutes are created to read:
AB341,4,99 66.0617 (6) (g) 1. Upon the issuance of a building permit by the municipality.
AB341,4,1010 2. Upon the issuance of an occupancy permit by the municipality.
AB341,4,1511 3. The first day of the 60th month beginning after the municipality grants final
12approval for the land development in which the lot or parcel, for which the fee is being
13paid, is located. If the land development consists of multiple phases, the date of final
14approval is the date of final approval for the phase in which the lot or parcel is
15located.
AB341, s. 5 16Section 5. 66.0617 (9) (a) and (b) of the statutes are amended to read:
AB341,5,417 66.0617 (9) (a) Subject to par. pars. (b) and (c), and with regard to an impact
18fee that is collected after April 10, 2006
, an ordinance enacted under this section shall
19specify that impact fees that are imposed and collected by a municipality but are not
20used within 7 10 years after they are collected to pay the capital costs for which they
21were imposed shall be refunded to the current owner of the property with respect to
22which the impact fees were imposed, along with any interest that has accumulated,
23in as described in sub. (8). The ordinance shall specify, by type of public facility,
24reasonable time periods within which impact fees must be spent or refunded under
25this subsection, subject to the 7-year 10-year limit in this paragraph and the

1extended time period specified in par. (b). In determining the length of the time
2periods under the ordinance, a municipality shall consider what are appropriate
3planning and financing periods for the particular types of public facilities for which
4the impact fees are imposed.
AB341,5,115 (b) The 7-year 10-year time limit for using impact fees that is specified under
6par. (a) may be extended for 3 years if the political subdivision municipality adopts
7a resolution stating that, due to extenuating circumstances or hardship in meeting
8the 7-year 10-year limit, it needs an additional 3 years to use the impact fees that
9were collected. The resolution shall include detailed written findings that specify the
10extenuating circumstances or hardship that led to the need to adopt a resolution
11under this paragraph.
AB341, s. 6 12Section 6. 66.0617 (9) (c) of the statutes is created to read:
AB341,5,1713 66.0617 (9) (c) 1. An impact fee that was collected before January 1, 2003, must
14be used for the purpose for which it was imposed not later than December 31, 2012.
15Any such fee that is not used by that date shall be refunded to the current owner of
16the property with respect to which the impact fee was imposed, along with any
17interest that has accumulated, as described in sub. (8).
AB341,5,2318 2. An impact fee that was collected after December 31, 2002, and before April
1911, 2006, must be used for the purpose for which it was imposed not later than the
20first day of the 120th month beginning after the date on which the fee was collected.
21Any such fee that is not used by that date shall be refunded to the current owner of
22the property with respect to which the impact fee was imposed, along with any
23interest that has accumulated, as described in sub. (8).
AB341, s. 7 24Section 7. 66.0628 (3) of the statutes is created to read:
AB341,6,7
166.0628 (3) If a political subdivision enters into a contract to purchase
2engineering, legal, or other professional services from another person and the
3political subdivision passes along the cost for such professional services to another
4person under a separate contract between the political subdivision and that person,
5the rate charged that other person for the professional services may not exceed the
6contracted rate agreed to by the political subdivision and the person providing the
7professional services.
AB341, s. 8 8Section 8. 236.13 (2) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB341,6,189 236.13 (2) (b) Any city or village may require as a condition for accepting the
10dedication of public streets, alleys or other ways, or for permitting private streets,
11alleys or other public ways to be placed on the official map, that designated facilities
12shall have been previously provided without cost to the municipality, but which are
13constructed according to municipal specifications and under municipal inspection,
14such as, without limitation because of enumeration, sewerage, water mains and
15laterals, storm water management or treatment facilities, grading and improvement
16of streets, alleys, sidewalks and other public ways, street lighting or other facilities
17designated by the governing body, or that a specified portion of such costs shall be
18paid in advance as provided in s. 66.0709.
AB341, s. 9 19Section 9. 236.29 (4) of the statutes is created to read:
AB341,7,320 236.29 (4) Acceptance of storm water facilities dedicated to public.
21Notwithstanding sub. (2), unless an earlier date is agreed to by the municipality, the
22dedication of any lands within a plat of a subdivision located within a municipality
23that are intended to include a permanent man-made facility designed for reducing
24the quantity or quality impacts of storm water runoff from more than one lot and that
25are shown on the plat as "Dedicated to the Public for Storm Water Management

1Purposes" is not accepted until at least 80 percent of the lots in the subdivision have
2been sold and a professional engineer registered under ch. 443 has certified to the
3municipality that all of the following conditions are met with respect to the facility:
AB341,7,54 (a) The facility is functioning properly in accordance with the plans and
5specifications of the municipality.
AB341,7,76 (b) Any required plantings are adequate, well-established, and reasonably free
7of invasive species.
AB341,7,98 (c) Any necessary maintenance, including removal of construction sediment,
9has been properly performed.
AB341, s. 10 10Section 10. 236.45 (6) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 236.45 (6) (am) and
11amended to read:
AB341,7,1612 236.45 (6) (am) Notwithstanding subs. (1) and (2) (a) (intro.), a municipality,
13town, or county may not, as a condition of approval under this chapter, impose any
14fees or other charges to fund the acquisition or improvement of land, infrastructure,
15or other real or personal property, except for the acquisition or improvement of land
16for public parks
.
AB341, s. 11 17Section 11. 236.45 (6) (ac) of the statutes is created to read:
AB341,7,2118 236.45 (6) (ac) In this subsection, "improvement of land for public parks" means
19initial grading, landscaping, installation of utilities, construction of sidewalks,
20installation of playground equipment, and construction or installation of restroom
21facilities on land intended for public park purposes.
AB341, s. 12 22Section 12. 236.45 (6) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB341,8,323 236.45 (6) (b) Any land dedication, easement, or other public improvement or
24fee for the acquisition or improvement of land for a public park that is
required by
25a municipality, town, or county as a condition of approval under this chapter must

1bear a rational relationship to a need for the land dedication, easement, or other
2public improvement or parkland acquisition or improvement fee resulting from the
3subdivision or other division of land and must be proportional to the need.
AB341, s. 13 4Section 13. Initial applicability.
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