Chapter 236

236.34(1m)(em)1. 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., if the certified survey map divides land into more than 4 parcels in accordance with an ordinance enacted or resolution adopted under sub. (1) (ar) 1., notwithstanding pars. (b) and (c), the survey and the map shall comply with ss. 236.15, 236.20, and 236.21 (1) and (2) and the map shall be submitted to the department of administration for a review of the compliance with those sections.

236.34(1m)(em)2. 2. Subdivision 1. does not apply if any of the following applies:

236.34(1m)(em)2.a. a. The certified survey map is only changing the boundaries of lots and outlots in a recorded plat, recorded assessor’s plat under s. 70.27, or recorded certified survey map, regardless of whether the certified survey map crosses the exterior boundary of the recorded plat, assessor’s plat, or certified survey map.

236.34(1m)(em)2.b. b. The certified survey map is dividing land that is wholly situated in a 1st class city.

236.34(1m)(em)2.c. c. The certified survey map is dividing unincorporated land in a county with a population of 750,000 or more.

236.34(1m)(er) (er)

236.34(1m)(er)1. 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., the certified survey map and survey shall comply with the rules of the department of transportation described in s. 236.13 (1) (e) and the map shall be submitted to the department of transportation for a review of the compliance with those rules if all of the following apply:

236.34(1m)(er)1.a. a. The certified survey map divides land into more than 4 parcels in accordance with an ordinance enacted or resolution adopted under sub. (1) (ar) 1.

236.34(1m)(er)1.b. b. The certified survey map is changing the external boundary of a recorded plat, recorded assessor’s plat, or recorded certified survey map.

236.34(1m)(er)1.c. c. The certified survey map or recorded plat, recorded assessor’s plat, or recorded certified survey map shows lots that abut or adjoin a state trunk highway or connecting highway.

236.34(1m)(er)2. 2. Subdivision 1. does not apply if any of the following applies:

236.34(1m)(er)2.a. a. The certified survey map is dividing land that is wholly situated in a 1st class city.

236.34(1m)(er)2.b. b. The certified survey map is dividing unincorporated land in a county with a population of 750,000 or more.

236.34(1m)(f) (f) Within 90 days of submitting a certified survey map for approval, the approving authority, or its agent authorized to approve certified survey maps, shall take action to approve, approve conditionally, or reject the certified survey map and shall state in writing any conditions of approval or reasons for rejection, unless the time is extended by agreement with the subdivider. Failure of the approving authority or its agent to act within the 90 days, or any extension of that period, constitutes an approval of the certified survey map and, upon demand, a certificate to that effect shall be made on the face of the map by the clerk of the authority that has failed to act.

236.34(2) (2) Recording.

236.34(2)(a) (a) Certified survey maps prepared in accordance with subs. (1) and (1m) shall be numbered consecutively by the register of deeds and shall be recorded in a bound volume kept in the register of deeds’ office, known as the “Certified Survey Maps of .... County”, or stored electronically in the register of deeds office.

236.34(2)(b) (b) If the certified survey map is approved by a local unit of government, the register of deeds may not accept the certified survey map for record unless all of the following apply:

236.34(2)(b)1. 1. The certified survey map is offered for record within 12 months after the date of the last approval of the map and within 36 months after the date of the first approval of the map.

236.34(2)(b)2. 2. The certified survey map shows on its face all of the certificates and affidavits required under subs. (1) and (1m).

236.34(2m) (2m) County approval authority.

236.34(2m)(a) (a) Except as provided in par. (b), a county planning agency under s. 236.10 (1) (b) 3. or (c) 2. has no authority to approve or object to a certified survey map that divides land that is located in a town that has, before the certified survey map is submitted for approval, enacted an ordinance under s. 60.23 (34) or (35) withdrawing the town from county zoning and the county development plan.

236.34(2m)(b) (b) A county planning agency under s. 236.10 (1) (b) 3. or (c) 2. may object to any of the following portions of a certified survey map that divides land located in a town described in par. (a):

236.34(2m)(b)1. 1. Any land shown on and subject to the certified survey map that is shoreland, as defined in s. 59.692 (1) (b), in the county.

236.34(2m)(b)2. 2. Any land shown on and subject to the certified survey map that is in a 100-year floodplain in the county.

236.34(3) (3) Use in conveyancing. When a certified survey map has been recorded in accordance with this section, the parcels of land in the map shall be, for all purposes, including assessment, taxation, devise, descent, and conveyance, as defined in s. 706.01 (4), described by reference to all of the following:

236.34(3)(a) (a) The number of the map.

236.34(3)(b) (b) The lot or outlot number of the parcel.

236.34(3)(c) (c) If the map is assigned a document number, the document number assigned to the map.

236.34(3)(d) (d) If the map is assigned a volume and page number, the volume and page where the map is recorded.

236.34(3)(e) (e) The name of the county.

236.34(4) (4) Vacation. A certified survey map may be vacated by the circuit court of the county in which the parcels of land are located in the same manner and with like effect as provided in ss. 236.40 to 236.44, except that application for vacation of the certified survey map may be made by any of the following:

236.34(4)(a) (a) The owner of any lot or outlot in the land that is the subject of the certified survey map.

236.34(4)(b) (b) The county board if the county has acquired an interest by tax deed in any lot or outlot in the land that is the subject of the certified survey map.

236.34 History History: 1979 c. 248 ss. 22, 25 (3); 1983 a. 189 s. 329 (26); 1983 a. 473; 1987 a. 390; 1997 a. 99; 1999 a. 96; 2001 a. 16; 2005 a. 9, 41; 2013 a. 272, 358; 2015 a. 48, 178; 2017 a. 102; 2017 a. 207 s. 5; 2017 a. 243; 2021 a. 238 s. 45; 2023 a. 264.

236.34 Annotation While s. 236.29 (1) provides that every donation or grant to the public marked or noted as such on a properly recorded plat shall be deemed a sufficient conveyance to vest the fee simple of all parcels of land so marked or noted, statutory dedication requires compliance with statutory procedure. For the state to rely on s. 236.29 (1) to convey property via a certified survey map (CSM) that marked a parcel as a dedication, the property first has to be properly dedicated in accordance with sub. (1m) (e). Under that statute, the city council or village or town board involved must have approved the dedication. As no governmental board involved in the development in this case approved any road dedication or land grant for inclusion in the CSM, the CSM lacked the force and effect required to convey the property to the state. Somers USA, LLC v. DOT, 2015 WI App 33, 361 Wis. 2d 807, 864 N.W.2d 114, 14-1092.

236.34 Annotation Sub. (2) requires that certified survey maps be numbered consecutively without dependent reference to ownership, developer, or surveyor. 61 Atty. Gen. 34.

236.34 Annotation Certified survey maps under this section cannot substitute for subdivision surveys under s. 236.02 (8) [now sub. (12)]. Penalties under s. 236.31 apply to improper use of certified surveys. 67 Atty. Gen. 294.

subch. VII of ch. 236 SUBCHAPTER VII

SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISIONS

236.35 236.35 Sale of lands abutting on private way outside corporate limits of municipality.

236.35(1) (1) No person shall sell any parcel of land of one acre or less in size, located outside the corporate limits of a municipality, if it abuts on a road which has not been accepted as a public road unless the seller informs the purchaser in writing of the fact that the road is not a public road and is not required to be maintained by the town or county.

236.35(2) (2) Any person violating this section may be fined not more than $200 or imprisoned not more than 30 days or both.

subch. VIII of ch. 236 SUBCHAPTER VIII

VACATING AND ALTERING PLATS

236.36 236.36 Replats. Except as provided in s. 70.27 (1), replat of all or any part of a recorded subdivision, if it alters areas dedicated to the public, may not be made or recorded except after proper court action, in the county in which the subdivision is located, has been taken to vacate the original plat or the specific part thereof.

236.36 Annotation A recorded subdivision may be replatted under this section without undertaking the court proceedings set forth in ss. 236.40, 236.41, and 236.42 if the replat complies with the requirements of this chapter applicable to original plats and does not alter areas dedicated to the public. 58 Atty. Gen. 145.

236.36 Annotation A replat of a recorded subdivision must comply with the formal platting requirements of this chapter relating to new subdivision plats, including those relating to the survey, approval, and recording. 63 Atty. Gen. 193.

236.36 Annotation This section permits the replat of a part of a previously recorded subdivision plat, without circuit court action, if the only areas dedicated to the public in that portion of the original subdivision being replatted were discontinued streets fully and properly vacated under s. 66.296 [now s. 66.1003]. 63 Atty. Gen. 210.

236.36 Annotation Discussing the circumstances under which lots in a recorded subdivision may be legally divided without replatting. 64 Atty. Gen. 80.

236.36 Annotation This chapter does not require a replat when the division of a lot or redivision of more than one lot does not meet the definition of a “subdivision” under this section. 67 Atty. Gen. 121.

236.40 236.40 Who may apply for vacation of plat. Any of the following may apply to the circuit court for the county in which a subdivision is located for the vacation or alteration of all or part of the recorded plat of that subdivision:

236.40(1) (1) The owner of the subdivision or of any lot in the subdivision.

236.40(2) (2) The county board if the county has acquired an interest in the subdivision or in any lot in the subdivision by tax deed.

236.41 236.41 How notice given. Notice of the application for the vacation or alteration of the plat shall be given at least 3 weeks before the application:

236.41(1) (1) By posting a written notice thereof in at least 2 of the most public places in the county; and

236.41(2) (2) By publication of a copy of the notice as a class 3 notice, under ch. 985; and

236.41(3) (3) By service of the notice in the manner required for service of a summons in the circuit court on the municipality or town in which the subdivision is located, and if it is located in a county having a population of 750,000 or over, on the county; and

236.41(4) (4) By mailing a copy of the notice to the owners of record of all the lots in the subdivision or the part of the subdivision proposed to be vacated or altered at their last-known address.

236.41 History History: 2017 a. 207 s. 5.

236.41 Annotation The provisions of this section relating to vacation of streets are inapplicable to assessors’ plats under s. 70.27. Once properly filed and recorded, an assessor’s plat becomes the operative document of record, and only sections specified in s. 236.03 (2) apply to assessors’ plats. Schaetz v. Town of Scott, 222 Wis. 2d 90, 585 N.W.2d 889 (Ct. App. 1998), 98-0841.

236.42 236.42 Hearing and order.

236.42(1) (1) After requiring proof that the notices required by s. 236.41 have been given and after hearing all interested parties, the court may in its discretion grant an order vacating or altering the plat or any part thereof except:

236.42(1)(a) (a) The court shall not vacate any alleys immediately in the rear of lots fronting on county trunk highways without the prior approval of the county board or on state trunk highways without the prior approval of the department of transportation.

236.42(1)(b) (b) The court shall not vacate any parts of the plat which have been dedicated to and accepted by the public for public use except as provided in s. 236.43.

236.42(2) (2) The vacation or alteration of a plat shall not affect:

236.42(2)(a) (a) Any restriction under s. 236.293, unless the public body having the right to enforce the restriction has in writing released or waived such restriction.

236.42(2)(b) (b) Any restrictive covenant applying to any of the platted land.

236.42 History History: 1977 c. 29 s. 1654 (8) (c).

236.43 236.43 Vacation or alteration of areas dedicated to the public. Parts of a plat dedicated to and accepted by the public for public use may be vacated or altered as follows:

236.43(1) (1) The court may vacate streets, roads or other public ways on a plat if:

236.43(1)(a) (a) The plat was recorded more than 40 years previous to the filing of the application for vacation or alteration; and

236.43(1)(b) (b) During all that period the areas dedicated for streets, roads or other public ways were not improved as streets, roads or other public ways; and

236.43(1)(c) (c) Those areas are not necessary to reach other platted property; and

236.43(1)(d) (d) All the owners of all the land in the plat or part thereof sought to be vacated and the governing body of the city, village or town in which the street, road or other public way is located have joined in the application for vacation.

236.43(2) (2) The court may vacate land platted as a public square upon the application of the municipality or town in which the dedicated land is located if:

236.43(2)(a) (a) The plat was recorded more than 40 years previous to the filing of the application for vacation or alteration; and

236.43(2)(b) (b) The land was never in fact developed or utilized by the municipality or town as a public square.

236.43(3) (3) The court may vacate land, in a city, county, village or town, platted as a public park or playground upon the application of the local legislative body of such city, county, village or town where the land has never been developed by said city, county, village or town as a public park or playground.

236.43(4) (4) When the plat is being vacated or altered in any 2nd, 3rd or 4th class city or in any village or town which includes a street, road, alley or public walkway, said street, road, alley or public walkway may be vacated or altered by the circuit court proceeding under ss. 236.41 and 236.42 upon the following conditions:

236.43(4)(a) (a) A resolution is passed by the governing body requesting such vacation or alteration.

236.43(4)(b) (b) The owners of all frontage of the lots and lands abutting on the portion sought to be vacated or altered request in writing that such action be taken.

236.43 History History: 1993 a. 246; 1997 a. 172; 2003 a. 286.

236.43 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See s. 66.1003 for other provisions for vacating streets.

236.43 Annotation Although dedicated as a street, an improvement of land as another public way may meet the requirements of sub. (1) (b). A walkway cleared and improved to be conducive to pedestrian traffic is a public way improved in accordance with sub. (1) (b). K.G.R. Partnership v. Town of East Troy, 187 Wis. 2d 376, 523 N.W.2d 120 (Ct. App. 1994).

236.43 Annotation A municipality is not an owner under sub. (1) (d). Closser v. Town of Harding, 212 Wis. 2d 561, 569 N.W.2d 338 (Ct. App. 1997), 96-3086.

236.43 Annotation Isolated improvements to provide for a scenic outlook were not improvements as a street, road, or public way under sub. (1). Closser v. Town of Harding, 212 Wis. 2d 561, 569 N.W.2d 338 (Ct. App. 1997), 96-3086.

236.43 Annotation 1997 Wis. Act 172 made several things clear: 1) a local government has no obligation to improve a lake or stream access, regardless of when that access was created; 2) a lake or stream access may not be discontinued under s. 80.32 [now s. 82.19]; and 3) a lake or stream access may be vacated under this section only, and only if the governing municipality agrees. Vande Zande v. Town of Marquette, 2008 WI App 144, 314 Wis. 2d 143, 758 N.W.2d 187, 07-2354.

236.44 236.44 Recording order. The applicant for the vacation or alteration shall record in the office of the register of deeds the order vacating or altering the plat together with the plat showing the part vacated if only part of the plat is vacated or the altered plat if the plat is altered.

236.445 236.445 Discontinuance of streets by county board. Any county board may alter or discontinue any street, slip or alley in any recorded plat in any town in such county, not within any city or village, in the same manner and with like effect as provided in s. 66.1003.