SB 835

This bill changes certain restrictions on local land use, including limiting

annexations and boundary agreements by newly incorporated cities and villages;

allowing annexation of town territory across county lines; limiting municipal

extraterritorial land division and zoning powers; prohibiting municipalities from

using condemnation to acquire certain blighted properties for the purpose of

transferring the property to third-party developers; and modifying requirements

relating to interim ordinances to freeze extraterritorial zoning.

Under the bill, during the first five years after an incorporation, a newly

incorporated city or village is prohibited from adding or contracting to add any

remaining town territory of the town from which the newly incorporated city or

village was created by use of consolidation, a boundary agreement, or annexation

other than annexation by unanimous approval, except that the city or village and the

town territory remaining after incorporation may, if certain requirements are met,

consolidate by ordinance passed by a two-thirds vote of all of the members of each

board or council and ratified by the electors at a referendum held in each

municipality.

Under current law, cities and villages are prohibited from annexing town

territory across county lines without approval of the town. The bill allows cities or

villages to annex town territory across county lines if there is unanimous approval

of the owners of the annexed lands.

Current law generally authorizes cities and villages to exercise zoning

authority within their extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction. Extraterritorial zoning

jurisdiction consists of unincorporated areas (town or county territory) within three

miles of the corporate limits of a first, second, or third class city or within one and

one-half miles of a fourth class city or a village. The bill expressly provides that the

unincorporated area subject to extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction includes areas

that are either surrounding or entirely surrounded by a single city or village.

The bill also provides that, unless otherwise agreed to by a town, the authority

of a city or village to exercise its extraterritorial powers outside of its adjacent

outlying waters includes only town territory within the extraterritorial zoning

jurisdiction of the city or village surrounding or included entirely within the primary

geographical area of the city or village.

Current law also provides that a city or village that wishes to exercise

extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction may enact an interim zoning ordinance to

preserve existing zoning or uses in all or part of the extraterritorial zoning

jurisdiction while the comprehensive zoning plan is being prepared. Under the bill,

such an ordinance may be enacted to preserve existing zoning in areas subject to a

general town or county zoning ordinance and to preserve existing uses in areas not

subject to a general zoning ordinance. Current law provides that such an ordinance

may be in effect for no more than two years, unless the city or village and the affected