§ 66-5. Definitions.
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Alley means a public right-of-way which normally affords a secondary means of vehicular access to abutting property.
Arterial street means a street which provides for the movement of relatively heavy traffic to, from or within the city. It has a secondary function of providing access to abutting land and to collector and minor streets.
Bikeway means a bike route completely apart from a street and restricted to bicycle, pedestrian and maintenance vehicle traffic.
Block means an area of land within a subdivision that is entirely bounded by a combination or combinations of streets, exterior boundary lines of the subdivision and streams or water bodies.
Building line or building setback line means a line parallel to a lot line and at a distance from the lot line so as to comply with the yard and setback requirements of chapter 86 of this Code, zoning, or any restriction on the plat which identifies a line on the plat as a building setback line.
Collector street means a street which collects and distributes internal traffic within an urban area such as a residential neighborhood, between arterial and local streets. It provides access to abutting property.
Commission means the plan commission created by the common council pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 62.23.
Comprehensive development plan means a comprehensive plan prepared by the city indicating the general locations recommended for the various functional classes of land use, places and structures, and for the general physical development of the city and includes any unit or part of such plan separately adopted and any amendment to such plan or parts thereof.
Concept plan means a preliminary drawing, made to approximate scale, of a proposed land division for discussion purposes.
Condominium development means a real estate development in which a condominium form of ownership pursuant to Wis. Stats. ch. 703 is utilized.
Consolidation means legally merging two or more recorded parcels into a single parcel.
Conveyance means where the title or any part thereof is transferred by the execution of a land contract, option to purchase, offer to purchase and acceptance, deed or certified survey.
Cul-de-sac means a short street having but one end open to traffic and the other end being permanently terminated in a vehicular turnaround.
Dead-end street means a street permanently or temporarily closed at one end, with or without turnarounds.
Division of land means a division of a lot, parcel or tract of land by the owner thereof or the owner's agent for any purpose, including sale or development.
Drainageway or greenway means an open area of land, either in an easement or dedicated right-of-way, the primary purpose of which is to carry stormwater on the ground surface in lieu of an enclosed storm sewer. Drainageways may serve multiple purposes in addition to their principal use including, but not limited to, maintenance, bicycle and pedestrian traffic, sanitary sewers, water mains, storm sewers, stormwater detention, park development and other related uses.
Easement means the area of land set aside or over or through which a liberty, privilege or advantage in land, distinct from ownership of the land, is granted to the public or some particular person or part of the public.
Extraterritorial plat approval jurisdiction means the unincorporated area within 1½ miles of a fourth class city or a village and within three miles of all other cities.
Final plat means the final map, drawing or chart on which the subdivider's plan of subdivision is presented for approval and which, if approved, will be submitted to the county register of deeds.
Frontage street means a minor street auxiliary to and located on the side of an arterial street for control of access and for service to the abutting development.
Half street means a street, either existing as or proposed to be, half of the required right-of-way width with the intention that the adjoining half will be platted at the time the adjoining lands are subdivided; or an existing street, of which, due to reasons of ownership, only half of the right-of-way is within the boundaries of a proposed land division or annexation.
Improvement, public, means any sanitary sewer, storm sewer, open channel, water main, roadway, park, parkway, public access, sidewalk, pedestrian way, planting strip or other facility for which the city may ultimately assume the responsibility for maintenance and operation.
Local street means a street of little or no continuity designed to provide access to abutting property and leading into collector streets.
Lot means a parcel of land having frontage on a public street or other officially approved means of access, occupied or intended to be occupied by a principal structure or use and sufficient in size to meet the lot width, lot frontage, lot area, yard, parking area and other open space provisions of this chapter and chapter 86 of this Code, zoning.
Lot area means the area contained within the exterior boundaries of a lot excluding streets and land under navigable bodies of water.
Lot, corner, means a lot abutting intersecting streets at their intersection.
Lot depth means the average dimension of a parcel measured from the rear lot line to the front lot line along each side yard setback.
Lot lines means the peripheral boundaries of a lot.
Lot, reversed corner, means a corner lot which is oriented so that it has its rear lot line coincident with or parallel to the side lot line of the interior lot immediately to its rear.
Lot, through, means a lot having a pair of opposite lot lines along two more or less parallel public streets and which is not a corner lot. On a "through lot," both street lines shall be deemed front lot lines.
Lot width means the width of a parcel of land measured along the front building line.
Major thoroughfare means a street used or intended to be used primarily for fast or heavy through traffic. Major thoroughfares shall include freeways, expressways and other highways and parkways, as well as arterial streets.
Master plan means an extensively developed plan, map or other document pertaining to planning and adopted by the common council or other city agency which may pertain to the division of lands, including the comprehensive development plan, the official map, comprehensive utility plans, and other planning documents including proposals for future land use, transportation, urban redevelopment and public facilities. Devices for the implementation of these plans, such as ordinances pertaining to zoning, official map, land division, and building development and capital improvement plans shall be considered as planning documents within this definition.
Minor street means a street used, or intended to be used, primarily for access to abutting properties; also referred to as a "local street."
Minor subdivision (certified survey) means the division of land by the owner or subdivider resulting in the creation of not more than four parcels or building sites, any one of which is 35 acres in size or less, or the division of a block, lot or outlot within a recorded subdivision plat into not more than four parcels or building sites without changing the exterior boundaries of such block, lot or outlot.
Official map means a map indicating the location, width and extent of existing and proposed streets, highways, drainageways, parks, playgrounds and other facilities, as adopted by the common council pursuant to Wis. Stats. ch. 62.
Outlot means a parcel of land, other than a lot, so designated on a plat or certified survey and which is not intended for building or structure development in the proposed land division.
Owner means the plural as well as the singular and may mean either a natural person, firm, association, partnership, private corporation, public or quasipublic corporation, or combination of these, having any pecuniary interest in lands regulated by this chapter.
Parcel means contiguous lands under the control of a subdivider whether or not separated by a combination of streets, exterior subdivision boundary lines, streams or other water bodies.
Person means the plural as well as the singular and may mean any individual, firm, association, syndicate, partnership, corporation, trust or any other legal entity.
Planned commercial site means a specified area of land comprising one or more contiguous ownership parcels or building sites for nonresidential uses and which area is legally limited by a reciprocal land use agreement and plan of building placement, reciprocal use of off-street parking facilities and reciprocal use of ingress and egress facilities for each building, loading and parking site. A planned commercial site must have a plan and reciprocal land use agreement approved by the city recorded in the office of the county register of deeds. An approved plan and reciprocal land use agreement may not be changed without approval by the city. No portion of a planned commercial site may include or front on a street, highway, walkway, parkway or utility route designated in the master plan or official map at the time of initial recording unless the designated facility is in public ownership or easement.
Planned unit development (PUD) means a form of development usually characterized by a unified site design for a number of housing units. The concept usually involves clustering of buildings, providing common open space, and mixing different types of housing (single-family, duplexes, and multifamily). Ordinances permitting planned unit developments permit planning a project and calculating densities for the entire development rather than on an individual lot by lot basis. It is declared that regulating planned unit developments require greater involvement of public officials in site plan review and development aspects of both zoning and land division regulation since such developments require exceptions from both types of regulation.
Pedestrian pathway means a public way, usually running at right angles to streets, which is intended for the convenience of pedestrians only; it may also provide public right-of-way for utilities.
Plat means the map, drawing or chart on which the subdivider's plat of subdivision is presented to the city for approval.
Preliminary plat means the preliminary plat map, drawing or chart indicating the proposed layout of the subdivision to be submitted to the plan commission for its consideration as to compliance with the comprehensive development plan and these regulations along with required supporting data.
Protective covenants means contracts entered into between private parties or between private parties and public bodies pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 236.293, which constitute a restriction on the use of all private or platted property within a subdivision for the benefit of the public or property owners and to provide mutual protection against undesirable aspects of development which would tend to impair stability of values.
Replat means the process of changing, or a map or plat which changes, the boundaries of a recorded subdivision plat or part thereof. The legal dividing of a large block, lot or outlot within a recorded subdivision plat without changing exterior boundaries of such block, lot or outlot is not a replat.
Residential dwelling unit or dwelling unit means a single-family dwelling or part of a duplex, apartment or other multiple-family dwelling occupied by one family or one distinct set of inhabitants or occupants.
Right-of-way means a public way dedicated to the public for its intended use.
Shorelands means those lands within the following distances: 1,000 feet from the high-water elevation of navigable lakes, ponds and flowages; or 300 feet from the high-water elevation of navigable streams or to the landward side of the floodplain, whichever is greater.
Street means a public way for pedestrians and vehicular traffic and utility access including, but not limited to, highways, thoroughfares, parkways, through highways, roads, avenues, boulevards, lanes, places and courts, and any pavements, turf, fixtures, facilities, structures, plantings, signs and other elements of the right-of-way.
Structure means anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires more or less permanent location on the ground, or attached to something having permanent location on the ground, excepting public utility fixtures and appurtenances.
Subdivider means any person, firm, corporation, agent, partnership or entity of any sort, which divides or proposes to divide, by plat certified survey or replat land in any manner, including such heirs and assigns as may be responsible for the obligations of the subdivider under the provisions of this chapter.
Subdivision means a division of a lot, parcel or tract of land by the owner thereof or the owner's agent for the purpose of sale or of building development where:
(1)
The act of division creates five or more parcels, lots or building sites of 35 acres each or less in area; or
(2)
Five or more parcels, lots or building sites of 35 acres each or less in area are created by successive divisions within a period of five years.
Urban service area means that portion of the city and the area within its extraterritorial jurisdiction which has been designated by the common council as the area to which services required in urban areas shall be provided in a planned and orderly process, particularly those facilities which are placed on or in the land as part of the urban development process. Such services include, but are not limited to, public sanitary and storm sewers, water supply and distribution system, streets and highways.
Wetlands means an area where water is at, near or above the land surface long enough to be capable of supporting aquatic or hydrophytic vegetation and which has soils indicative of wet conditions.
Wisconsin Administrative Code means the rules of administrative agencies having rule-making authority in the state, published in a looseleaf, continual revision system, as directed by Wis. Stats. § 35.93 and Wis. Stats. ch. 227, including subsequent amendments to those rules.