Chapter 135
SUBDIVISION OF LAND
[HISTORY: Adopted
by the Town Board of the Town of Troy as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Plan Commission — See Ch. 21, Art. I.
Building construction — See Ch. 27.
Farmland and open space preservation — See Ch.
52.
Impact fees — See Ch. 70.
Mobile homes and mobile home parks — See Ch.
92.
Roads and driveways — See Ch. 125.
Utilities — See Ch. 149.
Zoning — See Ch. 170.
ARTICLE I
Subdivision
Regulations
[Adopted
2-13-1978, as amended through 11-4-2002]
§ 135-1. Statement of purpose and authority.
A. The purpose and intent of this article is to promote the public
health, safety and general welfare by regulating the subdivision of land in the
Town of Troy in a manner that will protect agricultural practices and land use
in the Town by directing nonagricultural development to locations less well
suited for agricultural uses and purposes. Agricultural and nonagricultural
development shall be regulated so as to occur in a well designed and orderly manner
and located so as to provide the best possible environment for those who live
and work in the Town. Adequate provisions shall be made for public services
required as a result of subdivision and/or development activity, and all
initial public improvements made necessary due to development and subdivision
activity shall be designed and constructed by developers at private expense and
in accordance with Town requirements. In this way, measured subdivision
activity can be accomplished in the Town in a way that preserves the most
productive and beneficial tracts of farmable land in the Town and that also
preserves the rural atmosphere of the Town by requiring and protecting adequate
open space in plats approved by the Town.
B. The primary use of land in the Town has historically been
agricultural. It is the central policy of this article to regulate new
nonagricultural development and subdivision activity in the Town in a manner
that preserves significant areas of prime farmland in the Town for agricultural
uses and preserves the right to farm, recognizing that viable development of
land for agricultural purposes and uses will occur on the large tracts utilized
under conventional agricultural practices and on smaller tracts where smaller
scale, more intensive or specialty agricultural activity, such as organic
farming, truck or market farming, specialty crops, specialty animals, hobby
farms, community-supported agricultural plots and the like, can be economically
successful agricultural uses, whether located on parcels larger or smaller than
35 acres in size. This central policy is served in this article by the
establishment of subdivision regulations that:
(1) Allow measured subdivision of land for residential uses while
preserving the desirable agricultural areas in the Town by creating incentives
and requirements intended to direct residential developments to areas less well
suited for agricultural purposes and uses and better suited for residential
platting and development, recognizing that the platting of land for residential
subdivision permanently removes it from availability for future agricultural
uses regardless of zoning;
(2) Encourage major subdivision design that creates and permanently
preserves and protects open space within such areas to maintain the rural
atmosphere of the Town;
(3) Can permanently preserve large and small tracts of prime
farmland, thereby protecting them from future nonagricultural development, by
establishing a program that permits the transfer of development rights from
desirable farming areas by encumbering such areas with conservation easements
to permanently prevent future subdivision and development and that allows areas
better suited for residential development to be subdivided at greater densities
than otherwise allowed under this article by transferring development rights to
such areas and in so doing create the potential for equitable compensation of
landowners who transfer development rights off their land; and
(4) Oversee the measured conversion of large parcels of exclusive
ag-zoned land in the Town from agricultural purposes and uses under farm plan
requirements that permanently protect those portions of larger parcels best
suited for agricultural uses by placing them under conservation easements to
prevent intensive future residential subdivision on the best farmable areas and
by creating a system of regulations for the subdivision of the remainder of the
parcel that encourages incorporating open space in subdivided areas so as to
preserve the rural atmosphere in the Town and to better allow the peaceful and
productive coexistence of agricultural and nonagricultural uses in the Town.
C. This article is enacted pursuant to the Town of Troy's authority
and powers, both expressly conferred and inferable under Chs. 59, 60, 61, 66,
91, and 236, Wis. Stats., and all other applicable statutory or common law
whether now in force or as may be enacted in the future. It is also intended to
advance the eight main goals of the Town's 1992 Growth Management Plan, albeit
in a manner not anticipated at the time that certain of the plan's objectives
and policies were being developed. Although residential development will now
occur in or close to areas zoned exclusive ag, all such subdivision and
development shall be undertaken in the manner that best protects prime farmland
in the Town and keeps it available for agricultural purposes and uses through
the application of the regulations and landowner choices established herein.
§ 135-2. Definitions.
A. Words and phrases related to zoning and subdivision of land and used
in this article shall be as defined in the St. Croix County ordinances on
zoning and subdivisions, unless otherwise defined in this article.
B. Additional definitions specific to the Town of Troy. As used in
this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AGRICULTURAL PURPOSE/USE —
General farming, including beekeeping, egg production, floriculture, fish or
fur farms, dairy, licensed game management farms, forest management, livestock,
poultry raising, sod farming, roadside stands selling only produce from the
farm operation on the premises by members of the farm family, nurseries,
greenhouses, vegetable raising, raising of grain, grass, mint, seed and ginseng
crops, raising of fruit, nuts and berries, and other similar uses, including
placing land in federal programs for payment in kind or enrolling land in the
conservation reserve program under 16 U.S.C. §§ 3831 to 3836 but excluding
farms operated for the disposal or reduction of garbage, sewage, rubbish or
offal.
BUFFER SPACE — Undeveloped
area(s) in any major subdivision that cannot be further subdivided and is/are
owned in common by the owners of the subdivision lots and where the primary
purpose is to separate residential areas from areas being preserved for
agricultural uses. Buffer spaces also serve as “open acres.”
BULB OF CUL-DE-SAC — The
area of a cul-de-sac rear of a line tangent to points where the radius of the
bulb meets the point of curve or reverse curve. See Exhibit A.[1]
CLUSTER SUBDIVISION — A
subdivision in which the lots sizes are reduced below those normally required
in the zoning district in which the development is located, in return for the
permanent preservation of undeveloped land.
CONSERVATION EASEMENT — An
enforceable nonpossessory interest in real property imposing any limitation or
affirmative obligation, the purposes of which include permanently protecting
farmland so as to better preserve the rural character of the Town of Troy;
permanently preserving scenic vistas and environmentally significant areas,
including wetlands, lakes, streams and wood lots; creating and preserving open
areas around significant environmental areas and agricultural areas; protecting
the Town of Troy from the encroachment of neighboring cities; permanently
restricting land divisions, subdivision and/or residential, commercial or
industrial development; permanently retaining or protecting natural, scenic or
open space values of real property; permanently assuring the availability of
real property for agricultural, forest, recreational or open space use;
permanently protecting natural resources; maintaining or enhancing air or water
quality; and/or permanently preserving the historical, architectural,
archaeological or cultural aspects of real property.
CUL-DE-SAC — A dead-end
road with a circular turnaround at the end for vehicular use.
DENSITY — The acreage to
dwelling unit ratio used to calculate the maximum number of dwelling units
allowed in a subdivision. Density is the ratio of the number of dwelling units
allowable under this article in the area being subdivided to the total number
of acres actually being subdivided. In single-family residential developments,
the number of dwelling units and the number of buildable lots will usually be
the same. Land used for contiguous, existing road easements can be included in
the total number of acres actually being subdivided when calculating a density
ratio.
DWELLING UNIT — A
self-contained living unit consisting of sleeping quarters, bathroom(s) and
kitchen, more than one of which may be located in one building.
EXCLUSIVE AG ZONING —
Refers to lands located in what the St. Croix County Zoning Ordinance refers to
as its Agricultural District, described in § 17.14 of the County Zoning
Ordinance.
FARMETTE — A lot created
by the subdivision of land, with the combined area of all farmettes included in
the major or minor subdivision in which the lot will be located averaging not
less than one lot per 12 acres, and with each lot having a minimum size of six
acres. Farmette lots shall not be further subdivided and shall contain no more
than one dwelling unit. Creating farmette lots does not automatically trigger
an open acres requirement.
FARM PLAN — A landowner's
plan to preserve the best farmland in an existing farm for agricultural uses
and purposes under a conservation easement that limits subdivision and
development in such area and that also designates other plan areas for
subdivision into lots less than 35 acres in size to be located on the less
desirable farmland in the plan area, all in conformity with the requirements of
§ 135-8 of this article. Only land zoned exclusive ag on July 1, 1999, or
parcels not so zoned but 35 acres or greater in size and containing adequate
areas of prime farmland such that its preservation can advance the central
policy of this article may be the subject of a farm plan. All farm plans
require Plan Commission review and Town Board approval prior to implementation.
Implementation of a farm plan leads to rezoning, subdivision, conservation
easement and/or transfers of development rights activities as authorized by
this article. Different owners of contiguous land that was zoned exclusive ag
on July 1, 1999, may prepare and submit joint farm plans. A farm plan may be
submitted for less than all land of an owner. Roads do not sever contiguity for
purposes of any farm plan.
FLAG LOT — A lot not
meeting applicable minimum road frontage requirements where access to the
public road is by a sixty-six-foot wide access strip (neither more nor less)
called the “staff” and where the staff length is 200 feet or longer. Front
setback in a flag lot is measured from the point where the staff permanently
widens beyond 66 feet. A flag lot driveway may serve no more than two dwelling
units.
LOT — A parcel of land
(excluding outlots) created by subdivision for use as a site for one or more
dwelling units, as a parcel for conveyance or as a building site of any kind.
Areas of a lot subject to public or private rights-of-way or easements,
including but not limited to roads, driveways (other than a driveway serving
only the lot whose area is being measured), trails, recreation or conservation
areas, stormwater drainage, ponding and/or retention areas and utility
easements and structures (other than the area for underground utilities serving
only structures within the subdivision) are excluded from any calculations of
minimum lot size under this article.
MAJOR SUBDIVISION — The
division of a lot, parcel or tract of land resulting in the creation of five or
more lots that are 35 acres or smaller in area by one-time or successive lot
creation within a period of five years.
MINOR SUBDIVISION — The
division of a lot, parcel or tract of land resulting in the creation of four or
fewer lots that are 35 acres or smaller in area by one-time or successive lot
creation within a period of five years.
OPEN ACRES — Acreage
included within the sixty-percent area of a 40/60 farm plan and in any
subdivision that is dedicated and use-restricted in perpetuity by restrictive
covenant or conservation easement as undeveloped acreage adjacent to
subdivision lots and/or accumulated and grouped within a subdivision to provide
walking paths, nature trails, wildlife habitat, forests, prairies, parks,
farmland, farmland buffers, and other similar undeveloped uses. Compatible,
private recreational uses for the benefit of the homeowners' association
members may be allowed upon Town Board approval. Open acre parcels shall not be
further subdivided and are not necessarily outlots. The quantity of open aces
may be calculated to include existing public road easements plus the area for
developer-built and dedicated Town roads that are accepted for public road
purposes by the Town Board after July 1999. All open acres not dedicated for
Town roads shall be owned by a duly incorporated homeowners' association. All
owners of lots in a subdivision containing such open acres shall belong to the
association, and each such lot shall be responsible for an equal share of its
expenses. The homeowners' association shall have exclusive responsibility for
the maintenance and management of all open acres in the subdivision and for all
stormwater management devices and/or erosion control measures that are placed
in open acres or that are placed on a privately owned lot in the subdivision
but that serve more than the lot on which located.
OUTLOT — A parcel of land,
other than a lot or block, so designated on a plat or certified survey map and
created for purposes other than building development.
PRIME FARMLAND — Class 1,
2 or 3 agricultural land, or its equivalent, as classified by the United States
Department of Agriculture or the Natural Resources Conservation Service or
under a LESA System, once said LESA System has been adopted by St. Croix County
and separately reviewed and approved by the Town of Troy.
SHARED DRIVEWAY — That
part of a driveway that serves two lots from the public road and ending at the
point where the driveway splits to serve each separate dwelling unit. Also
referred to as “joint driveways.”
SUBDIVISION, SUBDIVIDED or
SUBDIVIDING — These terms refer to both minor (sometimes referred to as
“certified survey maps” or “CSMs”) and major subdivision activities and plans
for the purpose of transfer of ownership or building development where the act
of subdivision will create or result in one or more lots or building sites of
35 acres or less.
§ 135-3. Applicability; effect of other laws.
This article shall apply
to all subdivisions of land which occur or are proposed to occur within the
geographic limits of the Town of Troy. Land in the Town is also under the
concurrent jurisdiction of St. Croix County, which also has a Subdivision
Ordinance. Land use is also regulated by county zoning ordinances. Town zoning
ordinances may also apply. In the extraterritorial plat approval jurisdiction
areas of the Town, the subdivision ordinances of the Cities of River Falls and
Hudson also apply. Where the standards herein differ from the standards of
another applicable town, city or county ordinance, the more restrictive
standard shall apply.
§ 135-4. Approving authority; plat or certified survey
map required; violations.
A. The approving authority for all subdivisions of land shall be
the Town Board of the Town of Troy, acting after considering the advice and
recommendations of the Plan Commission of the Town of Troy.
B. A plat or certified survey map approval by the Town Board shall
be required prior to the division of land in the Town of Troy into one or more
new lots, parcels or tracts when the lots, parcels or tracts being created are
subdivisions, unless the subdivision falls within the exemptions listed in §
236.03(2) or 236.45(2)(a)1 to 3, Wis. Stats.
C. The following activities are declared to be violations of this
article:
(1) To convey, offer to convey or contract to convey a CSM or
subdivision lot, tract or parcel within such a CSM or subdivision without having
had the CSM or subdivision approved by the Town Board.
(2) To record a certified survey map, a plat or a metes and bounds
description of a lot, thereby attempting to create a CSM or subdivision,
without such CSM or subdivision having been first approved by the Town Board.
(3) To fail to comply fully with this article or any other Town
ordinance regulating the transfer of development rights or any other aspect of
the development of land.
(4) To fail to comply fully with all permit or approval conditions or
requirements made by the Town Board during its review and action on any
certified survey map or subdivision plat.
(5) Any violation of Ch. 236, Wis. Stats.
§ 135-5. Requests for approval; review procedure.
A. Basic procedure; information required; when application has been
submitted. The developer or owner shall meet with the Town Plan Commission for
advance informal concept review of any proposed subdividing activity.
Developers and owners are also advised to contact the St. Croix County Planning
and Zoning Department at or prior to Town concept review. Concept approval is
not binding on the Town Board as to the subdivision approval process.
Application materials for Town Board approval for any subdivision of land shall
be provided to the Town Board and the Town Plan Commission. Application
materials shall be prepared and submitted in conformity with current Town
requirements, available in written form from the Town Clerk-Treasurer.
Checklists detailing the information required and general application deadline
requirements for land use requests shall be available from the Town
Clerk-Treasurer.
(1) An application for any Town Board action under this article shall
not be deemed to have been validly submitted to the Town until a written application,
signed by the applicant or an authorized representative and accompanied by the
applicable Town land use application checklist and all required materials, has
been personally delivered to the Town Clerk-Treasurer, copies of all
application materials have been delivered to the Town Attorney and Town
Engineer and the application submitted has been acknowledged by the Plan
Commission at its regular monthly meeting following the delivery of materials
to designated Town personnel. The Town Board, Town Plan Commission, the Town
Attorney or Town Engineer can require an applicant to provide additional
information at any time where site characteristics or other unique
circumstances make it appropriate to do so. At the time an application is
delivered to the Clerk-Treasurer, the applicant shall also provide all
information and written materials required to allow the Town Clerk-Treasurer to
notify all adjoining landowners of what development and/or rezoning action is
being proposed. The applicant/developer is responsible for providing all such
materials at least 25 days before a Plan Commission meeting so that the Town
Clerk-Treasurer can process and mail said notices at least 20 days before the
Town Plan Commission meeting at which said proposal for subdivision of land
will be considered.
(2) The Town Board shall reject any subdivision plat or CSM approval
requests which have not been reviewed by nor recommendation received from the
Plan Commission prior to being submitted to the Town Board for action.
B. Approvals.
(1) Action deadlines for plats. The Town Board shall approve or
conditionally approve or reject plat applications within 90 days of submittal
of a valid application for preliminary plat approval and within 60 days in the
case of submittal of a valid application for final plat approval, said
submittal to be made in accordance with Subsection A(1) of this section. Plat
approval time limits shall be extended only upon written agreement between the
Town and all of the applicants or authorized representatives, or at the request
of the applicants or authorized representatives and agreement of the Town Board
as shown in Town minutes.
(2) Developer's agreement required. Preliminary plat or CSM approval
by the Town shall be conditioned on all landowners and developers entering into
a developer's agreement for all development and subdivision activity where
public improvements will be built and dedicated and/or stormwater management
methods or erosion control devices are proposed or required. Developer's agreements
shall be acknowledged and executed by all project mortgagees. Any such
agreement shall also be made available to the County Zoning Administrator.
(3) Preliminary plats.
(a) No preliminary plat application shall be considered or acted
upon by the Town Plan Commission or the Town Board until all material required
to evaluate the preliminary plat has been submitted.
(b) Preliminary plats submitted for approval shall show or be
accompanied by the following information:
[1] Legal description, identity of all owners of record, identity of
any proposed contract purchaser and any other beneficial owner, including
current or planned mortgagees, and name, address and telephone number of the
subdivider and person to be contacted concerning the plat, if different.
[2] Existing zoning of property.
[3] Proposed subdivision name.
[4] The exterior boundary, showing bearings and distances with a
mathematical closure of one in 30,000 feet. All interior lots shall show
distances to the nearest foot. The drawing shall be to a scale of not more than
100 feet to an inch with a graphic scale and North arrow shown on its face.
[5] Proposed public roads to be located adjacent to and/or within the
property. For all proposed public roads, show:
[a] Location of curb and gutter sections.
[b] Location of retaining walls.
[c] That developer has ability to convey full ownership of road
right-of-way areas to Town.
[6] The location, right-of-way widths, and names of any existing
roads or other public ways, easements, railroad or utility rights-of-way, and
any existing access controls.
[7] Location and names of adjacent plats, certified survey maps,
parks and cemeteries, underscored with a dotted or dashed line, and existing
zoning of adjacent parcels.
[8] Area of each lot shall be shown as follows:
[a] The applicable Town of Troy building line setback requirements
shall be drawn for each lot.
[b] The net buildable project area, as defined by St. Croix County
in its Subdivision Ordinance, must be listed in tabular form for each lot.
[c] Preexisting public road easement area contiguous to newly
created lots shall be included in the area of the contiguous lot and excluded
from minimum lot size calculations.
[9] Driveway locations on Class C, D and E roads.
[10] Arterial, collector and Class D local roads that will connect to
nonplatted areas pursuant to a Town plan for future roads shall be laid out and
built to the border of the platted area with a temporary cul-de-sac located at
the boundary line of the plat. Road locations shall have taken into account the
topography of the neighboring property. Proof of notification to the
neighboring property owners as to the location of the proposed road must be
provided.
[11] Utility easement locations.
[12] Location of any proposed lighting.
[13] Stormwater management detention areas, drainage easements, upstream
and downstream drainage analysis, etc., as determined by engineering analysis.
[14] Soil borings and percolation test site locations.
[15] The location of existing property lines, buildings, drives, streams
and watercourses, ponds, lakes, wetlands, rock outcrops, wooded areas, and
other significant features within the proposed subdivision, including
monumentation.
[16] The water elevations of adjoining lakes, ponds or streams at the
date of the survey and the ordinary high-water mark, typical stream valley
cross-sections, stream channels, and flood areas from HUD or FEMA, maps and
floodplain zoning maps. Ordinary high-water marks shall be verified by DNR or
its designated agent.
[17] The contours at vertical intervals of not more than two feet for a
slope less than 20% and five feet for a slope of 20% or more. Lands with slopes
of 20% or greater shall be shown with cross-hatch markings or otherwise clearly
indicated. Lands located in the St. Croix River Valley District with slopes of
20% or greater and lands with slopes of 12% but less than 20% shall be
differentially shown with cross-hatch markings or otherwise clearly indicated.
[18] The location, dimensions and recordable legal description of all
land proposed to be used for parks, playgrounds, open acres, buffer space, and
conservation easement areas.
[19] Where applicable, an explanation of how development rights will
transfer into the subdivided area with specific density calculations explaining
the operation of the transfer and a specific designation of the source, size
and number of development rights being used to increase densities in all
receiving areas shown in the platted area.
[20] Dimensions, size and numbers of all lots. When assigning lot
numbers for certified survey maps, lot numbers shall not be repeated in any quarter-quarter
section or government lot. Where applicable, size shall be indicated with
inclusion and exclusion of rights-of-way and areas below the ordinary
high-water mark of navigable waters.
[21] All requests for exception to design standards must be shown and
listed on the plat.
[22] Density calculations of subdivision and, if land is being rezoned
from exclusive agriculture, identification of which farm plan election is being
implemented.
[23] Calculations for open acres and conservation easement area
calculations, where applicable.
[24] Proposed easement and restrictive covenants, developer-requested
use terms for all conservation easements and proposed homeowner association
bylaws.
[25] Other documents and information as required by the Town Board, Town
Plan Commission, Town Attorney or Town Engineer.
(4) Final plats.
(a) If an initial final plat is not submitted for approval within 24
months of preliminary plat approval by the Town, the Town may refuse to approve
the final plat. Final plats submitted for approval shall show the following
information in a format that also complies with all applicable state and county
requirements:
[1] A surveyor's certificate pursuant to § 236.21, Wis. Stats.
[2] Subdivision name.
[3] Property lines with bearings and distances, graphic scale and
North arrow.
[4] New public roads and rights-of-way adjacent to and within the
property with dedication to the Town of full ownership rights.
[5] The location, right-of-way widths and names of any existing roads
or other public ways, easements, railroad or utility rights-of-way, and any
existing access controls.
[6] Location and names of adjacent plats, certified survey maps,
parks, and cemeteries, underscored with a dotted or dashed line, and existing
zoning of adjacent parcels.
[7] Area of each lot shall be shown as follows:
[a] With applicable Town of Troy building line setback requirements
shown for each lot.
[b] With net buildable project area, as defined by St. Croix County,
listed in tabular form for each lot.
[c] With preexisting public road easement area included in
contiguous lots and excluded from minimum lot size calculation.
[8] Driveway locations for Class C, D and E roadways.
[9] Utility easement locations.
[10] Arterial, collector and Class D local roads that will connect to
nonplatted areas pursuant to a Town plan for future roads, laid out and built
by the subdivider to the border of the platted area with a temporary cul-de-sac
located at the boundary line of the plat. Road locations shall have taken into
account the topography of the neighboring property. Neighboring property owners
shall have been previously notified of the location of all such roads.
[11] Stormwater management detention areas, drainage easements, upstream
and downstream drainage analysis, etc., as determined by engineering analysis.
[12] The location of existing property lines, buildings, drives, streams
and watercourses, ponds, lakes, wetlands, and other significant features,
including monumentation, within the proposed subdivision.
[13] The water elevations of adjoining lakes, ponds or streams at the
date of the survey and the ordinary high-water mark and typical stream valley
cross-sections, stream channels, and flood areas from HUD or FEMA, maps and
floodplain zoning maps. Ordinary high-water marks shall be verified by DNR or
its designated agent and be shown with benchmarks.
[14] Land areas with twenty-percent slope and lands with greater than
twelve-percent slope shall be shown with cross-hatch markings or otherwise
clearly indicated. Land areas with slope of 20% or greater shall be shown with
cross-hatch markings or otherwise clearly indicated. Lands located in the St.
Croix River Valley District with slope of 12% but less than 20% shall be shown
with cross-hatch markings or otherwise clearly indicated.
[15] The location, dimensions and designation of all land being
dedicated for parks and playgrounds or being conveyed for use as open acres,
buffer space, and conservation easement areas.
[16] Dimensions, size and numbers of all lots. Where applicable, size
shall be indicated with inclusion and exclusion of rights-of-way and areas
below the ordinary high-water mark of navigable waters.
[17] All approved exceptions to design standards must be shown and
listed on the plat.
[18] Areas in which further subdivision is not allowed and areas
encumbered by restrictive covenants or conservation easements must be shown and
listed on the plat.
(b) Four copies of the final plat with original signatures shall be
provided. When the Town Board approves the final plat of a major subdivision,
the Town Chairperson shall certify Town approval on the plat document in the
space provided for that purpose, and the Town Clerk-Treasurer shall sign the
certificate on the plat concerning taxes or special assessments, where no such
taxes or assessments are unpaid. A copy of the final plat with the signed
certificate shall be sent to the County Zoning Administrator in accordance with
Subsection B(5).
(5) Transmission of subdivision approvals to county by Town. No
certified survey map or final subdivision plat shall be approved by the Town
Board until all approved exceptions to design standards, easements, covenants,
developer's agreements, homeowners' association articles of incorporation and
bylaws, development rights transfer requests or such other information or
commitments as required by the Town have been provided in final form that is
satisfactory to the Town, signed and agreed to by the owners, developers or
mortgagees, as appropriate. All such signed documents shall be provided with
the final plat when it is delivered to the county.
C. Disapprovals. When the Town Board determines not to approve a
major subdivision, its reasons for denial shall be stated in the Board's
meeting minutes and a copy thereof given to the applicant/developer within 10
days of Board action.
D. Reconsideration. A request for reconsideration of a certified
survey map or plat application, or a new application that is similar to a
previously rejected application in that the circumstances or conditions that
caused the rejection have not changed, shall not be placed before the Plan
Commission or the Town Board unless a substantial change of circumstances has
occurred since last Town action on the application. A change of ownership or
the passage of time without additional conditions or circumstances is not a
substantial change of circumstances.
E. Extension of time periods. If the time for action on a plat by
the Town Board is extended by agreement with or at the request of the
subdivider, the Town shall notify the County Zoning Administrator of such
extension.
F. Appeals. Any person aggrieved by the failure of the Town Board
to approve a plat may appeal to Circuit Court, as provided in Ch. 236, Wis.
Stats.
§ 135-6. Standards for all subdivisions.
A. No land shall be subdivided which is held unsuitable for such
use by the Town Board for reason of potential for flooding, inadequate
drainage, adverse soil or rock formation, severe erosion potential, unfavorable
topography, inadequate water supply or sewage capability, lands being of
greater suitability for another use, or any feature or circumstance likely to
result in the imposition of unreasonable costs to remedy severe and avoidable
problems or to be harmful to the health, safety or general welfare of the
current and/or future residents of the subdivision or the community.
B. All subdivision of land shall be designed and constructed to
adequately protect the public safety, health and general welfare and to permit
the efficient provision of public services in a manner consistent with the
central policy of this article. The Town Board may impose reasonable additional
and site-specific requirements and conditions upon its approval of any
subdivision to accomplish these objectives.
C. Each lot in a subdivision shall have usable access to a street
or road which connects the lot to an existing public street, road or highway.
D. The Town shall further specify the requirements to be met in
subdivisions concerning road and other improvements, such as street signs,
streetlights, culverts, posts and guardrails, in Chapter 125, Article II, Road
Standards, of this Code and in the developer's agreement between the Town and
developer that shall be required whenever such public improvements will be
dedicated to the public as part of the subdivision and development project. The
cost of all public improvements attributable to the subject development
activity shall be paid by the subdivider.
E. All new utility installations shall be completed in conformity
with Chapter 149, Utilities, Article I, Installation, of this Code.
F. Erosion control measures during and after the construction
phase shall conform to St. Croix County Land and Water Conservation Department
requirements and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Best Management
Practice Handbook.
G. Subdivision design standards. (County subdivision design
standards may also apply.)
|
All Subdivided Parcels Shall Comply With All Applicable
Design Standards |
Minor
Subdivision |
Major
Subdivision Lot Size 2.5 Acres and Over |
Lot Size Under
2.5 Acres |
||
|
1. |
Right-of-way |
||||
|
|
(a) |
Local roads (width) (feet) |
66 |
66 |
66 |
|
|
(b) |
Cul-de-sac (diameter) (feet) |
160 |
160 |
160 |
|
2. |
Minimum adjacent driveway separation, measured from center
line to center line at point where driveways connect to edge of paved Class E
local road (feet) |
42 |
42 |
32 |
|
|
3. |
Paved driveway required (where required, must be paved
within 2 years of occupancy) |
No |
Yes, but only the
first 50 feet from point where driveway connects to a public road |
Yes |
|
|
4. |
Shared driveways allowed |
Yes, and shared
portion must be paved |
Yes, and shared
portion must be paved |
No |
|
|
5. |
Maximum front to back average lot ratio, calculated per
county standards |
3:1 |
3:1 |
2.5:1 |
|
|
6. |
Minimum front lot width at right-of-way (if no cul-de-sac)
(feet) |
150 |
150 |
100 |
|
|
7. |
Minimum front lot width at right-of-way (if on cul-de-sac)
(feet) Note: Width at cul-de-sac right-of-way may be reduced by an exception
to design standard if the front line setback is measured from the place at
which the required lot width can be found, parallel to the cul-de-sac
right-of-way. |
120 |
120 |
120 |
|
|
8. |
Minimum lot width at front building line (feet) |
150 |
150 |
132 |
|
|
9. |
Setbacks. Unless waived by the Town Building Inspector, a
registered land surveyor shall mark each lot's front and side minimum
building line setbacks at or prior to building permit issuance. |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
|
(a) |
Minimum front building line setback from right-of way
(feet) |
150 |
150 |
75 when lot
frontage is on Class E local road; if not, county standard applies, if
greater |
|
|
(b) |
Minimum front building line setback from paved road
surface (feet) [greater of 9(a) or 9(b)] |
170 |
170 |
95 |
|
|
(c) |
Minimum side building line setback (feet) Note: May be
reduced by an exception to design standards to 10 feet on lots 2.5 acres or
less, if the distance to the nearest building on the adjoining lot is 50 feet
or more; may be reduced to 25 feet on lots over 2.5 acres, if the distance
between the next nearest building on the adjoining lot is 100 feet or more,
all subject to 9(e) notice requirement. |
50 Yes |
50 Yes |
25 Yes |
|
|
(d) |
Minimum rear building line setback (feet) Note: May be
reduced by an exception to design standards to 10 feet on lots 2.5 acres or
less, if the distance to the nearest building on the adjoining lot is 50 feet
or more; may be reduced to 25 feet on lots over 2.5 acres, if the distance
between the next nearest building on the adjoining lot is 100 feet or more,
all subject to 9(e) notice requirement. |
50 Yes |
50 Yes |
25 Yes |
|
|
(e) |
Where an exception to design standard is granted for a
particular lot changing a side or rear setback line, an affidavit shall be
recorded by the Town Clerk-Treasurer attaching to the affected adjoining lot
and explaining in detail how far in from the presumptive setback line the
Town Board action has moved the actual setback line. No such exception to
design standards shall be granted without the consent of the adjoining
landowner. |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
|
(f) |
Corner lots must meet building line setbacks from both
roads |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
10. |
|
Town setbacks (Note: On previously recorded plats and
CSMs, setbacks default to the County Zoning Ordinance setbacks if none are
shown on the recorded plat or CSM.) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
11. |
|
Maximum number of lots on bulb of cul-de-sac |
|
|
|
|
|
(a) |
Number of lots allowed with this setback |
3 if 150-foot
setback |
3 if 150-foot
setback |
4 if 75-foot
setback |
|
|
(b) |
Number of lots allowed with this setback |
4 if 220-foot
setback |
4 if 220-foot
setback |
5 if 110-foot
setback |
|
|
(c) |
Setback selected for cul-de-sac frontage applies to entire
road frontage of lot adjoining cul-de-sac |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
12. |
|
Maximum percentage of garage entrances facing street |
N/A |
N/A |
70% |
|
13. |
|
Flag lots permitted |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
H. Stormwater detention/retention storage and storm runoff control
for land disturbing activities. As part of the Towns regulation of subdivision
activities the Town Board shall determine, with the assistance of the Town
Engineer, the kind and nature of stormwater management and control devices that
shall be installed by developers proposing to subdivide and develop land.
(1) The Town Engineer's review and approval of stormwater detention
storage, retention storage, and runoff control plans shall be based on
requiring the more stringent of the following standards:
(a) The peak runoff rate from the site after the land disturbing
activity is completed shall be no greater than the peak runoff rate from the
site in its natural undeveloped state.
(b) The peak runoff rate shall be limited to a rate prorated on the
basis of the safe capacity of downstream stormwater drainage facilities as
determined by the Town Engineer.
(2) Minimum design criteria for stormwater detention storage and
runoff control shall accommodate peak flows resulting from a two-year frequency
twenty-four-hour rain of 3.0 inches, a ten-year frequency twenty-four-hour rain
of 4.2 inches, a twenty-five-year frequency twenty-four-hour rain of 4.7 inches
and a one-hundred-year frequency twenty-four-hour rain of 6.0 inches, including
winter frozen ground condition design criteria, with greater design capacity
required for facilities of greater risks or hazards or where an area is in an
identified flood hazard area on the Official Town or County Floodplain Zoning
Map.
(3) Minimum design criteria for stormwater retention storage and
runoff control shall accommodate peak flows resulting from a one-hundred-year
twenty-four-hour rain frequency of 6.0 inches, including winter frozen ground
condition design criteria, or one-hundred-year frequency back-to-back rainfall
events design criteria, with greater design capacity required for facilities of
greater risks or hazards or where an area is in an identified flood hazard area
on the Official Town or County Floodplain Zoning Map.
(4) Where possible, potential and existing flood hazards shall be
mitigated by new development. The Town shall require stormwater drainage
facilities which may include curbs and gutters, diversions, catch basins and
inlets, culverts, storm sewers, road ditches, swales, open channels, roof
gutters, stormwater detention basins, stormwater retention basins, settling
basins, infiltration and absorption areas, and similar measures to control,
store, and pretreat stormwater runoff.
(5) All nonpoint source stormwater runoff pollutant constituent
discharges from a site shall include pretreatment design criteria and modeling
analysis calculations in conformance with Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources and other governing agency requirements and regulations utilizing
Standard Engineering Practice Structural and Nonstructural Best Management
Practices.
I. Architectural and aesthetic design standards.
(1) The Town of Troy contains beautiful landscapes of rolling
farmland, prairie and forest. The residents of the Town of Troy have
consistently and by significant majorities indicated their desire that the Town
preserve its rural atmosphere and prevent the unattractive appearances and land
uses of typical suburban major subdivisions in the Town.
(2) In part, the purpose of the setback and dimension regulations of
this article is to promote more rural, as opposed to suburban, residential
subdivision developments, especially with reference to discouraging development
of nonclustered major subdivisions with no commonly held buffer space or open
acres. Building setbacks from the road and adjacent lot building separations
are important factors, especially on culs-de-sac, in creating less crowded,
more rural appearing subdivisions.
(3) Where specific features and topography in a subdivision area
allow it, exceptions to design standards on setbacks may be permitted, provided
that the exception does not lessen the appearance of separation provided by the
setback regulations.
(4) Exceptions to design standards will not be granted for awkwardly
shaped, non-setback-conforming lots being created solely to allow a developer
or owner the theoretical maximum number of lots allowed under the density
standards of this article.
(5) The dwelling unit density ratios and setback design standards in
this article are intended to encourage the design of major subdivisions that
are more rural and less suburban in style and are taken in part from similar
design standards used in other areas to create more rural appearing
subdivisions. However, density ratios and dimensional design standards only
partially promote attractive rural residential subdivisions that also must
coexist well with ongoing agricultural operations. The location of subdivisions
in relation to the use and topography of the greater parcel of land from which
it is taken and the specific location of lots, roads and buildings within
subdivisions are also important.
(6) The design standards in this section are intended to guide
developer/applicants in designing and locating subdivisions so as to preserve
to the greatest extent possible the natural and existing terrain, forest and
conservation areas, thereby maintaining a more rural setting. Such regulations
are consistent with providing for the health, safety and welfare of existing
and future residents of the Town of Troy. These architectural and aesthetic
design standards shall apply to all subdivision of land in the Town:
(a) Conservation areas such as forests, ponds, prairies and streams shall
be preserved to the greatest extent possible while still allowing construction
within or adjacent to these areas.
(b) Natural terrain shall remain unaltered except where required for
roads, stormwater management, erosion control and other required infrastructure
improvements. Grading, excavation and soil disturbing plans shall be explained
to the Town Board and Plan Commission as part of the concept and subdivision
approval process.
(c) Local roads may be the minimum required width unless a greater
width is required for safety reasons. Rural-type Town roads without curbs are
preferred. Concrete curbed roads will be allowed only when required for proper
road design, as determined by the Town Engineer.
(d) Soil absorption fields, culverts and retention ponds are
preferred over storm sewers for stormwater runoff control. Public sidewalks are
not usually desired in residential subdivisions where lots are one acre or
larger in size.
(e) Streetlights are not ordinarily compatible with the rural character
of the Town. Any public streetlighting provided by the developer shall be
limited to what is minimally required for safety and shall require Town
approval. The Town may require developers to install special lights to minimize
light pollution.
(f) The developer shall provide signs and monuments consistent with
the design parameters of the subdivision and as required by the Town. Signs and
monument design and construction shall be approved by the Town.
(g) Landscaped or naturally wooded center islands are normally
required for all culs-de-sac. Standard fully paved culs-de-sac with no islands
are not normally desirable but may be permitted, depending on considerations
related to the terrain and overall design of the subdivision.
(h) Paths, fields, ponds, plantings, berms and other landscaping
techniques should be used and may be required by the Town to maintain the rural
atmosphere, to screen the subdivision and to create visual separation between
adjacent land uses.
(i) Developers should avoid locating lots immediately adjacent to
existing collector and/or arterial roads unless it can be demonstrated that
existing or proposed screening will substantially lessen the visual impact of
the development as viewed from existing roads.
(j) Developers should avoid locating rows of multistory walkout
houses on the ridge tops unless well screened by existing or proposed
vegetative cover.
(k) Lots in a major subdivision fronting on collector or arterial
roads should not use such roads for public road access. Minor subdivisions on
such roads shall use shared driveways for access to reduce the number of
driveways entering collector and arterial roads.
(7) The architectural and aesthetic design standards of this
Subsection I are outcome-based and are not to be construed or used as a means
to prevent the subdivision and development of land. It is the obligation of a
developer/applicant to explain to the Town Board and Plan Commission how the
subdivision proposal complies with these standards and to explain where and why
an application does not comply with these standards. Because of the impact of
topography on design, the Town may allow exceptions from these architectural
and design standards that the Town Board finds consistent with creating
attractive rural subdivisions.
J. Minor subdivisions are subject to all of the same requirements
and standards as are contained in this article for major subdivisions unless
specifically stated otherwise in a separate part of this article.
§ 135-7. Standards in areas not zoned for exclusive
agricultural use.
In addition to the other
requirements of this article, the requirements in this section apply to the
subdivision of parcels of land that were not zoned exclusive ag uses on July 1,
1999. Owners of such parcels that are also eligible to transfer development
rights shall proceed with a farm plan under § 135-8 in order to apply for a
permit to transfer development rights under § 135-9. Owners of such parcels
also can elect to proceed under § 135-8 of this article even where no § 135-9
transfer of development rights is possible. Where no farm plan is required or
requested on a nonexclusive ag zoned land, the following requirements apply:
A. Density ratio. The density ratio shall not exceed one dwelling
unit for each 3.0 acres of area being subdivided.
B. Minimum lot size.
(1) No dwelling unit shall be located on any lot of less than 2.5
acres in size except as allowed in Subsection B(2) or C or as allowed due to an
incoming transfer of development rights duly permitted under § 135-9.
(2) Cluster subdivision option. A subdivision design meeting all of
the following requirements may be approved by the Town despite having lot sizes
smaller than those required under Subsection B(1):
(a) Minimum lot size: one acre.
(b) Maximum density ratio: one dwelling unit for each three acres of
area being subdivided, and included in the area of the certified survey map or
plat.
(c) A minimum additional area of one acre per lot to serve as open
acres.
(d) Areas that will be dedicated to the Town and used for new public
roads and rights-of-way in the area being subdivided can be combined with area
used for open acres to meet the required density ratio.
(e) Open acres in the area being subdivided shall be owned by a
homeowners' association, created by the developer at the time of platting, with
membership to consist of the owner(s) of each lot in the subdivision. All open
acre areas shall be placed under restrictive covenants or a conservation
easement in favor of the homeowners' association that permanently prevents
further subdivision and protects such areas from additional residential,
commercial or industrial development, in perpetuity.
C. Single lot split exception. Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary contained in Subsection A of this section, an owner of a lot not
located in a major subdivision and legally created prior to July 31, 1996, that
contains an area of no less than 5.0 acres and no more than 6.0 acres may
divide said lot subject to a maximum density ratio of one dwelling unit per 2.5
acres of land and with a minimum lot size of 2.0 acres. Except for Subsection
B(2), all other requirements of this article shall apply to such subdivision of
land.
§ 135-8. Standards in areas zoned for exclusive
agricultural use.
A. Significant tracts of land in the Town are zoned for exclusive
agricultural uses as part of a cooperative effort between the county, Town and
participating landowners to protect farmland from claims of nuisance by nonfarm
residents and to allow land so zoned to qualify for state tax credit programs
available under the Farmland Preservation Program in Ch. 91, Wis. Stats.
Increasing development pressure now makes it appropriate to respond in measured
fashion to the increased pressure to develop land zoned exclusively for
agricultural uses and purposes while avoiding the public harm that comes from
excessive development in predominantly rural areas, such as increased traffic
congestion, groundwater degradation, increased and uncontrolled stormwater
flows and erosion, increased need for public protection and emergency services,
loss of open space and residential homeowner objections to farming practices.
There is also harm to the public to be reduced or avoided that is caused by a
foreseeable increase in Town expenses due to the higher service requirements of
residential property as compared to farm property, the cost of which is shared
by all taxpayers in the Town.
(1) It is the stated preference of the citizens of the Town that land
presently zoned exclusive ag should be preserved and kept available in its
current state of development for agricultural uses and as open space. This is
also consistent with the Town's Growth Management Plan which since 1992 has had
the stated policy of discouraging nonfarm development in agricultural areas.
Surveys conducted within the Town have directed the Town Board to act to
preserve the best farmland from development while still providing the owners of
the ag-zoned farmland with viable economic alternatives so as to avoid the
public harm caused by the loss of irreplaceable farmland when its use changes
to other than agricultural and open space uses.
(2) To this end, pursuant to the Town's exercise of village powers in
furtherance of the health, safety and welfare of the citizens, pursuant to the
Town's authority to regulate the subdivision of land as authorized by Ch. 236,
Wis. Stats., and pursuant to the Town's authority to disapprove County Zoning
Ordinance amendments proposing to rezone land as found in § 59.69(5)(e), Wis.
Stats., and, in that way, to reduce public harm by limiting residential
development driven conversion from the existing development of land for
agricultural and open space uses and by regulating the size and location of
subdivisions in areas now zoned for exclusively agricultural uses, all
proposals to subdivide land located in the Town of Troy that was zoned
exclusive ag on July 1, 1999, shall be subject to the regulations of this
section in addition to all other applicable requirements and regulations on the
subdivision of land.
B. Applicability; base map. This section applies to all
applications to subdivide land in the Town of Troy for any purpose into parcels
of 35 acres or less where the land was zoned exclusive ag on July 1, 1999.
Ownership and size of exclusive ag-zoned parcels for purposes of this section
shall be determined as of July 1, 1999. The Town Plan Commission shall develop
a base map and records for this purpose, based on the official ownership and
zoning records of St. Croix County. Once developed and approved by the Town
Board, said map shall be presumed correct as to zoning, ownership and parcel
size.
C. Farm plan requirement, purpose and proportionality election.
(1) Requirement. All owners of land located in the Town of Troy that
was zoned exclusive ag on July 1, 1999, and who seek to rezone and subdivide
any portion of that land into lots of 35 acres or less in size shall, either
prior to or as part of the subdivision approval process, submit a farm plan for
review by the Plan Commission and approval by the Town Board.
(a) The farm plan shall describe the plans for subdivision in
adequate detail and shall include a declaration of the specific proportionality
election required under Subsection C(3) herein and a declaration of any
transfers of development rights planned to be made pursuant to § 135-9 herein,
disclosing source and manner of use of such development rights. No farm plan shall
be considered by the Town Board that attempts to use a proportionality election
or to transfer development rights in a manner not permitted under this article.
(b) Farm plans shall be written, shall include a scale map showing
the areas planned for protection and for development and shall include the full
and specific development plan being proposed. Where a major subdivision is
being proposed, farm plan approval shall be processed as an additional
component of preliminary plat approval. Farm plans shall identify all
contiguous acres owned by the landowner(s) in relationship to any lesser amount
of land already subdivided or being sought to be subdivided. Farm plans shall
conform to all other applicable requirements of this article. The Town shall
always have the right to request additional relevant information to be provided
by the landowner(s).
(2) Purpose. The purpose of a farm plan is to establish a farm-based
program that protects the best farmable land and keeps it available for
agricultural uses and to locate proposed development for nonagricultural uses
in farm plan areas most appropriate for nonfarming purposes in a manner that
provides the open space essential to maintaining the rural atmosphere of the
Town and that can allow farming and nonfarming development to peacefully
coexist. When nonfarming development of land is proposed for exclusive ag-zoned
land in this way, an appropriate amount of the best farmable land shall be
protected permanently under a conservation easement that ensures that only
strictly limited subdivision of land or development can occur in designated
farm plan areas which are then preserved for agricultural uses and/or as open
space. Measured nonfarming development may then be approved only in those areas
of the farm plan parcel less well suited for agriculture uses. All conservation
easements developed and put in place as part of an approved farm plan shall
partially or entirely prohibit further subdivision for nonagricultural
development and shall maintain the availability of the subject area for
agricultural and open space uses as defined in this article, except in areas of
environmental sensitivity where uses may be more limited, depending on
individual circumstances.
(3) Farm plan proportionality election. A farm plan must conform to
all requirements of this article and elect one of the following development and
preservation proportionality program choices:
(a) Forty/sixty program choice.
[1] Forty percent of the area in the farm plan, including the best
farmable land in the plan area, shall be encumbered by a conservation easement
that permanently prevents further subdivision beyond that allowed herein and
preserves in perpetuity the availability of the land for agricultural uses and
as open space. Within the 40% of the best farmland being placed under
conservation easement, one farmette lot can be created for up to the first 12
acres of land so protected, plus one additional farmette lot for each
additional full 12 acres in the area of the plan being placed under
conservation easement.
[2] The remaining 60% of the area of the farm plan can be proposed
for Town subdivision approval under a plan meeting all of the following
requirements:
[a] Density ratio: one dwelling unit for each three acres of area
being subdivided and included in the area of the certified survey map or plat.
[b] Minimum lot size: one acre.
[c] A minimum additional area of one acre per lot to serve as buffer
space between residential and protected agricultural uses and/or as open acres
shall be included in the sixty-percent portion of the farm plan area being
proposed for subdivision.
[d] Area used for new public roads and rights-of-way in the
sixty-percent portion of the farm plan area proposed for subdivision and
included in the plat can be combined with area used for open acres to meet the
required density ratio in the sixty-percent portion of the farm plan area
proposed for subdivision and included in the plat.
[e] All open acres located in the sixty-percent portion of the farm
plan area proposed for subdivision shall be owned by a homeowners' association,
which shall have been created by the developer before final plat approval, with
membership to consist of the owner(s) of each lot in the subdivision. All such
open acre areas shall be placed by the developer under restrictive covenants or
conservation easements in favor of the homeowners' association that permanently
prevent further subdivision and prevent residential, commercial or industrial
development in such open acre spaces, in perpetuity. New roads included as open
acres in proportionate or acreage calculations shall not be included in the
area conveyed to a homeowners' association.
(b) Fifty/fifty program choice.
[1] Fifty percent of the area included in the farm plan, including
the best farmable land in the plan area, shall be encumbered by a conservation
easement that permanently prevents further subdivision beyond that allowed
herein and preserves in perpetuity the availability of the land for
agricultural uses and as open space. Within the 50% of the best farmland being
placed under conservation easement, one farmette lot can be created for up to
the first 12 acres of land so protected, plus one additional farmette lot for
each additional full 12 acres in the area of the plan being placed under
conservation easement.
[2] The remaining 50% of the area of the farm plan can be proposed
for Town subdivision approval under a plan meeting all of the following
requirements:
[a] Density ratio: one dwelling unit for each three acres of area
being subdivided and included in the area of the certified survey map or plat.
[b] Minimum lot size: 2.5 acres.
[c] New roads and public rights-of-way installed in the subdivision
shall be designed and laid out to best separate and serve as a visual and
spatial transition area between the subdivided areas and protected agricultural
use and/or open space areas. No commonly owned area encumbered by restrictive
covenants or owned by a homeowners' association is required, unless a
homeowners' association will be required for management and maintenance of
stormwater management and/or erosion control facilities located in the platted
area.
[d] In addition to the setback requirements established in this
article, in the area being proposed for subdivision under this proportionality
election, houses shall be located on lots adjoining such road/separation areas
to be as far from the protected agricultural use and open space areas as
possible to further minimize the impact of said houses on agricultural uses in
protected areas.
D. Standards for all farm plans.
(1) Farmette lots created pursuant to any farm plan approved by the
Town Board shall not be further subdivided for any purpose at any time, except
as allowed under § 135-9 of this article.
(2) In farm plan areas going under conservation easement and being
divided into farmette lots, homeowners' associations are required only where
necessary to provide for the management and maintenance of stormwater
management and/or erosion control facilities serving more than one such lot in
the conservation easement area.
(3) Landowner(s) whose farm plans are approved by the Town Board
shall execute and deliver the conservation easement(s) prior to Town approval
of a certified survey map or preliminary plat as to all farm plan areas being
so protected. Said conservation easement shall restrict all future subdivision
other than for farmette lots as allowed under the applicable proportionality
election or as may be allowable under an incoming transfer of development
rights.
(4) All subdivision activities shall strictly conform to the farm
plan approved by the Town Board. Any proposed changes to an approved farm plan
shall meet all requirements of this article and shall be approved by the Plan
Commission and Town Board prior to implementation. The Town Board and Plan
Commission can reconsider approval of a farm plan program choice and
subdivision plan at the owner's request or on their own motion only until the
required conservation easement has been recorded. Once conservation easements
are recorded, the proportionality election in a farm plan becomes irrevocable.
(5) The requirement of a farm plan when subdivision and rezoning are
being proposed for land zoned exclusive ag is in addition to the other
requirements of this article and any other Town ordinance.
(6) The Town shall hold a farm plan conservation easement in trust
for the landowner and shall not record it until any necessary rezoning
associated with the development of farm plan area has been completed by St.
Croix County.
(7) Conservation easements shall be in favor of and enforceable by
the Town, shall be drafted by the Town Attorney and shall be executed by all
current owners of the encumbered land, approved by all affected mortgagees, and
entered into by any person or entity with whom or which the owners have entered
into any agreement for the sale of any land included in the farm plan or who or
which holds an interest in the land that is affected by the easement.
(8) Conservation easements conveyed to the Town pursuant to this
article shall be held in trust and in perpetuity by the Town and/or by other
units of government or eligible public agencies, nonprofit organizations or
land trusts, to whom the Town Board may by agreement transfer enforcement
rights, but always for the benefit of Town citizens and the greater public. Conservation
easements held by the Town shall be managed, administered and enforced by the
Town. No conservation easement enforcement rights shall be transferred by the
Town to any other unit of government, public agency, nonprofit organization or
land trust except by action of the Town Board.
(9) An owner of property zoned exclusive ag who builds a dwelling or
creates a lot on land zoned exclusive ag and as authorized by § 17.14(1)(b) of
the St. Croix County Zoning Ordinance need not prepare and submit a farm plan
at the time Town approval is sought for any related subdivision activity, but
the amount of acreage included for future farm plan purposes shall include all
such land, and the area to be protected under any future farm plan shall be
calculated based on the remaining farm area plus any such lot(s).
E. Where land zoned exclusive ag on July 1, 1999, and belonging to
different owners is combined into a single farm plan, all landowners involved
shall provide the Town with a written agreement to comply with all duties owed
to each other in order to comply with the farm plan requirements submitted with
their farm plan proposal.
F. Landowners who submit a farm plan that fully conforms to this
article, who obtain approval of the farm plan by the Town Board and who seek a
positive recommendation from the Town for county rezoning in accord with the
approved farm plan and/or who request Town subdivision approval based on the
specific terms of an approved farm plan shall receive a positive rezoning
recommendation from the Town and Town approval of an application for
subdivision of land in conformity with the farm plan under all but the most
unusual circumstances. While this is not to be construed as a release by the
Town of its obligation to exercise good judgment on behalf of the citizens of
the Town by independently deciding on such requests, a plan to rezone and
subdivide in conformity with an approved farm plan and the other requirements
of this article is consistent with the central policy of this article in all
but the most unusual of circumstances.
§ 135-9. Transfer of development rights (TDR).
A. Purpose. The transfer of development rights program is
established to facilitate the voluntary, market-driven and permanent
preservation of the best farmable land in the Town of Troy by allowing owners
of such parcels to transfer development rights from their best farmable land to
areas better suited for residential development; to preserve land from which
development rights are transferred in perpetuity for agricultural uses and as
open space; to preserve such land by allowing other land better suited for
residential subdivision to be developed at greater densities by transferring
development rights from agricultural areas to more suitable areas for which
subdivision is proposed; and in this fashion to guide residential development
to areas more appropriate for it and away from the best farmable land. The Town
hereby establishes this program by which approved transfers of development
rights can be made as authorized by permit issued by the Town Board of the Town
of Troy.
B. Definition of terms. For purposes of this section, and such
other areas of this article as may be necessary to implement this section,
certain words or phrases used herein are defined as follows:
DEVELOPMENT RIGHT — The
ability under this article to subdivide a parcel of land in a manner meeting
the required density ratio for one dwelling unit, as established by the density
ratio in effect for that particular parcel following any required farm plan
election.
INTRAFARM TRANSFER — A
transfer of development rights where the sending and receiving areas involved
in the transfer are parcels included in the same previously approved farm plan,
including an approved proportionality election under § 135-8C(3).
RECEIVING AREA — A parcel
of land in the Town to which development rights are transferred pursuant to a
Town permit.
SENDING AREA — A parcel of
land in the Town from which development rights are removed for transfer to
another area in the Town or to be held for transfer at a later time.
TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT
RIGHT — The permanent removal, receipt or holding of development right(s) when
approved by the Town Board and authorized by Town permit.
C. General program requirements.
(1) All transfers of development rights affecting land in the Town of
Troy require a permit from the Town Board, which permit shall attach to the
sending and receiving parcels of land, be recorded and constitute an enforceable
interest in land.
(2) Each dwelling unit added to a receiving area in excess of the
applicable density ratio for the receiving area requires the incoming transfer
of one development right.
(3) Development rights transferred into a receiving area cannot more
than double the dwelling unit density ratio that would otherwise apply.
(4) Lots created by transfer of development rights into the
sixty-percent area of a 40/60 farm plan do not require creation of open acres
beyond what was required before the incoming transfer of development rights.
For each such lot so created, one acre may be subtracted from the quantity of
open acres that would otherwise be required under this article, so long as the
density ratios in Subsection E of this section are still met.
(5) Dwelling unit densities used to determine the number of
development rights available for sending and/or receiving areas are those in
effect following all farm plan proportionality elections and plan approvals for
the affected parcels.
(6) Development rights transfer on a 1:1 basis under the sending and
receiving areas' density ratios in effect after all related farm plan
approvals. Thus, the development right available from one farmette lot
transfers one development right elsewhere even though the lot to which the
development right will be transferred may be smaller than the farmette lot from
which it came.
(7) Development rights can be transferred from a designated sending
area only if the receiving area lots into which the development rights will be
transferred are no larger than would have been allowed under the farm plan
proportionality election applicable to the designated sending area.
(8) Parcels not zoned exclusive ag are eligible for a TDR permit only
if:
(a) The parcel is 35 acres or more in size;
(b) The parcel contains areas of prime farmland of sufficient
quantity that its preservation will advance the central policy of this article;
(c) The parcel is the subject of an approved farm plan under § 135-8
of this article that establishes the number and location of development rights
available for transfer; and
(d) The parcel will be involved in an intrafarm transfer.
(9) Intrafarm transfers of development rights are only permitted if
development rights will be transferred from farm plan areas required to be
placed under conservation easement to farm plan areas where more dense
subdivision is allowed.
(10) Intrafarm transfers may operate to remove additional development
rights from areas already encumbered by a conservation easement. When this
occurs, another conservation easement shall be recorded to implement the
further outgoing transfer of development rights.
(11) No permit shall be issued for the incoming transfer of development
rights that would create a situation where combined lot or dwelling unit
densities will exceed the requirements of this article, St. Croix County
ordinances or state requirements.
D. TDR permit. No transfer of development rights affecting land in
the Town of Troy shall be permitted without the landowner having first applied
for and received a permit from the Town.
(1) Sending development rights. The owner of land in the Town
proposing to transfer development rights from a sending area shall apply for a
Town permit by submitting an application for review and recommendation by the
Plan Commission and for action by the Town Board containing all of the following
information:
(a) Identity of all sending area owners, developers and mortgagees;
(b) An approved farm plan covering the sending area;
(c) For parcels not zoned exclusive ag on July 1, 1999,
verification, in a manner acceptable under standard soil science methods in
effect at the time of permit application, of the amount, type and location of
prime farmland in the subject parcel;
(d) Legally sufficient description for property to be placed under
conservation easement when development rights are transferred from it;
(e) Density calculation, quantity and location of development rights
being proposed for transfer;
(f) Density calculation, quantity and location of development
rights that will remain following the transfer;
(g) Legally sufficient description of the receiving area where the
development rights will be transferred or a statement that the development
rights will be held for later transfer, and identification of all proposed
holders or receiving area owners and mortgagees;
(h) A statement explaining how the central policy of this article
will be served by making the proposed transfer of development rights; and
(i) Such other or further information as the Town Plan Commission,
Town Board, Town Engineer or Town Attorney shall require.
(2) Receiving or holding development rights. An individual or entity
proposing to hold development rights or all owners of land in the Town
proposing to receive development rights shall make application for a Town
permit authorizing such holding or incoming transfer by submitting to the Town
Board, for review and recommendation by the Plan Commission and for action by
the Town Board, the following information:
(a) Identity of all proposed holders or receiving area owners,
developers and mortgagees;
(b) An approved farm plan covering all current or future receiving
areas;
(c) Density calculation showing dwelling unit density in the
receiving area prior to and after the development rights transfer being
proposed and an explanation of how densities and lot sizes after receipt of
development rights will meet the requirements of this article;
(d) A statement explaining how the central policy of this article
will be served by making the proposed transfer of development rights; and
(e) Such other or further information as the Town Plan Commission,
Town Board, Town Engineer or Town Attorney shall require.
E. Densities allowed pursuant to transfer of development rights.
In a receiving area where subdivision is being proposed the acreage to dwelling
unit ratio may be increased by transfer of development rights as follows:
(1) On the sixty-percent area of a 40/60 farm plan or the
fifty-percent area of a 50/50 farm plan proposed to be more densely subdivided,
and if the lots or dwelling units will be served by individual wells and septic
systems, the density ratio in the receiving area shall be no less than 1.5
acres per dwelling unit, and each individual lot shall have a minimum size of
one acre.
(2) On the sixty-percent area of a 40/60 farm plan or the
fifty-percent area of a 50/50 farm plan proposed to be more densely subdivided
and if the lots or dwelling units will be served by municipal or equivalent
private water and waste treatment facilities, the density ratio in the
receiving area shall be no less than 1.50 acres per dwelling unit, and each
individual lot shall have a minimum size of .25 acre. The Town Engineer shall
determine municipal equivalence for purposes of this requirement.
(3) On the forty-percent area of a 40/60 farm plan or the fifty-percent
area of a 50/50 farm plan proposed to be less densely divided on which a
conservation easement is required pursuant to § 135-8 of this article and
unless development rights are being moved in an intrafarm transfer, limited
additional development rights may be transferred into said area up to a maximum
density ratio of one dwelling unit per six acres, and each individual lot shall
have a minimum lot size of one acre if such dwelling units will be served by
private wells and septic systems.
(4) On the forty-percent area of a 40/60 farm plan or the
fifty-percent area of a 50/50 farm plan proposed to be less densely divided on
which a conservation easement is required pursuant to § 135-8 of this article
and unless development rights are being moved in an intrafarm transfer, limited
additional development rights may be transferred into said area, up to a
maximum density ratio of one dwelling unit per six acres, and each individual
lot shall have a minimum lot size of .25 acre if such dwelling units will be
served by a municipal system or an equivalent private water and waste treatment
facility. The Town Engineer shall determine municipal equivalence for purposes
of this requirement.
(5) Where subdivision activity is being proposed and a municipal system
or an equivalent private water and waste treatment facility will serve the area
to be subdivided and where said system or facility is determined by the Town
Engineer to be suitable and have adequate capacity for single-family,
multifamily or other high-density residential development, the minimum lot size
established herein may be waived by the Town Board after receiving the positive
recommendation of the Plan Commission and if the applicable density ratio
remains unchanged.
F. Criteria for issuing TDR permits. In acting on TDR permit
applications the Town Board shall apply the general program requirements of
Subsection C and the following criteria:
(1) There must be discernable economic benefit for the owners of both
the sending and receiving areas as a result of the transfer.
(2) Only land zoned exclusive ag on July 1, 1999, and parcels 35
acres or more in size that are not so zoned but that contain areas of prime
farmland of sufficient quantity that its preservation will advance the central
policy of this article can send development rights.
(3) Land zoned exclusive ag on July 1, 1999, can receive development
rights where the central policy of this article and the purposes of the TDR
program are served by the incoming transfer.
(4) Receiving areas shall not be located on prime farmland unless the
receiving permit applicant demonstrates that the purposes of this program are
better served as a result of the transfer being proposed.
(5) Areas zoned conservancy cannot receive development rights.
(6) Development rights shall not be transferred into previously
created outlots or major or minor subdivision lots.
(7) All the design standards and other criteria of this article apply
to the receiving area as it is platted and the plat or CSM is processed by the
Town.
G. Delivery and recording of TDR permits and conservation
easements.
(1) Removing development rights from sending area.
(a) A conservation easement in favor of and enforceable by the Town
shall be executed and recorded to remove development rights from sending areas
by prohibiting further subdivision and residential, commercial or industrial
development on the affected area, in perpetuity. The conservation easement
shall be drafted by the Town Attorney, shall contain restrictions in compliance
with this article and shall be executed by all current owners of the encumbered
land, approved by all affected mortgagees and entered into by any person or
entity with whom or which the owners have entered into an executed purchase
agreement. Parties who acquire such interests after the easement is delivered
to the Town but before it is recorded shall also execute the conservation
easement. The owner(s) shall disclose this requirement to such parties, shall
promptly report such transfers of interest to the Town Clerk-Treasurer in
writing and shall cause such parties to execute any such conservation easement.
The grant of a conservation easement executed by all such parties is a
condition of Town final plat approval and of the issuance of any permit for the
transfer of development rights from a sending area.
(b) The conservation easement is effective upon delivery and shall
be recorded immediately following completion of any necessary related rezoning
activity by St. Croix County.
(c) The TDR permit affecting the sending area being encumbered by a
conservation easement shall be separately issued and recorded by the Town at or
before the recording of the conservation easement.
(2) Transferring development rights to receiving area.
(a) A Town permit to transfer development rights to a designated
receiving area shall be separately issued in recordable form at the time of
Town approval of the final plat or certified survey map to which the
development rights are being transferred.
(b) The TDR permit shall be recorded contemporaneously with the
final plat or certified survey map and shall serve to authorize the subdivision
of land at densities greater than what would otherwise be allowed under this
article.
(3) Holding development rights. A Town permit for holding development
rights not being immediately transferred to a receiving area shall be issued
contemporaneously with the recording of the conservation easement removing the
development rights from the sending area. A TDR permit to hold development
rights does not need to be recorded. Separate Town approval of a TDR permit to
transfer development rights being so held into a receiving area must be sought
at the time the rights are planned for use on a specific parcel of land.
§ 135-10. Letter of credit.
A. Requirement. If the public facilities, roads and improvements
required by the Town under Town ordinances or pursuant to a developer's
agreement with the Town have not been fully installed by the time a plat is
submitted for preliminary plat approval, the developer shall file with the Town
Clerk-Treasurer an irrevocable letter of credit in favor of the Town in an
amount sufficient to fund and guarantee the performance of the developer's
obligations and make payment for any and all work to be performed by the
developer pursuant to this article or such developer's agreement. The
irrevocable letter of credit shall be in a form approved by the Town Attorney
and shall be in an amount, as determined by the Town Engineer, equal to 120% of
the estimated cost of completing such public facilities and improvements as are
being required and/or inspected by the Town, including all improvements for
which the Town will have future responsibility for maintenance or repair. The
developer's agreement shall determine when the letter of credit will be
released and may contain provisions for periodic reduction in amounts so held
as work progresses, but always under terms that fully protect the Town's
interests at the time. Town ordinances also exist requiring developers to pay
certain costs of the Town incurred in application review and inspection, to
deposit funds with the Town for this purpose and requiring that developer's
agreements be entered into with the Town.[2]
B. Drawing upon the letter of credit. If at any time the developer
is in default under this article in any aspect of its developer's agreement
with the Town; or the developer does not complete the installation of its
improvements within the time established in the developer's agreement, unless
otherwise extended by agreement or action of the Town Board; or the letter of
credit on file with the Town is dated to expire in the next 60 days and has not
been extended, renewed or replaced and delivered to the Town by the developer;
or the developer otherwise fails to maintain the letter of credit in the amount
approved by the Town Engineer and agreed to in the developer's agreement to pay
the costs of improvements in the subdivision, then the developer shall be
deemed to be in violation of this article, and the Town Board shall have the
authority to draw upon the letter of credit. In that event the lending
institution providing the irrevocable letter of credit shall pay to the Town
all amounts requested and available for payment under the irrevocable letter of
credit. If the irrevocable letter of credit cannot be paid to the Town upon
demand, whether in whole or in part, the Town shall be empowered, in addition
to its other remedies and without notice or hearing, to impose a special charge
for the amount of said completion costs upon each and every lot in the
development, payable with the next succeeding tax roll.
§ 135-11. Conditions for Town acceptance of
improvements.
The Town's acceptance of
all proposed public facilities or improvements, its approval of all stormwater
management or other facilities for which private homeowners' associations will
assume responsibility and the proper construction and installation thereof
shall be contingent on concept plan, preliminary plat, final plat and/or
certified survey map review and approval, on the entry of Town and landowner
into a developer's agreement, on the project passing all necessary inspections
and on compliance with the appropriate recommendations by the Town Engineer.
All costs and expenses incurred regarding the Town Engineer's oversight of such
development projects shall be borne by the landowner and developer.
§ 135-12. Exceptions to design standards.
A. Because subdivision dwelling unit density ratios, lot size
standards and the amount of acres required to be protected as open acres or
under conservation easement are central to the regulations of subdivision
design in the Town, no application for exceptions to design standards to the
density, lot size, open acre or conservation easement area requirements in this
article will be considered or approved except as specifically authorized in §
135-9 of this article.
B. An applicant may petition the Town of Troy for exceptions to
design standards as to the other regulations contained in this article.
C. Criteria used in considering requests for exceptions to design
standards shall include but not be limited to:
(1) Consistency of proposed exceptions to design standards with
policies underlying the subdivision standards of this article and other
relevant policies and ordinances of the Town.
(2) Effect of proposed exceptions to design standards on surrounding
property values.
(3) Effect of proposed exceptions to design standards on the
neighborhood, pedestrian and vehicular traffic and general safety of Town
residents.
(4) Mitigating topographic features of specific area in which the
exception is requested, measured against policies and requirements of this
article.
(5) Where conveyance of land for public purposes will result in
otherwise substandard lots.
§ 135-13. Violations and penalties.
Any activity which fails
to meet the requirements of this article or that violates state statutes shall
be a violation of this article regardless of knowledge of or intent to violate
and shall subject the party or parties responsible for noncompliance to an
action for an injunction requiring that the condition constituting the
violation be ceased or cured and that remedial actions to achieve compliance be
undertaken and/or a forfeiture in an amount as set by the Town Board, plus actual
costs of prosecution. The amount of the forfeiture shall be as set forth in
Chapter 39, Citations. Each day during which such violation exists is a
separate offense. In addition, the Town Board may order an assessor's plat
pursuant to the provision of § 70.27, Wis. Stats., at the expense of the
subdivider whenever the conditions specified in that section are found to
exist. No building permits shall be issued concerning any lot created in
violation of any requirement of this article.
ARTICLE II
Fences
[Adopted
8-12-1980 by Ord. No. 80-1]
§ 135-14. Applicability.
This article applies to
all land subdivisions which the Town Board of the Town of Troy is required to
pass upon and approve by virtue of state law [§§ 236.02(8) and 236.10, Wis.
Stats.], by virtue of the St. Croix County Subdivision Ordinance, or by virtue
of Article I, Subdivision Regulations, of this chapter or other ordinances.
This article applies to land subdivisions which are brought for Town approval
after the effective date of this article. It does not apply retroactively to
previously approved subdivisions.
§ 135-15. Fence required where subdivision area abuts
farmland. [Amended 7-13-1987]
Unless specifically waived
by the Town Board in the course of its review of a land subdivision, it shall
be a mandatory condition for all subdivisions that the subdivider construct a
legal fence (as defined in § 90.02, Wis. Stats.) along all portions of the
perimeter of the subdivision area that abut farmlands or lands on which farm
animals are kept. Such fence shall be competently constructed and shall be
completed prior to the sale of any lots in the subdivision.
§ 135-16. Maintenance of fence.
Such fence shall be
maintained, repaired or rebuilt as conditions warrant, so long as the lands
adjoining such fence are in farm use or in a use which involves the keeping of
farm animals. Sections 90.10 and 90.11, Wis. Stats., shall govern compulsory
repairs and costs of repairs of such fences. Partitioning of the cost of
maintenance of such fences shall be governed by § 90.05(2), Wis. Stats., under
which an undivided 1/2 of the fence is maintained by the owners of the adjacent
nonsubdivided lands and 1/2 is maintained by the owners of the adjoining
subdivided lands with the cost divided among them in equal shares.
§ 135-17. Notation on map or plat.
The subdivider shall make
a notation on the face of the certified survey map or final plat to the effect
that the perimeter fence is one governed by this article and that the owners of
the adjoining lots share in maintenance responsibilities in order to put lot
purchasers on notice.
ARTICLE III
Developer's
Agreement
[Adopted
6-8-1998 by Ord. No. 98-1; amended in its entirety 5-12-2003]
§ 135-18. Purpose and authority.
A. This article is enacted to ensure that public improvements that
are proposed to be made in the Town of Troy due to proposed subdivision and
land development activity will be designed and constructed in conformity with
Town, county and state laws by requiring that developers agree to design and
install public improvements at the developer's expense and in conformity with
all applicable governmental regulations, that adequate provisions are made by
the developer for the future maintenance of stormwater management and erosion
control devices by benefited landowners, and that the health, safety and
welfare of Town residents and taxpayers are not unnecessarily affected by
subdivision and development activity in the Town.
B. Accordingly, and under the authority of the Town under §§
60.10(2)(c), 61.34, 61.35, 62.23, 236.13, and 236.45 and the remainder of Ch.
236, Wis. Stats., the Town Board of the Town of Troy does hereby ordain that
anyone proposing to create parcels of land in a manner that will result in the
subdivision of land as defined by § 236.02(12), Wis. Stats., or in Article I,
Subdivision Regulations, of this chapter or that will result in the creation of
a certified survey map (CSM) as defined and regulated by § 236.34, Wis. Stats.,
or in Article I, Subdivision Regulations, of this chapter shall enter into a
developer's agreement with the Town as a condition of the Town's preliminary
plat or CSM approval and in accordance with the requirements of this article
and Article I, Subdivision Regulations, and Article IV, Recovery of Town Costs,
of this chapter.
§ 135-19. Circumstances under which agreement is
required.
Anyone proposing to create
a certified survey map or a subdivision in the Town of Troy shall enter into a
developer's agreement with the Town if the development being proposed will
create or affect public improvements, whether already built or proposed to be
built and dedicated to the Town, or if erosion control or stormwater management
devices will be permanently installed and drain or affect stormwater drainage
from areas other than the individual lot on which such devices will be located.
§ 135-20. Components.
A. The developer's agreement shall identify all individuals or
business entities holding an ownership interest in the subject property or
holding an interest under an executed purchase agreement at the time the
developer's agreement is executed. The developer's agreement shall also be
executed and acknowledged by current and known future mortgagees and shall be
binding on the successors and assigns of the named developers, owners and
mortgagees.
B. The developer's agreement shall contain a full and accurate
description of the area being subdivided.
C. The developer's agreement shall address all exceptions to design
standards being sought or being granted by the Town and affecting the area
being subdivided.
D. The developer's agreement shall require that an irrevocable
letter of credit be posted with and in favor of the Town if all public
improvements called for in the plat or CSM are not fully installed and accepted
by the Town by the time a plat receives preliminary plat approval or when a
certified survey map is finally approved. The developer's agreement shall
address whether and when said irrevocable letter of credit can be released and
shall further require the developer to take all steps necessary to maintain the
letter of credit in the Town's possession and not to allow it to expire.
E. The developer's agreement shall disclose and confirm relevant
details regarding the developer's insurance, warranties, continuing maintenance
requirements and responsibilities and other contracts and agreements affecting
the subject property.
F. Where any platted area in a subdivision or CSM will serve as
open or buffer space and be jointly maintained and controlled by the owners of
the platted lots or where erosion control or stormwater management devices will
be installed in the area being subdivided that will require ongoing
maintenance, the developer's agreement shall require that a homeowners'
association be created with membership on an equal basis of all platted lots
not commonly owned and on an equal basis, that association bylaws be developed
and that a restrictive covenant or other perpetual, binding legal device be
employed that will create, administer and enforce the collective
responsibilities of the individual members of said homeowners' association
concerning commonly held areas and/or erosion control or stormwater management
devices.
G. A developer's agreement shall contain measures to protect the
investments and expectations of existing and future lot owners against
unilateral changes in the organizational or governing documents of a
homeowners' association by a developer so long as the subject area is under the
developer's control by requiring advance Town approval of material changes to
the homeowners' association bylaws or restrictive covenants from the time the
developer's agreement is executed until a majority of the lots are conveyed to
individual homeowners.
H. The developer's agreement and its exhibits shall contain
information regarding the nature, extent, design, construction, quantity,
location and other relevant characteristics, in such detail as requested by the
Town, concerning all planned public infrastructure improvements, including but
not limited to sanitary sewer service, water service, public ways and roads,
suggested speed limits, culs-de-sac, intersections and road connection,
stormwater and erosion control measures, parks, berms, plantings, ponds,
streams, paths, lighting, monumentation, outbuildings and all other public
improvements that may be proposed by a developer or required by then existing
state, county or Town statutes, regulations or ordinances.
I. The developer's agreement shall contain the developer's
representation concerning intended subdivision design standards and home price
ranges and its agreement to maintain such standards through buildout of the
subdivision.
J. The developer's agreement shall address the timing of joint
driveway paving, shall require shared maintenance agreements concerning shared
driveways and shall address the control and removal of debris and rubbish
during initial construction on lots being created.
K. The developer's agreement shall refer to or include as exhibits
the following information:
(1) Preliminary plat;
(2) Final plat, to be added once approved and recorded;
(3) Road design and construction plans;
(4) Stormwater calculations and plans;
(5) Irrevocable letter of credit (photocopy);
(6) Construction schedule with cost estimates for all earthmoving and
public improvements, to be replaced by the developer with accepted bid amounts
as soon as available;
(7) Homeowners' association articles of incorporation and bylaws,
where required;
(8) Homeowners' association and any other restrictive covenants,
where required;
(9) Copies of the documents officially creating any developer
business entity that holds or will hold title to the property while the plat or
CSM lots are initially developed and/or built;
(10) Conservation easements, where required;
(11) Town permits for any incoming transfer of development rights that
will operate to create greater dwelling unit densities in the subject
subdivision than would be allowed under Article I, Subdivision Regulations, of
this chapter without a transfer of development rights; and
(12) Other project-related information as required by the Town.
L. The developer's agreement shall require the developer to pay
all of the Town's professional fees and expenses related to the developer's
agreement.
M. The developer's agreement may also address areas not included in
this article or otherwise expressly required by law but that are nonetheless
mutually agreeable to the developer and the Town and which promote the public
health, safety and welfare of the residents and taxpayers of the Town of Troy.
A developer's refusal to agree to such items if requested by the Town shall not
serve as the sole basis for rejection of a plat or certified survey map by the
Town.
§ 135-21. Time frame for execution and delivery of
agreement.
A. For a major subdivision, the developer's agreement shall be
executed and delivered to the Town Board prior to preliminary plat approval.
B. For certified survey maps, the developer's agreement shall be
executed and delivered to the Town Board prior to its final approval of said
map.
C. Failure to execute and deliver a developer's agreement to the
Town within 90 days of the time of valid submission of an application to the
Town Board for CSM or preliminary plat approval shall be grounds for rejection
of said application by the Town unless the time is extended by written
agreement with the developer.
§ 135-22. Violations and penalties.
A. Anyone commencing the construction of any public improvements in
an area for which preliminary plat approval has been requested and anyone
causing or attempting to cause a plat or a certified survey map to be recorded
without first executing a developer's agreement with the Town shall pay a
forfeiture in an amount as set by the Town Board plus the Town's legal fees and
costs of prosecution. The amount of the forfeiture shall be as set forth in
Chapter 39, Citations. Each day during which such violation exists constitutes
a separate offense. Noncompliance with this article shall also constitute
grounds for any injunction or other appropriate action or proceeding to stop a
violation of any provision of this article. No building permit shall be issued
for any lot in any area for which a developer's agreement is required and has
not been executed by all required parties. These penalties are in addition to
any other penalties provided by law.
B. A developer's unilateral and material change of any portion of
a homeowners' association governing document or restrictive covenants in a
manner that has the potential to adversely affect the aesthetic, value or other
expectations of current or future lot owners other than those of the developer
shall constitute grounds for the Town to withhold further building permits in
the subdivision affected until the change has been removed or modified to the
satisfaction of the Town.
ARTICLE IV
Recovery
of Town Costs
[Adopted
6-8-1998 by Ord. No. 98-2; amended in its entirety 5-12-2003]
§ 135-23. Findings, purpose and authority.
The Town Board finds that
as land development activity in the Town continues, residential densities
increase and farming activity continues, it is increasingly important to
acquire ongoing access to and services of competent planning, engineering and
legal professionals with the technical expertise needed to best evaluate the
effect of proposed subdivision activity in the Town on the health, safety and
welfare of Town residents and on area farming activities and the impact of said
proposals on existing residences, farms, businesses and on Town infrastructure
and public facilities. The Town Board of the Town of Troy also finds that it is
necessary and appropriate to require fees to defray the Town's initial and
continuing administrative costs associated with nonfarming development and to
offset as fully as possible the costs of professional fees and charges
associated with independent, adequate and meaningful review on behalf of the
Town of such land development and subdivision activity and to shift the Town's
cost of regulating such activities to the developer. For these reasons, and
pursuant to the authority set forth in §§ 60.10, 61.34, 61.35, 62.23 and
236.13, Wis. Stats., the Town Board hereby comprehensively amends Town
Ordinance No. 98-2, as stated herein.
§ 135-24. Payment of application and review fees
required.
All landowners, developers
or agents of either proposing to undertake any activity regulated by Article I,
Subdivision Regulations, of this chapter shall pay application fees and review
fees to the Town as required and established under this article.
§ 135-25. Determination of fees.
A. Initial application fee for subdivision activity requiring Town
Board approval. The purpose of the application fee is to cover some of the
Town's initial administrative costs and costs of review by the Plan Commission,
Park Board and Town Clerk-Treasurer. At the time of first application for Town
Board approval of any farm plan, concept plan, certified survey map (CSM), or
preliminary plat or an application to transfer development rights (TDR), if not
connected with a related plat or CSM approval application, the developer shall
pay an application fee in the amount specified in the Platting and Subdivision
Fee Table. The Platting and Subdivision Fee Table shall be approved by the Town
Board when this article is enacted. The Fee Table may be separately reviewed
and revised by Town Board resolution on an annual basis. The Platting and
Subdivision Fee Table is on file with the Town Clerk-Treasurer.
B. Professional review fees.
(1) The developer shall also pay professional review fees equal to
the actual cost to the Town for fees and disbursements incurred by it for
professional review of any farm plan, concept plan, preliminary plat, final
plat, certified survey map or separate application to transfer development
rights. “Professional review” is the independent review of such plans or
proposals on behalf of the Town by its employees, agents and consultants,
including, without limitation by way of enumeration, planners, engineers,
surveyors, attorneys and any other professional employees or consultants
consulted by the Town with respect to consideration of subdivision-related
activity. Professional review activities for which the developer is responsible
include but are not limited to the following:
(a) Initial and continuing review of farm plans, concept plans, TDR
applications, preliminary plats, final plats or certified survey maps and
associated engineering plans and specifications.
(b) Inspection of the site and public improvements, stormwater
management and erosion control devices as and after such improvements and
devices are constructed.
(c) Drafting or other preparation of any written opinions, advice
and suggestions related to or necessitated by the developer's subdivision
proposal and related activities.
(d) Drafting and preparation of any ordinances, resolutions,
contracts, agreements and other documents with respect thereto.
(e) Attendance by the Town's professionals as requested at public
meetings or hearings and telephone and actual conferences with them.
(f) Any other professional services and disbursements charged to
the Town and necessitated by the developer's submission of a farm plan, concept
plan, TDR application, preliminary plat, final plat or certified survey map
and/or the related construction of public improvements and stormwater
management, erosion or sediment control measures by the developer.
(2) At the time the developer first submits a farm plan or concept
plan or application for Town approval of TDR, preliminary plat, final plat or
certified survey map, whatever is first submitted with reference to a specific
development project, the developer shall deposit with the Town Clerk-Treasurer
the professional review deposit amount then required by the Platting and
Subdivision Fee Table. An initial professional review fee deposit may be based
on a per-lot or flat-fee basis. Amounts from the developer's deposits shall
then be disbursed by the Clerk-Treasurer to pay for the Town's professional
review fees and expenses as incurred by the Town on an ongoing basis. If the
initial deposit amount is inadequate for such fees and expenses, the
Clerk-Treasurer may require an additional deposit at any time. Later
professional review fee deposits, if required, shall be set at up to 80% of the
initial deposit. The Clerk-Treasurer is authorized to collect a smaller later
professional review fee deposit if appropriate under the circumstances. More
than one later professional review fee deposit may be required. Notice that the
developer must now provide additional funds for later professional review fee
deposit shall be mailed by the Clerk-Treasurer to the developer or developer's
agent at least one week prior to the time the deposit is due. The
Clerk-Treasurer shall report on a monthly basis to the Plan Commission and to
the developer the amount on deposit for all ongoing subdivision projects and
whether additional funds are being deposited as required. Failure to make an
initial professional review fee deposit as required or to deposit additional
professional review fees upon written request of the Clerk-Treasurer shall
operate as a request by the developer for the withdrawal of the application for
Town approval of the development project or activity for which professional
review fees have been requested.
(3) Upon final Town approval of a plat or certified survey map,
acceptance of all public improvements built and dedicated to the public as part
of the subdivision activity and payment of all related professional review fees
and expenses of the Town, any remaining professional review fee amounts on
deposit with the Town shall be returned to the developer. This shall not in any
way operate to prevent the Town from collecting additional professional
expenses that the Town may subsequently incur that are associated with the
development project or activity.
C. An administrative fee shall be paid to the Town to offset its ongoing
administrative maintenance, review and compliance monitoring costs. The fee
shall be 15% of the professional review fees for a specific project and shall
be billed by the Town Clerk-Treasurer on a continuing, monthly basis.
D. The Town's approval of any final plat or certified survey map shall at all times be subject to and contingent on the full and prompt payment by the developer of all professional review fees and disbursements and administrative fees as required herein. If the Town incurs professional review fees and expenses that exceed the amounts on deposit or that are paid by the Town after release of the deposit, the developer shall reimburse the Town for the amounts so paid within 20 days after the Clerk-Treasurer mails a statement to the developer or developer's agent. Overdue administrative fees shall be included in the statement. If the statement is not timely paid, the developer shall be deemed to be in violation of this article and of any developer's agreement concerning the subject area. With the agreement of the developer, administrative fees due may also be deducted from amounts held under a letter of credit and not needed for the primary purpose of said letter of credit. In addition to the remedies contained or referred to in the developer's agreement, no Town permits of any kind shall be issued (including building permits) until such statement has been paid, and any Town permits already issued concerning the subject area shall be deemed suspended. If such amounts go unpaid, they may also be assessed back against all property in the plat or CSM for which review was undertaken as a special charge under § 66.0627, Wis. Stats., or from amounts being held by the Town under any letter of credit concerning the subject development project.