Opinion ID: 1877277
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: annexation condition

Text: ¶ 13. Section 236.45(2)(a) states: To accomplish the purposes listed in sub. (1), [14] any municipality, town or county which has established a planning agency may adopt ordinances governing the subdivision or other division of land which are more restrictive than the provisions of this chapter. See also Town of Sun Prairie v. Storms, 110 Wis. 2d 58, 64, 327 N.W.2d 642 (quoting Jordan v. Village Menomonee Falls, 28 Wis. 2d 608, 616, 137 N.W.2d 442 (1965), appeal dismissed, 385 U.S. 4 (1966)). Pursuant to this section, the City has adopted a more restrictive ordinance, MGO § 16.23(3)(a)6., which provides that the City may require an annexation agreement as part of the preliminary plat approval process to insure future provision of required public facilities and services. Accordingly, the key issue is whether the annexation condition, which is based on MGO § 16.23(3)(a)6., complies with § 236.45. [15] ¶ 14. Section 236.45 explicitly indicates that [t]his section . . . shall not be deemed a . . . repeal of any requirement . . . granted or appearing in this chapter or elsewhere, relating to the subdivision of lands. This language unambiguously demonstrates that the legislature did not intend to give municipalities the authority to adopt ordinances that conflict with any statute relating to the subdivision of land. As this court has explained: [Section 236.45] reserves to the city a broad area of discretion in implementing subdivision control provided that the ordinances it adopts are in accord with the general declaration of legislative intent and are not contrary, expressly or by implication, to the standards set up by the legislature. Storms, 110 Wis. 2d at 64 (quoting City of Mequon v. Lake Estates Co., 52 Wis. 2d 765, 774, 190 N.W.2d 912 (1971)) (emphasis added). ¶ 15. The legislature has set forth the standards for annexation in chapter 66. A municipality must follow these procedures, because [a] municipal corporation has no power to extend its boundaries otherwise than as provided for by legislative enactment or constitutional provision. Town of Madison v. City of Madison, 269 Wis. 609, 615, 70 N.W.2d 249 (1955). In particular, ch. 66 provides safeguards so that [n]o populated fringe area may become part of the city until the majority of electors and/or property owners in a particular area desire to annex. In re Fond du Lac Metropolitan Sewerage Dist., 42 Wis. 2d 323, 333, 166 N.W.2d 225 (1969); see also Wis. Stat. §§ 66.021(2) & 66.024. [16] [4] ¶ 16. Municipalities cannot coerce or unfairly induce an elector and/or property owner into agreeing to annexation. See Town of Lafayette v. City of Chippewa Falls, 70 Wis. 2d 610, 629, 235 N.W.2d 435 (1975) (annexation cannot be the result of any undue influence or pressure from the annexing municipality); Town of Fond du Lac v. City of Fond du Lac, 22 Wis. 2d 533, 539-40, 126 N.W.2d 201 (1964) (city cannot use economic pressure to promote annexation). As this court has stated: The signing of a petition for annexation is more than the exercise of a private right or of a property right. The right of an elector to participate in an annexation proceeding partakes of the nature of a political right analogous to voting upon the question and therefore must be the elector's individual act . . . discharging his duty in shaping and influencing this particular affair of government. . . . The signing of an annexation petition, like voting, constituting participation in a governmental process is governed by a higher standard of conduct than prevails in the marketplacevotes are not a commodity of commerce. Town of Fond du Lac, 22 Wis. 2d at 539 (citations omitted). In Town of Fond du Lac, this court held that the annexation was void because the City of Fond du Lac: (1) agreed with an elector that he would obtain the signatures of his tenants on the annexation petition; (2) agreed to permit two electors to remain in their home rent free for one year if they signed the annexation petition; (3) informed two electors that they would be evicted from their home unless they agreed to sign the annexation petition. Id. at 536-40. [5] ¶ 17. We conclude that, as in Town of Fond du Lac, the City of Madison is unduly influencing a property owner to sign an annexation petition, contrary to the safeguards provided in ch. 66. Although the City claims that it is not coercing the Hoepkers because they can refuse to sign an annexation petition and therefore not receive approval to develop their land, we do not find this argument persuasive or consider it a basis to distinguish this case from Town of Fond du Lac. If the Hoepkers signed an annexation petition because the alternative would be to leave their land undeveloped, their consent would be the product of direct economic pressure from the City, similar to the situation in Town of Fond du Lac. Thus, the City's action is improper because it denies the Hoepkers their political right to participate in an annexation proceeding by voluntarily deciding whether to support or oppose annexation. [17] See id. ¶ 18. In making this determination, we have not overlooked the City's and The League of Wisconsin Municipalities' assertion that municipalities should have authority to condition plat approval on annexation, because otherwise municipalities will be forced to approve unsewered development on their immediate fringe. While this may very well be good public policy, the question of whether municipalities should have such authority is a matter for the legislature. See Rice, 148 Wis. 2d at 91. ¶ 19. In addition, we stress that, in the present case, the City is not being forced to approve the Hoepkers' preliminary plat. If, on remand, the City determines that the land is unsuitable for the proposed development, it may reject the preliminary or final plat. See MGO § 16.23(3)(a)3. However, if the City rejects the plat on suitability grounds, it must inform the Hoepkers of the particular facts upon which it bases its conclusion, and provide them with an opportunity to present evidence regarding suitability at a public hearing. See id. ¶ 20. In sum, we hold that Wis. Stat. § 236.45 does not authorize the City to condition approval of the Hoepkers' plat on annexation, because this would be contrary to the annexation standards set forth by the legislature in ch. 66. Accordingly, conditions one, three, five, and eight of the City's conditional approval are completely invalid, and conditions two and six are invalid to the extent that they involve annexation. In addition, after this decision, the City of Madison cannot apply MGO § 16.23(3)(a)6 to require, as a condition of plat approval, a person seeking to subdivide property to annex that property to the City. However, if the subdivider and the City agree to annexation, the provisions of ch. 66 provide the necessary procedure.