Opinion ID: 1273686
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Over Thirty-Day Adjournment by The Board of Supervisors Operated As A Denial of Berschens' Application To Lay Out A Road.

Text: The Board of Supervisors met to consider Mr. Berschens' application July 10, 1974. The Board met in executive session to further consider the application on July 24, 1974. At that meeting the town attorney advised the Board that when on July 10 it adjourned to the next regular meeting scheduled for August 13, it in effect denied Mr. Berschens' application. On August 13, 34 days after the first hearing, the Board voted to deny the application. Sec. 80.06 Stats., provides: 80.06 Proceedings after notice. The supervisors shall meet at the time and place stated in their notice, and upon being satisfied that the notices required in section 80.05 have been duly given, proof of which may be shown by affidavit or otherwise as they may require, shall proceed to examine personally such highways, and shall hear any reason that may be offered for or against laying out, widening, altering or discontinuing the same, and shall decide upon the application and shall grant or refuse the same as they shall deem best for the public good; and they may adjourn from time to time, not exceeding in all 30 days from the time of the first meeting, giving public notice of the time and place of such adjournment when made, and by forthwith filing notice of such adjournment in the office of the town clerk. (Emphasis supplied) [4] The court below determined sec. 80.06 is to be read in conjunction with sec. 80.13 and that it is the legislative policy that time is of the essence so that interested parties will not be left dangling for excessive periods of time. We agree. The Board's failure to act within thirty days automatically constituted a denial of the application. In Northern States Power Company v. Hunter Bd. of Supv., 57 Wis.2d 118, 203 N.W.2d 878 (1973), this court held sec. 80.13 should be read in conjunction with another statute imposing time constraints on a board, sec. 80.07 (1), Stats. Under the reasoning of Northern States Power Company, supra, we hold sec. 80.06 and sec. 80.13 must be read together. Sec. 80.06 refers to the procedures by which the Board shall meet to consider the laying out of a highway. The meeting is set in motion under the provisions of sec. 80.13. It is the well settled law of this state that the Board in exercising its power to lay out a road must strictly comply with the statutory scheme which confers that power in order to maintain jurisdiction. Eg., Northern States Power Company, supra, 57 Wis.2d at 129, 203 N.W.2d at 884; Roberts v. Jeidy, 256 Wis. 603, 42 N.W.2d 280 (1950); State ex rel. Hewitt v. Graves, 120 Wis. 607, 98 N.W. 516 (1904); State ex rel. Giblin v. Supervisors of the Town of Union, 68 Wis. 158, 31 N.W. 482 (1887). Had the Board never met at all there would have been an automatic denial of the application within sixty days of its filing under sec. 80.17, Stats. The Board lost jurisdiction after the thirty day period under sec. 80.06. This constituted a denial of the application for which the remedy was to seek the appointment of commissioners under sec. 80.17, et. seq., Stats. Under the certiorari provided for in sec. 80.34 (2), the court could not go into the merits nor order construction of the highway. The court correctly determined the action of the Board taken on August 14 was a nullity. The proper avenue of an appeal on the merits was to request the appointment of commissioners under sec. 80.17. By the Court. Judgment and order affirmed.