Rights of property owners would be expanded to have a larger degree of control over areas of land on or near waterways under a package of proposals from Republican lawmakers.
State Sen. Frank Lasee, R-DePere, and state Rep. Adam Jarchow, R-Balsam Lake, released a property rights package plan Monday. The two bills would lessen the power government agency regulations have over private property owners.
The private property proposal would affect navigable waters, artificial water bodies and wetlands. Specifically, the bill package would reduce regulations of dry lake beds, ditches and man-made waterways, as well as increasing transparency about the actions local governments take that would affect private lands and buildings.
Lasee and Jarchow emphasized the need to remain competitive with other states in the use of natural resources.
"In Wisconsin, we have seen an increasing number of homeowners and job creators mired in court battles over permit and regulatory disputes because Wisconsin statutes are unclear and our regulatory environment remains uncertain," the legislators said in a memo seeking co-sponsorship. "Wisconsin can and should do better."
The proposals would place limitations on the state Department of Natural Resources, including reducing its ability to qualify land as an area of scientific value. Additionally, the bill will give exemptions for having to obtain a permit for discharging hazardous waste or toxic substances into wetlands.
Under current law, the state of Wisconsin holds legal rights to navigable waters in trust for public purposes, which has traditionally meant ownership of lake beds up to the ordinary high-water mark. The bill would change this provision to broaden rights of private property owners to include property near rivers.
The bill aims to strip away many of the complications private property owners face when they make developments to their property.
“How can Wisconsin be open for business when every time a job creator applies for a permit they wind up in court because Wisconsin laws aren’t clear enough?” Lasee said in a statement. “We can do better.”
