News


PIER GRANDFATHERING DEADLINE IS APPROACHING,
By Tom Larson

Waterfront property owners with larger, existing piers have until April 1, 2011 to register their piers with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) if they want to grandfather their piers from future DNR enforcement actions due to noncompliance with new pier size standards.

BACKGROUND

On April 1, 2007, Governor Doyle signed into law the Pier Protection Act (2007 Wisconsin Act 204), legislation that grandfathers 99% of all existing piers from future regulations.

The new law became necessary after dimensional standards for piers were added to the Wisconsin Statutes for the first time in 2004. While these new standards were intended to apply only to new piers (those installed for the first time after 2004), attempts were made by some regulators to apply them retroactively to existing piers. As a result, thousands of existing piers could have been declared illegal and been forced to be removed or downsized.

With the enactment of the Pier Protection Act, waterfront property owners with existing piers now have clear standards as to what size of pier is allowed without obtaining a special permit from the DNR. Specifically, the new law contains three different regulatory schemes for existing piers, depending upon the size of the pier and the platform at the end of the pier. While the law itself doesn’t name the different regulatory schemes, it is easier to understand the regulations if existing piers are classified in the following manner with respect to their size—regular, big, and too big.
REGULAR PIERS

If a pier (existing or new) meets the following standards, the property owner does not need to obtain a permit or register the pier:

• Length – extends no farther than a 3-foot water depth or deep enough to moor a boat
Width – no wider than 6 feet at any point on the pier

• Platforms – a maximum 8 feet long by 8 feet wide loading platform at the end of a 6-foot-wide pier, if it is NOT located in an area of special natural resource interest (ASNRI) water body. To make this determination, visit the DNR’s website at http://www.dnr.wi.gov/org/water/dataviewer.html.

• Number of boat slips – has no more than 2 boat slips for the first 50 feet of shoreline frontage, and 1 boat slip for each additional 50 feet of shoreline frontage.

• Neighbors – does not interfere with the riparian rights of other riparian owners. (Generally, this means that the pier and boat hoists do not extend beyond the owner’s property line.)

• ASNRI waters exception – is not located in an area of special natural resource interest.

BIG PIERS

If an existing pier exceeds the “regular pier” standards above, the pier may qualify for grandfathering if the following placement, size and registration requirements are met:

• Date – must have been originally placed prior to February 6, 2004

• Width – no more than 8 feet wide

• Platforms – a larger deck/platform is allowed as long as it is located at the lake ward end of the pier and the platform has a surface area of:

- 200 square feet or less (any width), or
- Between 200 square feet and 300 square feet, if the deck/platform is no wider than 10 feet.

• Neighbors – does not interfere with the riparian rights of other riparian owners.

• Registration – the pier is registered with the DNR no later than April 1, 2011. Registration forms can be obtained at http://dnr.wi.gov/waterways/permitapps/Pier_Registration_Form.pdf. (Note: Registration with the DNR is free of charge. Property owners may also choose to record the registration form with their local register of deeds.

• ASNRI waters exception – is not located in an area of special natural resource interest.

PIERS THAT ARE TOO BIG

An owner of an existing pier that exceeds the “regular pier” and “big pier” standards above can do one of the following:

• Do nothing and wait to see if the DNR brings an enforcement action against the owner;

• Modify the existing pier to bring it into compliance with the “regular pier” standards; or

• Apply for an individual permit from the WDNR (http://dnr.wi.gov/org/water/fhp/waterway/piers.html#step3). (Note – no permit fee will be imposed).

Under the new law, the WDNR must approve an application for an individual permit to keep an existing pier unless the WDNR can prove that the pier does one or more of the following:

a. Interferes with public rights in navigable waters
b. Interferes with rights of other riparians
c. Extends beyond a locally established pier head line
d. Violates a local ordinance
e. Does not allow the free movement of water underneath

If a permit has already been obtained for the existing pier, no new permit is necessary as log as the terms and conditions of the permit are followed.

For more information on pier regulations, please contact Tom Larson (tlarson@wra.org) at (608) 240-8254 or visit http://dnr.wi.gov/waterways/recreation/piers.html.

Tom Larson is Director or Regulatory and Legislative Affairs for the WRA.

Reproduced with permission from WISCONSIN REAL ESTATE magazine May 2010
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