Atty Mark Hazelbaker

The impact of the Wisconsin Supreme Court's decision in the case of Wood vs. City of Madison continues to reverberate many weeks after the opinion was released.  As you may recall, in that decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that cities and villages may object to proposed land divisions in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city or village on the basis of the adopted plans of the city or village.  In practical terms, this gives cities or villages an effective veto over land divisions and, therefore, most development in their extraterritorial areas, which is the 1 ½-mile or 3-mile area adjacent to the village or city boundary.

The Supreme Court decision was immediately hailed by city and village interests as a victory which enhanced city and village authority to control growth on their periphery.  However, for towns, the impact is decidedly negative.  The decision may
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