A. 
Intent.
(1) 
The purpose of this chapter is to regulate and control the division of land within the City of New Berlin in order to promote the public health, safety, prosperity, aesthetics and general welfare of the City, and to protect the natural, agricultural, and cultural resources, wildlife travel corridors, and scenic viewsheds from public roads, as identified and mapped in the City's Comprehensive Plan.
(2) 
Further purposes, particularly with respect to conservation subdivisions, include utilizing conservation design to encourage restoration of previously drained wetlands, reforesting former woodlands, replanting native species grasses and wildflowers in reclaimed prairies, and utilizing stormwater management strategies to replenish aquifers and to recharge groundwater supplies through infiltration measures, and to minimize surface runoff, wherever feasible.
(3) 
In addition, conservation subdivision design is recognized as a practical tool to help protect interconnected networks of open space, to protect water resources, to sustain a diversity of native vegetation and wildlife, and to help establish substantial buffers along boundaries with scenic roadways, existing protected land, and actively worked farmland.
B. 
It is the general intent of this chapter to regulate the division of land so as to:
(1) 
Obtain the wise use, conservation, protection, and proper development of the City's soil, water, wetland, woodland, and wildlife resources and attain a proper adjustment of land use and development to the supporting and sustaining natural resource base;
(2) 
Implement the objectives and policies of the City's Comprehensive Plan;
(3) 
Lessen congestion in the streets and highways;
(4) 
Further the orderly layout and appropriate use of land;
(5) 
Secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers;
(6) 
Provide adequate light and air;
(7) 
Prevent the overcrowding of land;
(8) 
Avoid undue concentration of population;
(9) 
Facilitate adequate provision for housing, transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, playgrounds, and other public requirements;
(10) 
Secure safety from flooding, water pollution, disease, and other hazards;
(11) 
Prevent flood damage to persons and properties and minimize expenditures for flood relief and flood control projects;
(12) 
Prevent and control erosion, sedimentation, and other pollution of surface and subsurface waters;
(13) 
Preserve natural vegetation and cover and promote the natural beauty of the City;
(14) 
Restrict building sites on floodlands, areas covered by poor soils, or in other areas poorly suited for development;
(15) 
Facilitate the further division of larger tracts into smaller parcels of land;
(16) 
Promote monumenting of land subdivided and conveyancing by accurate legal description;
(17) 
Ensure adequate legal description and proper survey monumentation of subdivided land;
(18) 
Provide for the administration and enforcement of this chapter; and
(19) 
Provide penalties for its violation.
These regulations shall be held to be minimum requirements adopted for the promotion of the public health, safety, convenience, and general welfare of the City. The regulations are not intended to repeal, abrogate, annul or in any manner interfere with any existing laws, covenants or rules, provided that, should these regulations impose a greater restriction than is provided by existing laws, covenants or rules, these regulations shall prevail. The word "shall" is always mandatory and the words "may" or "should" are always permissive and at the discretion of the City unless otherwise noted.
A. 
Terms. The Developer's Handbook and Developer's Agreement shall have the same meaning as the Development Handbook and the Development Agreement and are used interchangeably throughout various City documents.
A. 
No land within the City shall be divided by a subdivision plat or certified survey map nor shall any such documents be entitled to be recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds, nor may any streets be laid out, nor may any improvements be made to the land, until the provisions of this chapter and Chapter 236, Wisconsin Statutes, are met and the plat of the subdivision shall have been approved by the Plan Commission and the Common Council and certified thereto by the City Clerk.
B. 
Any division of lots in a subdivision recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds of Waukesha County shall be surveyed in accordance with the provisions of § 236.34, Wis. Stats. No lands involving a division of lots in a recorded subdivision shall be sold until the survey thereof has been approved by the Plan Commission, the Common Council, and a final certified survey map (CSM) or final subdivision plat is recorded in the Waukesha County Register of Deeds' office. The description of the lands provided by such survey shall, after approval by the Plan Commission and the Common Council, be used in all conveyancing for all purposes, including assessment, taxation, devise, descent, and conveyance as defined in § 706.01, Wis. Stats. Any division of land, other than a subdivision as defined in § 236.02(12), Wis. Stats., shall be surveyed and a certified survey map prepared and recorded as provided in § 236.34, Wis. Stats.
C. 
No building permit shall be issued, within the control of this chapter, for the building on or the tentative improvement of any parcel of land not of record on July 7, 1962, until the requirements of this chapter have been met.
D. 
This chapter shall not apply to:
(1) 
Transfer of interest in land by will or pursuant to court order.
(2) 
Leases for a term not to exceed 10 years, mortgages or easements.
(3) 
Sale or exchange of parcels of land between owners of adjoining properties, if additional lots are not thereby created and if the resulting lots are not reduced below the minimum sizes required by Chapter 236, Wisconsin Statutes, or any ordinance of the City. A revised plat of survey shall be filed with the Department of Community Development.
Any division of land, other than a subdivision as defined in § 236.02, Wis. Stats., shall be surveyed and a Certified Survey Map prepared and recorded as provided in § 236.34, Wis. Stats. Such land divisions shall also follow all § 235-15.1 and other applicable procedures set forth in this chapter.
A. 
No development prior to approval. No person proposing a subdivision or in the process of developing a subdivision shall proceed with any construction work on the proposed subdivision, including grading or erosion control, until obtaining written approval of a preliminary plat from the Common Council, all construction plans have been reviewed and approved, and a development agreement has been executed.
B. 
No sale prior to approval. Any developer, applicant, or subdivider who conveys any lot within a subdivision may be subject to the full penalties of the law in accordance with § 236.31, Wis. Stats. The only exception shall be if the developer, applicant, or subdivider has submitted a preliminary or final plat to the City Clerk for review and any offer or contract states on its face that it is contingent upon the approval of the final plat and shall be void if such plat is not approved.
C. 
Compliance with regulations required. No subdivision of land shall be permitted unless in accordance with these regulations and Chapter 236, Wisconsin Statutes.
Land subject to flooding and land deemed by the Director of Community Development or his/her designee to be unsuitable for human habitation because of health or sanitary problems shall not be platted for residential occupancy, nor for such other uses as may involve danger to health, life or property, or as may aggravate a flood hazard, but such land within the plat shall be set aside for such uses as are appropriate to the existing conditions.
If a court of competent jurisdiction declares any part of this chapter to be invalid or unenforceable, that ruling shall not affect any other provisions of this chapter not specifically included in that ruling.