2010AP2398 Zwiefelhofer v. Town of Cooks Valley

2010AP178 Adams Outdoor Advertising, L.P., v. County of Dane

2011AP663 Guse v. City of New Berlin

2011AP93 Town of Buchanan v. Village of Kimberly

2011AP340 Mohs, et al. v City of Madison, et al.

2010AP2305 Guerrero v. City of Kenosha Housing Authority

Municipalities Liquor licenses

Municipalities Liquor licenses; suspension; notice and hearing; sufficiency of the evidence

Municipalities liquor licenses; revocation; due process

Municipalities Zoning variances; appeal

Municipalities Boating ordinances; publication; public hearings

Municipalities Raze orders

Municipalities Governmental immunity

Municipalities Public highways; acting together

Municipalities Liquor licenses

Municipalities Zoning; conditional use permits

Municipalities Emergency response

Municipalities Noise ordinances

Municipalities Drainage boards; assessments The Village of Little Chute appeals from a judgment upholding upon certiorari review a reassessment by the Outagamie County Drainage Board for maintenance costs related to the Vandenbroek drainage district. The Village argues the reassessment rates were arbitrary, inequitable and disproportionate to benefits accruing from the project. We affirm. This opinion will not be published. 2010AP2159 ...

Municipalities Property return Lonnie Sweetalla appeals orders denying his motion for the return of property and the motion for reconsideration that followed. Because Sweetalla had no right to possess firearms at the time he filed his motions, we affirm. This opinion will not be published. 2010AP1631 In re the Return of Property in: State v. Sweetalla Dist I, Milwaukee County, ...

Municipalities Special assessments; statute of limitations An aggrieved property owner must strictly comply with the 90-day period of appeal in sec. 66.0703(12)(a) or forfeit the right to appeal. “The legislature has explicitly directed that an appeal under Wis. Stat. § 66.0703(12) is the ‘sole remedy’ of a property owner aggrieved by a special assessment levied under § 66.0703: An appeal ...

Municipalities Special assessments A recreational trail is not a local improvement for which a municipality may levy special assessments. “The Hildebrands successfully rebutted any presumption of the validity of the assessment and showed that the primary purpose of the trail—to complete the trail system in Winnebago county—confers a general, not local, benefit under the law. Assuming, for the sake of ...

Municipalities Competitive bidding An unsuccessful bidder for a municipal contract is not required to seek injunctive relief before suing to recover the costs for preparing the bid. “Accepting the rule proposed by the Town would foreclose judicial review in a case, like this one, where the municipality violates the competitive bidding statute but quickly signs a contract and directs the ...

Municipalities Sex offender registries; grandfather clauses A registered sex offender who may stay at one residence pursuant to a grandfather clause may not move to another residence within the residency restriction. “[I]f this court were to interpret the Village Ordinance’s grandfather clause to apply to Ferguson as an individual instead of his residence, the purpose of the Village Ordinance would ...

Municipalities Judicial review Where the language of a municipality’s ordinance appears to be unique and does not parrot a state statute but rather was drafted by the municipality in an effort to address a local concern, courts should defer to the municipality’s interpretation if it is reasonable. “A central consideration in administrative agency cases is whether the agency has been ...

Municipalities Annexation; standing Highway J Citizens Group (HJCG) appeals from a judgment dismissing its complaint challenging the annexation of property in the Town of Polk by the Village of Richfield. The circuit court determined that HJCG lacked standing to challenge the annexation. HJCG argues it has standing because the annexation causes its members pecuniary injury and some of its members ...

Municipalities Discontinuation of alleys; standing A property owner whose property does not abut a discontinued alley has no standing to challenge the discontinuance. “Even though he does not assert that any of the objectors’ land abuts the  discontinued segments, Smerz argues that he nonetheless has standing because of  a single sentence in § 66.1003(3): ‘The beginning and ending of an ...

Municipalities Liquor licenses Darlene Sense was convicted of violating a municipal ordinance that prohibits refusal to permit inspection of premises that are subject to a liquor license. Sense argues she could not be found guilty of the ordinance violation because: (1) she was cited for an action not contemplated by the ordinance; (2) there was insufficient proof she violated the ...

Municipalities Notice of claim Thomas Vitrano, pro se, appeals the dismissal of his small claims action against the Milwaukee Police Department for return of property taken during the execution of a search warrant. Because we conclude that Vitrano failed to name a suable defendant and failed to properly file a notice of his claim, we affirm. This opinion will not ...

Municipalities Zoning; certiorari Certiorari review of a zoning decision must be sought against the zoning board of appeals, not the municipality. “Looking first at the city planning statute, Wis. Stat. § 62.23(7)(e)10. provides: Any person or persons, jointly or severally aggrieved by any decision of the board of appeals, or any taxpayer, or any officer, department, board or bureau of ...