Section 293.41. Local agreements.

 

(1)  A county, town, village, city or tribal government that requires an operator to obtain an approval or permit under a zoning or land use ordinance and a county, town, village or city in which any portion of a proposed mining site is located may, individually or in conjunction with other counties, towns, villages, cities, or tribal governments, enter into one or more agreements with an operator for the development of a mining operation.

(2)  An agreement under sub. (1) shall include all of the following:

(a) A legal description of the land subject to the agreement and the names of its legal and equitable owners.

(b) The duration of the agreement.

(c) The uses permitted on the land.

(d) A description of any conditions, terms, restrictions or other requirements determined to be necessary by the county, town, village, city or tribal government for the public health, safety or welfare of its residents.

(e) A description of any obligation undertaken by the county, town, village, city or tribal government to enable the development to proceed.

(f) The applicability or nonapplicability of county, town, village, city or tribal ordinances, approvals or resolutions.

(g) A provision for the amendment of the agreement.

(h) Other provisions deemed reasonable and necessary by the parties to the agreement.

(3)  A county, town, village, city or tribal government may authorize the local impact committee appointed under s. 293.33 to negotiate an agreement under this section, but the agreement may not take effect until approved by the county, town, village, city or tribal government in accordance with sub. (4) . 

(4)  The county, town, village, city or tribal government shall hold a public hearing on an agreement under sub. (1) before its adoption. Notice of the hearing shall be provided as a class 2 notice, under ch. 985 . After the public hearing, the governing body of each county, town, village, city or tribal government which is to be a party to the agreement must approve the agreement in a public meeting of the governing body.

(5)  A state agency shall assist a county, town, village, city or tribal government in enforcing those provisions of a local agreement that are within the expertise of the state agency.

1987 a. 399 ; 1991 a. 259 ; 1995 a. 227 s. 763 ; Stats. 1995 s. 293.41. This section is an express delegation to towns of the power to enter into local agreements with mining companies, creating an exemption to general zoning statutes. When a town negotiates under this section, it has only local zoning permits and approvals to give the mining company in exchange for the mining company addressing its land-use concerns. Nicolet Minerals Company v. Town of Nashville, 2002 WI App 50 , 250 Wis. 2d 831 , 641 N.W.2d 497 , 01-1339 .