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Vernon County identified as lacking subdivision regulations; presenter flags emergency‑access and well‑sewer risks
Summary
UW Extension staff said Vernon County appears among a small number of Wisconsin counties without local subdivision regulations and used Oneida County examples to show how private roads and inadequate lot design can hamper emergency response and contaminate wells.
The presenter told the commission that statewide mapping shows only a handful of counties without local subdivision (land‑division) ordinances and that "there's really only 2, Vernon being 1 of them," calling the gap noteworthy for public‑safety and environmental reasons.
Roberts described incidents where small private roads and clustered lakeshore lots created emergency‑access problems and groundwater concerns. "There were, there was a number of sheriff's officers... and ambulance... and they couldn't get their emergency vehicles up to, you know, 6 to 8 residences that were all allowed on a private road," Roberts said as an example of why local review can require road and access standards. Commissioners and the county land information officer discussed whether requiring certified survey maps (CSMs) or radius‑based review thresholds would reduce legal and safety risks.
