Pier Rules Update

Strength in numbers has never been truer than the positive response YLA members received after many of you wrote public officials regarding new state legislation on piers. You should be pleased that the strong response from current YLA members, along with other lake stakeholders, kept key provisions intact in both the Senate and Assembly versions of AB 850 that will allow for a reasonable size deck on an exempt pier and will grandfather most existing piers. The Governor, however, may veto the final bill and enforce a version that has slightly more restrictive grandfather rules. The purpose of this letter is to bring you up to date on the latest news in the ongoing pier legislation debate.

The bill passed by the legislature (AB 850) defines the rules for piers that are “exempt” from needing a permit under the law and also defines the grandfather rules for existing piers that do not qualify as “exempt”. To understand the legislation we must first discuss “exempt” piers. An exempt pier is a pier that anyone can build without a permit or registration, now or in the future.

Under the current law, enacted in February 2004, an exempt pier is:
1. Limited to 6 feet in width. Thus, an exempt pier cannot have a deck wider than 6 feet.
2. Length is limited to the 3 foot water depth or the depth necessary to use your boat or hoist, whichever is less.

The current law, enacted in February 2004, does not allow for a reasonable deck at the end of an exempt pier. YLA has been at the forefront of the lobbying effort to include modest decks for exempt piers. When the debate began, the DNR was opposed to decks of any size. YLA directors attended a Natural Resources Board meeting in September and were able to convince the board, with the help of letters and postcards from over 500 YLA members, to allow 120 square foot decks on exempt piers. The DNR continued its lobbying with the Natural Resources Board and the provision for a deck on exempt piers was removed last December. YLA continued to push for the rules to include for an allowance for a deck and we are pleased that the version of AB 850 that is supported by the governor and the version of AB 850 modified by Senator Gard and passed by the Senate both have an allowance for a reasonable sized deck on an exempt pier.

Therefore, the assembly, the senate and the governor all support a modification of the definition of exempt piers under present law to allow:
1. 8 foot wide decks at the lakeward end of a pier, if they are perpendicular to the pier, and
2. the length of the pier is limited to the 3 foot water depth or the depth necessary to use your boat or hoist, whichever is more.

The current law also provides boat slips (hoists, moorings etc) are limited to two for the first 50 feet of lake frontage, and one for each full 50 feet of frontage after that. AB 850 does not change the current rule but does provide for grandfathering of existing hoists.

The remaining issue relates to the grandfathering of current piers. The final version of AB 850 as modified by the Senate grandfathers most existing piers. The Governor doesn’t like the grandfathering provision modified by Senator Gard and passed by the Senate, so he has decided to veto AB 850, and direct the DNR to enforce the provisions of a compromise that formed a prior version of AB 850.

So what is the grandfathering under AB850?
1. It is complicated but the important part is that all piers existing before February 6, 2004, with decks not exceeding 300 square feet are grandfathered if the riparian registers the pier (at no charge) within 3 years.
2. Existing boat slips, whatever the number, are also grandfathered.
3. Decks over 300 square feet need individual permits.

So what does the Governor want the grandfathering rule to be?
1. Only deck grandfathering is different. 8 foot wide decks are grandfathered if the deck is at the lakeward end of the pier and no more than 300 square feet.
2. If a deck does not exceed 200 square feet, it may be of any width.
3. If a deck is over 200 square feet and over 8 foot wide it will need an individual permit.

The Governor will probably veto AB 850 soon. He issued Executive Order #148 to direct the DNR to enforce the grandfather rules stated above. He can do so because present law is more restrictive than that, and wardens have the discretion to follow the Governor's mandate to the DNR. The result is that whether the Governor signs or vetoes AB 850, the result will be the same for almost all piers. The Executive Order does not address the enforcement of the rules regarding hoists so there is some uncertainty about the allowable number of hoists.

The executive order will add certainty to the enforcement to the pier rules this summer but it is not and should not be considered a permanent solution. The Governor, the Assembly and the Senate all agree on the definition of an exempt pier. The primary disagreement is whether the grandfather rule for existing piers should allow decks up to 200 square feet or up 300 square feet. We need a permanent solution, not just an executive order on how to enforce a bad rule that was put in place in 2004. So the Yahara Lakes Association agrees with the Governor that there is a need for an executive order to add certainty to pier enforcement this summer, but it is absolutely vital that the legislature and the Governor resolve their differences and pass a permanent solution before next summer.

Yahara Lakes Association will continue to advocate for reasonable pier rules and to monitor all legislation that affects your riparian rights. The YLA board thanks those of you who took the time to contact your public officials regarding this important issue. Your efforts were noticed and were a key reason why the final rules allow for a deck.

Please help YLA and your fellow lake property owners by renewing your membership if you haven't done so and urging your neighbors to join YLA or renew their memberships for a stronger voice when government revisits piers and other lake issues. The more members in our association the more public officials will listen to our message. This is no time to "Let the other guy do it." You can find a membership application here.