Wis. Stat. § 66.10016
This is the official text of Wis. Stat. § 66.10016, part of Wisconsin’s Wisconsin Statutes — the complete compiled statutory law of Wisconsin, organized into numbered chapters by subject.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(3) If a person submits a complete application for a permit related to a residential housing development meeting all existing requirements that must be satisfied to obtain the permit at the time the application is filed, the political subdivision shall grant the application. An application is deemed complete under this subsection if it complies with form and content requirements. An application is filed under this subsection on the date that the political subdivision receives the application.
(4) A person aggrieved by a political subdivision’s failure to approve an application under sub. (3) may seek relief through an action for mandamus as provided in ch. 783 . If the court finds that the political subdivision improperly failed to approve the application under sub. (3) , the court shall issue a writ of mandamus ordering the political subdivision to approve the application. For purposes of any mandamus claim filed under this subsection, substantial damages or injury shall be assumed.
(5) In this subsection “qualifying residential development” means a residential development that is reasonably expected to receive sewerage and sanitary water services from a public utility and that is not reasonably believed to be environmentally contaminated. If a political subdivision issues a request for proposals for a qualifying residential development that specifies minimum and maximum net density of residences in the development that are within the densities specified for the area in the political subdivision’s comprehensive plan, and no person responds to the request by the date provided in the request for submissions, sub. (3) (b) does not apply in that political subdivision for one year after the last date on which responses were to be accepted. A response under this subsection includes a response that does not include a qualifying residential development proposal if the response is from a person with the capability to construct a qualifying residential development in the requesting political subdivision and the response explains with specificity the person’s economic reasons for not submitting a proposal. This subsection does not apply to a town or county.
History: 2023 a. 16 ; 2025 a. 173 .
(4) A person aggrieved by a political subdivision’s failure to approve an application under sub. (3) may seek relief through an action for mandamus as provided in ch. 783 . If the court finds that the political subdivision improperly failed to approve the application under sub. (3) , the court shall issue a writ of mandamus ordering the political subdivision to approve the application. For purposes of any mandamus claim filed under this subsection, substantial damages or injury shall be assumed.
(5) In this subsection “qualifying residential development” means a residential development that is reasonably expected to receive sewerage and sanitary water services from a public utility and that is not reasonably believed to be environmentally contaminated. If a political subdivision issues a request for proposals for a qualifying residential development that specifies minimum and maximum net density of residences in the development that are within the densities specified for the area in the political subdivision’s comprehensive plan, and no person responds to the request by the date provided in the request for submissions, sub. (3) (b) does not apply in that political subdivision for one year after the last date on which responses were to be accepted. A response under this subsection includes a response that does not include a qualifying residential development proposal if the response is from a person with the capability to construct a qualifying residential development in the requesting political subdivision and the response explains with specificity the person’s economic reasons for not submitting a proposal. This subsection does not apply to a town or county.
History: 2023 a. 16 ; 2025 a. 173 .
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Wisconsin?
Find a Wisconsin lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.