Waterfront Pier-Placement Rights Restored After Evers Signs âProtect Our Piersâ Bill
By Liz Holbrook
Jul 27, 2021 | 8:01 PM
RHINELANDER, WI (WSAU-WXPR) â People living on flowages in Wisconsin once again have a legal right to extend a pier from their property.
That protection had disappeared after a 2018 case before the state Supreme Court. In that case, the Court revoked the right in a case involving a Price County family. Unlike natural lakes, flowage beds are privately owned, and the Court said the owners could block the erection of piers.
That led to changes for waterfront owners. âIt happened in various places throughout the state where the bed owner approached the waterfront property owners and told them that they either had to remove their pier or pay a certain amount of money to keep it in in place. It was happening,â said Tom Larson of the Wisconsin Realtors Association, which lobbied to reverse the Court ruling.