Cities trying to navigate the laws surrounding land protected by Public Trust Doctrine will still have to proceed with caution. Senate Bill 900 would have allowed municipalities and private landowners to create title over formerly submerged land on the state’s shorelines pending a review by the Department of Natural Resources. Governor Tony Evers sided with groups like the Midwest Environmental Advocates, saying the bill would have violated the constitutional Public Trust Doctrine and could have likely led to litigation. Avoiding litigation was the hope of shoreline cities like Sturgeon Bay, which wanted a clear path forward on cases like this in the future. The City of Sturgeon Bay was involved in a lawsuit with the Friends of the Sturgeon Bay Public Waterfront over the site where the Door County Granary will soon call home with the spot of the Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM) being the flashpoint of controversy. Sturgeon Bay City Administrator Josh VanLieshout says the law as it stands now is anything but clear and believes the bill would have at least established a process moving forward.

VanLieshout added that this likely will not have an impact on the city for a while as it does not own any shoreline property at this time. Much of the shoreline in Sturgeon Bay has been developed over the last 30 years.