Title to Certain Submerged Lands.
Milwaukee City Charter § 20-07
in effect20-07. Title to Certain Submerged Lands.
1. WATER PURIFICATION PLANT. All the right, title and interest of the state of Wisconsin in and to the following land along and adjacent to the shore of Lake Michigan, and partly submerged, constituting the bed of Lake Michigan, being on the southern and eastern frontage, in the first and eighteenth wards of the city of Milwaukee, described as follows, to wit: A strip of land fifteen hundred feet in width, having for its westerly boundary the extended center line of lot fifteen, in block nine, of Gladden and Lockwood's addition, in the first ward of the city of Milwaukee, and lying southerly, southeasterly and easterly of a line commencing at a point in the said center line of said lot fifteen, four hundred feet south of the north line of said lot, running thence northeasterly parallel to the southerly line of LaFayette place, until the same intersects the low water mark; thence along the present low water mark of the shore of Lake Michigan to the north line of Section Fifteen, extended to the shore of Lake Michigan in the first and eighteenth wards of the city of Milwaukee, are hereby granted in fee to the said city of Milwaukee to be held and used by said city as part of its system of public parks and boulevards; provided, that said land hereby granted shall not be leased or sold by said city of Milwaukee nor used for any other purposes than as a public park and boulevard. Provided further, that the city of Milwaukee is hereby authorized to build, operate and maintain a water purification plant on that portion only of the aforesaid grant of land lying adjacent to Lake Park, and that if, when and after said city shall build, operate and maintain a water purification plant over and on the portion of said land hereinbefore provided for, such building, operation and maintenance shall not be deemed or construed a violation of the aforementioned public park and boulevard provision of this section. (S. 1, Ch. 261, L. 1933.)
2. RIPARIAN RIGHTS. Nothing in this act contained shall be construed to divest or otherwise affect the riparian rights and privileges of the several owners of the lots abutting on Lake Michigan, but all such riparian rights and privileges, shall remain vested in such abutting or upland owners, subject only to the use of the land hereby granted to said city of Milwaukee for the purpose of its system of public parks and boulevards, and if any part of said land shall be diverted from use by said city for the sole purpose of a public park or boulevard, as hereinbefore provided in section one [sub. (1)] above and the right of said city therein so cease and determine, the title to said land shall be thereupon vested in and apportioned among such abutting or upland owners or their assigns, to the same extent as if such land were a natural accretion outward from the shore of said lake. (S. 2, Ch. 191, L. 1897.)
Source: City of Milwaukee Legislative Reference Bureau, Milwaukee City Charter and Code of Ordinances (city.milwaukee.gov master PDFs)URL: https://city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/ccClerk/Ordinances/City-Charter/CH20.pdf#page=6Fetched: 10/26/2026