Environmental Audit Required Prior to Disposition or Acquisition of Property.
Milwaukee Code of Ordinances § 308-22
in effect308-22. Environmental Audit Required Prior to Disposition or Acquisition of Property.
1. DEFINITIONS. In this section:
a. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department of city development.
b. "Environmental audit" means conducting and evaluating a series of studies regarding a property to determine if there are any potential or actual environmental hazards or hazardous substances present on the premises, or in any structure located on the premises. Environmental audits shall be identified as follows:
b-1. A phase I audit shall be the initial determination of a property's environmental status which shall include, but not be limited to:
b-1-a. A background check of the property's land use history.
b-1-b. An inspection of the site.
b-1-c. An inspection of the interior of each building on the property, provided legal access is obtainable. Such inspection may be performed, but shall not be required, if, historically, each building was used only as a tavern, restaurant, office, grocery store, department store, health clinic, church, theater, day care center, microbrewery, barber shop, beauty salon, sporting goods store, video store, hotel, multi-family dwelling with more than 4 units, or membership organization meeting room, hall or recreation or eating facility.
b-1-d. A surface soil gas survey.
b-1-e. A search for the location and contents of any underground storage tanks.
b-2. A phase II audit shall include sampling and analysis of site materials to determine the nature and extent of the contamination.
b-3. A phase III audit shall include the actions necessary to eliminate the contamination.
2. ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT.
a. Required. Prior to the city's sale or acquisition of any property, including properties in the in rem process, except those with one to 4 residential units, a Phase I environmental audit shall be conducted by the department of city development, in conjunction with the departments of neighborhood services and health.
b. Other Audits. The commissioner may authorize an environmental audit of any property to be purchased or sold or otherwise acquired by the city, including 1-4 family residential structures, if it appears that hazardous materials or substances are present on the premises, within any structure or building on the premises, or in the immediate vicinity of the property, prior to its being offered for sale or acquisition.
c. Exceptions. The city may purchase, sell or otherwise acquire property without conducting an environmental audit as required in this subsection provided approval of the common council, in the form of a 3/4 vote of all its members, has been obtained.
d. Coordinator. The health department’s environmental scientist shall coordinate all environmental audits, in conjunction with the departments of neighborhood services and city development, and shall review the results, determine the environmental status of the property and present a written report to the commissioner.
e. Additional Environmental Audits. If the results of the phase I environmental audit indicate a need for further analysis of any potential environmental hazard associated with a property, the department of city development shall commence a phase II audit, and, if necessary, a phase III audit on behalf of the city, before the property is advertised for sale, or before an offer to purchase is accepted. The results of the audits shall be presented in a written report to the commissioner.
f. Reports to be Made Available. Any report concerning an environmental audit of city owned property shall be made available to prospective buyers and the general public, upon request.
g. Liability. Anyone who intends to acquire property from the city shall, prior to the closing of the property transfer, be required to sign a waiver holding the city harmless from any undetected or unknown environmental hazard that may be present in or on the property.
h. Acceptance of Real Estate As Gift. The city shall not accept any real estate property from any party as a gift without a satisfactory environmental audit of the property being performed by a professional contractor of the city's choice, at the donor's expense, prior to the city taking title to the property
.i. Security for City Owned Properties With Hazardous Materials. All city owned properties that have been determined to contain hazardous materials or wastes shall be secured to ensure that unauthorized entry is eliminated.
j. Land Acquisition for the Milwaukee School Board. The department of facilities and maintenance of the Milwaukee public schools shall administer the necessary environmental audits for property acquisition by the city for the Milwaukee school board.
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/Volume-3/Master-V3.pdf#page=83Fetched: 10/26/2026