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• ° ' tHe''4, OFFICE OF THE • Corporation Counsel Cal W. Kornstedt IS MAIm �r' CORPORATION COUNSEL Ah sCOMS_` June 16 , 1997 Mr. James Gregorius Zoning Administrator Dane County Planning & Development Room 116 , City-County Building Madison, WI 53709 RE : Zoning Parcel Opinion Dear Mr. Gregorius : You have requested a legal opinion as to whether two lots which are commonly owned but separated by a public road constitute a single lot . Application of generally recognized zoning law leads to the conclusion that a single zoning lot may not consist of two parcels separated by a road or other thoroughfare . A "lot" is defined for purposes of Dane County zoning in DCO sec . 10 . 01 (32) , as "a parcel of land occupied or intended to be occupied by one (1) building and its accessory building and uses, except as otherwise provided herein. " That definition, however, does not answer the question posed. Nor have any reported Wisconsin cases ever considered this issue . The general rule is that "lots for zoning purposes are not necessarily the same as tax lots . " Williams, American Land Planning Law, sec . 45 . 01 (1987) . One authority has defined a "zoning lot" as : a parcel of land of indefinite size and shape which is occupied, or may be occupied, by a structure, and be comprised of a single platted lot or two or more contiguous lots . Under some circumstances, separate parcels of land may not be considered as separate building lots . Furthermore, a lot may not consist of two parcels of land in common ownership which are separated by a thoroughfare . 101A C. J. S . Zoning, sec . 116, p . 407-08 (emphasis added) . Lots are not regarded as adjoining, and not within the same zoning lot, where they are separated by a right-of-way. Anderson, American Law of Zoning, sec . 9 . 67 (4th Ed. , 1996) . The Supreme Court of Connecticut rendered the leading Room 419, City-County Building, 210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Madison, Wisconsin 53709 608/266-4355