PRESCOTT — The Pierce County Circuit Court fielded a case between the City of Prescott and its riverside marina Leo’s Landing back in April, with a ruling in favor of the city being signed Aug. 7. The decision means, barring an appeal, the City of Prescott is the legal owner of the parcel of property, possesses the associated riparian rights and Leo’s Landing must have its marina structure removed by Nov. 30. 

The city is going through the process of a Riverfront Improvement Project, with Phase 2 including a public boat dock that would use the property vacated by Leo’s Landing.

“In addition, the project includes the addition of a public boat dock, which will allow more boaters during the warmer months to utilize our downtown restaurants, shops, and other amenities. Some of the feedback we received in 2023 was that Prescott needed additional space for boaters who wanted to visit downtown. As the City continues to look for alternative funding options to help offset the tax burden on our residents, we are considering making this a paid dock, with a limited number of spaces available for overnight docking,” Prescott’s city website states.

City Administrator Matt Wolf said the design was put on hold during the case and will now resume. The city received a $53,395 DNR Boating Infrastructure Grant to be used for the design of the dock, with the design needing to be completed by September 2027 to receive the money.
The city and business owners have been sparring over the property since the city filed legal action back in 2024. A city statement in 2024 read:
“The Prescott City Council additionally authorized the filing of legal action on behalf of the city to confirm its legal rights regarding the Leo’s Landing matter. The City of Prescott has owned the land along the riverfront since the 1920’s or earlier. It is a valuable asset that the city takes seriously in connection with its desire to create a stronger community, enhance community pride and encourage more engagement and interaction between visitors and local businesses as part of the second phase of riverfront improvements. We look forward to riverfront improvements which will promote tourism and strengthen the economic vitality of our downtown in 2025 and beyond.”

The Anderson family, owners of Leo’s Landing, were given a one-year lease for 2024 rather than the five-year leases they had previously received. The family has been supported by community petitions to keep Leo’s Landing in place, including one petition with over 4,000 signatures and another with over 1,500.

“Leo’s Landing not only dutifully served its slip renters, but also the larger boating community with the sales of convenience store food, drinks, and fuel, with Leo’s being one of the few local places on the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers that particularly had diesel fuel available to the general boating public who needed it. It is really disheartening and inexplicable that the City of Prescott would take such extreme measures in radical opposition to a beloved local marina business that had operated in the City at this location under various ownership since at least 1948, and under the Anderson family’s ownership for very nearly 40 years,” Attorney Kevin Sandstrom of Eckberg Lammers, who represents the Anderson family, stated.

A letter to the city from Leo’s Landing owner Jan Anderson back in 2024 stated:

“In October 2020, the City tried to plat the entire area adjacent to Leo’s Landing, claiming it all for the City. Of the 15 property owners that might have had a property interest in the strip of waterfront land, the City was unable to get 14 of the 15 to consent to the plat. Jan Anderson protested that the proposed plat was unfair but the City pushed it through in 30 days anyway. In closed session, behind closed doors without public discussions, the City planned for its redevelopment of the waterfront. It is unclear how or why the City was able to do this in closed session but as we understand it, the City’s plans now include a marina where Leo’s Landing is located. As the Anderson family has repeatedly stated, had the City been forthcoming regarding possible plans for a marina, the Anderson family would have gladly discussed cooperation or even partnering with the City for the benefit of Prescott. No one ever approached or discussed this with the Anderson family.”

Anderson said the city operated on a handshake agreement for 38 years to cross a “sliver” of property between their land and the water’s edge. The business has been in the family since 1984.

“In part, it was because it was not clear to anyone who owned the maybe 10-15 yards between our property and the St. Croix/Mississippi, at most times considered river bottom. For many years, we paid nominal ‘rent’ to the City and neither side spent too much effort to clearly define the legal description of the strip,” the 2024 letter reads.
At a 2023 meeting discussing the renewal of the lease, Wolf said the following about the non-renewal of the lease:
“We have to be clear; Point St. Croix has an established lease until Dec. 31, 2030,” Wolf said. “Nobody is not renewing or renewing. They have an agreement. It goes to 2030.  If we are tying the two together, they shouldn’t be tied together. The only similarities between the two is that the city owns the land at this point as far as everything we know now. Leo’s Landing has said to us that they don’t agree. That they own the land and we have had discussions with them multiple times that said, if you do own this land and you have something to prove it to us, please do so. We completed an assessor’s plat back in 2019 that was officially approved in 2020 that showed ownership of all the land along the riverfront being to the City of Prescott in that area. And they have questioned that.”
In court, the two questions to be answered were whether the Leo’s Landing property extends to the shoreline and if a lease signed in 2016 is valid.
“Both of these conveyances quitclaim a defined parcel of property described in specific distances and directions and make no mention of extending ‘to the river and lake,’” court documents state. “Based upon all of the extrinsic evidence, the court finds that the City of Prescott maintained
ownership in the strip of land between the parcel and the river, thus, Leo’s Landing does not have riverfront property. The City maintained ownership of the riverfront and thus holds the riparian rights.”
As for question two, the court determined the 2016 lease was the “controlling document.” The lease was for five years.
“The lease also contained a provision that Leo’s Landing could elect to extend for an additional five (5) year term. Such election required Leo’s Landing to notify the City at least sixty (60) days prior to the start of the new term. Richard Anderson unexpectedly passed away in 2017 and Janice Anderson, who previously was not involved in the business operations of Leo’s Landing, took over operations. No notice was provided of a lease extension was given by Leo’s Landing and the lease expired on December 31, 2021. The City and Leo’s Landing entered into a number of short term leases after 2021 but there is no lease currently in effect between the parties. Based on that, the 2016 lease was the controlling document. This lease was for an initial term of five (5) years through December 31, 2021. The lease also contained a provision that Leo’s Landing could elect to extend for an additional five (5) year term,” court documents state.

What’s next for Leo’s Landing?

“Leo’s Landing is entitled to appeal the Circuit Court’s decision to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. Leo’s Landing is likely to do so, because without a different result being rendered on appeal, the Circuit Court’s decision as it stands eliminates their entire marina and convenience store business in its entirety and requires Leo’s Landing to fully remove its marina from the river, never to operate again,” Sandstrom stated. “It would be entirely possible for the City of Prescott to allow Leo’s Landing to continue/renew its business operations, and Leo’s Landing has repeatedly stated its desire to continue doing so. But unfortunately the City has made it crystal clear for the past 4+ years of this legal dispute that the City has no intention of allowing Leo’s Landing to continue, and instead the City has utilized every legal avenue to halt the Leo’s Landing business in its entirety, all while not offering a single dollar of compensation to Leo’s Landing for terminating their longstanding family business and rendering worthless their associated land from which the marina operates.

“Leo’s Landing is hopeful that the Wisconsin Court of Appeals will come to a more logical, fair, just, and correct decision after its review of the law, detailed testimony, and substantial historical evidence in this case.”