Neighborhood Revitalization Commission begins zoning-code update process, plans outreach during housing week

La Crosse’s Neighborhood Revitalization Commission on March 5, 2025, received an update on a multi-step zoning code and subdivision code project (agenda item 25-0143) and discussed early plans for community engagement. Staff said consultants are analyzing existing plans and the city’s residential zoning districts and compiling common variance and exception requests from the past decade to inform revisions.

“It's really just an analysis at this point,” a planning staff member told the commission, describing the report attached to the file. The consultant’s initial work includes pulling goals and recommendations from recent plans, cataloging common variance and conditional-use requests, and mapping the city’s zoning districts and lot-size bands.

The commission discussed next steps for public outreach. Staff said the kickoff events will coincide with housing week (organized by Habitat for Humanity) and will include a general online survey on the city’s project website and two in-person overview sessions at the library — one daytime and one evening — that will explain zoning basics and present the consultant’s preliminary findings. Staff also described plans for targeted stakeholder conversations (developers, landlords, architects, engineers) and neighborhood meetings, including proposed joint neighborhood sessions (for example, Logan and Lower Northside together; Grandview and Bluffside together; Pogue and Washburn together). Staff estimated the overall project will extend into mid-2026 and said they anticipate holding at least three public meetings during the process.

Commissioners pressed staff on outreach goals and survey targets. Commissioner Green asked about target response numbers and emphasized listening to residents’ recommendations; staff said the survey was still being drafted and that outreach would not rely solely on the survey but also on stakeholder meetings and in-person neighborhood sessions. Commissioner Clark suggested the project be promoted in an engaging way to attract residents.

Commissioners and staff discussed topics the update could address: reducing the number of residential zoning districts, minimum lot size, setbacks, height and density requirements, and updates to design standards that the staff said are more than a decade old and were originally written with student housing in mind. Staff emphasized that no rezoning proposals have been settled and that any future changes would be shaped by consultant recommendations, plan guidance and public feedback.

No formal action or vote on zoning code changes was taken at the March 5 meeting; the item was presented for discussion and direction on outreach strategy.