La Crosse staff tell commission state law prevents city from banning single‑family conversions; rental registry available for complaints

City staff told the Neighborhood Revitalization Commission on Feb. 5 that state law prevents the city from barring single‑family homes from converting to rental units, but the city maintains a rental registration and a 311 complaint process for enforcement.

The discussion began after the commission opened its agenda item on single‑family conversions. Jenna Dinkel, city staff who has consulted with the city attorney’s office, said, “per our Wisconsin state statute, we are not able to, as a municipality, regulate ownership in that sense.” Dinkel identified Wisconsin Statutes chapter 66 as the primary statutory limitation cited by the city’s legal review.

Why it matters: Commissioners and neighborhood representatives said conversions have practical neighborhood effects beyond ownership—complaints about upkeep, difficulty contacting absentee landlords, and a higher incidence of code violations in some rental properties. Chief David Reinhardt of Community Risk Management told the commission, “there is a rental registration requirement, a 1 time rental registration requirement, a $10 fee. And then, yes, if there is a complaint on a property, you can call our department directly, or there's actually access on the city website, to our department, through the 311 system to file complaints as well. And we follow‑up on every single complaint.” Reinhardt added that while contact information is on file with the city, not all registration details can be posted online.

Discussion details: Commissioners asked whether other states offer broader municipal authority; staff said the city’s legal review did not include an exhaustive multi‑state comparison, but staff noted a Minnesota example in Winona where a rental percentage restriction had been litigated. Commissioners also cited a 2013 single‑family conversion ad hoc committee report and said that past local work showed higher violation rates for some rental properties.

Staff direction and limits: Staff summarized enforcement options: inspections, orders to correct, and citations for noncompliance apply equally to rental and owner‑occupied properties under the city’s code. The city can use its registration database to identify and contact owners and can process complaints through Community Risk Management and the 311 system. Staff said some registration details cannot be posted publicly because of legal constraints.

What the commission did: No formal policy change or ordinance was proposed or adopted at the meeting. Commissioners requested continued public education about the rental registry and suggested better outreach to neighborhood associations about how to access owner contact information through city staff.

The commission moved on to other agenda items after the discussion.