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Plan Commission approves conditional-use permit for off-site parking to serve Mayo Clinic campus
Summary
The commission granted a conditional-use permit for an off-site accessory parking lot on Fifth Avenue to replace parking lost to a Mayo Clinic loading-dock expansion, subject to parcel assembly, screening and later site-plan review.
The City of Eau Claire Plan Commission on May 19 approved a conditional-use permit allowing Mayo Clinic to use three parcels on Fifth Avenue as an off-site accessory parking facility to replace spaces lost to a new loading-dock project.
Planning staff said the parcels across from Mayo Clinic’s main campus are vacant following demolition of previous structures. The city code allows off-site campus parking within 500 feet of the main use; staff found the proposed location to be within that distance. Conditions in the staff report and working presentation included assembling the three parcels into a single certified-survey map, installing a six-foot privacy fence with landscaping buffering adjacent residences (and tapering to hedgerows at the street), submitting a photometric plan, and meeting stormwater and landscaping guidelines at the site-plan stage. Staff noted pole-mounted lighting is limited by code to 25 feet and must be fully shielded to meet dark‑sky concerns.
Gordon Howie, representing Mayo Clinic interests, told the commission hospital volumes have increased and staffing has grown — he said volumes in some areas have risen by as much as 30 percent and the employer has added about 700 staff — increasing parking demand. Howie said some displaced parking served fleet and logistics and that employee safety and reluctance to walk longer distances also factor into the need for closer parking.
Commissioners asked questions about the fence’s proximity to residence rear walls and potential impacts on light and air for adjoining homes; staff and the applicant said final screening and layout would be addressed at the later site-plan stage. Commissioner Erickson said concerns about backing adjacent homes would be best handled in site-plan review.
The commission approved the conditional-use permit on a recorded vote (transcript records the motion passing 9–0). The project will return for site-plan approval with detailed stormwater, screening and lighting proposals.
