La Crosse staff outline full rewrite of zoning code to speed housing, map new districts

La Crosse planning staff on Sept. 16 presented a plan to repeal and recreate the city’s zoning code (Chapter 115) and update the subdivision code (Chapter 113), saying the existing code ‘‘largely was adopted in the eighties’’ and is now ‘‘very, very outdated’’ and hard to interpret.

Tim Macklin, deputy director of the planning department, told council members the overhaul is intended to implement the recently adopted comprehensive plan and a housing study that identified barriers to building new housing. ‘‘We need to update our zoning code,’’ he said, describing the rewrite as a likely city‑wide reprovisioning of districts and a precursor to a comprehensive rezoning.

Consultants from MSA and technical lead Mike Lam described a shift from conventional single‑use zoning toward character‑based and form‑based districts. The proposal would create neighborhood mixed‑use, urban mixed‑use and downtown‑specific districts; retain institutional, conservancy and industrial categories; and keep overlay districts such as historic and floodplain protections. Lam said form‑based graphics and a consolidated use table would make expectations more predictable and could shorten review times.

A key specific proposal would allow up to three principal dwelling units on a lot in many neighborhood residential districts, up from the two‑family allowances in some current zones. Lam said the change would be paired with design standards so multi‑unit buildings ‘‘have to look like the neighborhood’’ and not read as larger, out‑of‑character apartment blocks. ‘‘It’s more of a form and character thing than it is a use,’’ he said.

Councilmembers pressed staff on feasibility and neighborhood impacts. One council member asked whether three‑unit lots would ‘‘pencil out’’ for developers; a consultant replied market feasibility must be considered and that the code should remove regulatory barriers where appropriate but not force nonviable development. Several members urged safeguards to reduce conversion of single‑family housing into student rentals and asked for examples of desirable built forms.

The consultants also proposed an ‘‘end‑grain’’ district to formalize narrow, one‑lot‑deep parcels at block ends (some under 2,500 sq. ft.) as conforming, and the use of regulating plans for strategic corridors such as Highway 53 and the Copper Rocks site to prescribe frontage types, parking placement and active building edges.

Staff said the reorganization will include a consolidated use table, streamlined administration and clearer design/performance standards (Article 5) with signs and administration in separate articles. They emphasized alignment with Wisconsin statutes where applicable.

No formal votes were taken. Consultants asked for council direction to proceed with drafting and public outreach; staffing and consultants proposed returning with drafts in early 2026. Macklin said staff will solicit written comments and examples from council members over the next two weeks and will circulate materials and the meeting video to facilitate feedback.

What’s next: staff and consultants plan targeted drafting work and public open houses to present initial recommendations to the public before formal ordinance drafts are introduced to the council.