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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting – February 16, 2026

Common Council & Committees — Monday, February 16, 2026

BodyLa Crosse, Wisconsin

SessionCommon Council & Committees

DateMonday, February 16, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 52:46

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

All right.

0:01

According to according to the gods at T Mobile, it is four o'clock.

0:07

Today is Monday, February 16th of 2026.

0:11

This is the Board of Zoning Appeals.

0:16

Let's start with our roll call.

0:19

Let's do a voice roll call.

0:20

Please use your microphone.

0:23

Ben Steponick.

0:25

Jay Johnson.

0:26

James Churf.

0:27

Jim Simalak.

0:28

Andrew Sherman.

0:30

Thank you very much.

0:32

You should have received a million years ago, it seems, uh the information on our code of ethics.

0:40

Have you all had a chance to review that?

0:45

All righty, very good.

0:47

Then I will sign our certification, and we are good for another year.

0:53

If you have any questions, don't feel um embarrassed to reach out to me, to the clerk, or to legal.

1:00

Moving on.

1:04

I would like to explain how this meeting works.

1:07

Um for those with cell phones.

1:10

Please turn them off.

1:13

And for those who are not familiar with how this board procedure works, it starts with a public hearing session where the board will hear each appeal scheduled for this meeting as follows.

1:23

First, testimony from the representative of building and inspections, followed by testimony from persons in favor of the appeal, followed by testimony from persons opposed to the appeal.

1:35

Each person giving testimony before the board will need to approach the podium, uh, give their name and address to the board secretary and be sworn in to speak.

1:46

All appeals shall be limited to 10 minutes for those in favor and 10 minutes for those opposed.

1:52

If required, a three-minute rebuttal will be allowed for each side.

1:57

Um arguments, if deemed necessary, may require closed session.

2:02

Once we've heard all our appeals, we'll move into our deliberation session.

2:07

Uh for the deliberation session, uh, no testimony will be taken from the public.

2:13

A concurring vote of four members is required to reverse building and inspection department's decision.

2:20

The board decision uh is available uh the next morning.

2:25

If you choose not to wait uh to hear uh the verdict tonight, you may contact the city clerk in the morning.

2:33

And then uh very important is appeal of the board's decision.

2:37

If you are aggrieved by the board's decision, the decision may be appealed to the circuit courts of lacrosse county.

2:44

However, pursuant to chapter 62.23, parent seven, parent e parent ten of the Wisconsin statutes, the appeal must be filed with said courts within 30 days from the filing of the board's decision.

2:58

Uh regarding closed session, pursuant to Wisconsin Wisconsin statute 19.85 parent one parent A, the board may convene into close session to consider appeals under certain circumstances.

3:11

And a very important special note is that if a variance is granted, construction must commence within 180 days after the board's decision is filed.

3:24

The Board of Zoning Appeals functions like a court, must follow state laws and local zoning ordinances.

3:30

The Board of Zoning Appeals cannot change or ignore any part of the zoning ordinance or state laws, but must apply the laws as written.

3:38

The board may only grant a variance, special exception, or administrative appeal if the applicant provides evidence showing that they meet all the legal standards for that decision.

3:48

The legal standards of the board will use on each application have been provided to the applicant and will be described at this meeting by staff.

4:08

An appeal regarding the requirement to have fill 15 feet beyond the structure, one foot or more above the regional flood elevation at 412 Liberty Street.

4:20

Before we hear from building and inspections, I do want to make sure that the applicant is clear that the um that in reviewing his application, it looked like there were a lot of requests in there.

4:38

Uh staff has asked us to hear the appeal regarding that uh 15 foot of fill, not about anything else.

4:50

All righty.

4:51

Well, then let us start with uh the appeal hearing from uh the building and inspections department uh representative.

5:01

If you could turn on your microphone, state your name and address, and raise your right hand.

5:06

Jeremiah Huber, 400 the cross street.

5:09

Do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

5:12

I do.

5:13

Very fine.

5:13

What would you like us to know about this appeal, sir?

5:17

Requirements for granting a variance.

5:27

Um, unnecessary hardship, hardship due to unique property limitations, and no harm to the public interest.

5:36

The owner of 412 Liberty Street has applied for a permit to construct a new single family dwelling that does not meet the 15 feet of fill requirement for construction in the flood fringe district on both the north and south side of the property.

5:54

I don't know why it's showing that screen, but I can't hear you.

6:24

Slaggere slowly, I guess.

6:26

Right.

6:28

Explain to us what we are seeing here, sir.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████████████57%

Floodplain Management███████████████19%

Procedural█████████12%

Environmental Protection██████7%

Public Engagement████5%

Summary of Proceedings

Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting – February 16, 2026

The Board of Zoning Appeals met on Monday, February 16, 2026, from 4:00 PM to 4:54 PM in the Council Chambers of City Hall, La Crosse, Wisconsin. The meeting was called to order by Chair James Cherf and included a roll call (5 members present: Jai Johnson, James Cherf, James Szymalak, Ben Stepanek, Andrew Sherman) and the annual Code of Ethics review. The sole agenda item was a variance appeal (AP-2700) regarding the requirement to provide fill extending 15 feet beyond a proposed single-family dwelling at 412 Liberty Street, in the flood fringe district. After public testimony and deliberation, the Board voted 4–1 to grant a modified variance reducing the fill requirement to the north and south lot lines, with the condition that the applicant bring in fill to meet the minimum required elevation.

Public Comments & Testimony

Leonardo Silva (applicant, N2685 County Road FA) testified in favor of the appeal. He explained that the 50-foot-wide lot prevents meeting the 15-foot horizontal fill requirement on both sides while still building a feasible residence. The design includes a decorative retaining wall set back 6.8 feet from the south property line for water mitigation and a slope to the north. The finished floor will meet FEMA minimum elevations, and the house (1,800 sq. ft.) is designed to fit the neighborhood. He noted that without a variance, the building would need to be only 20 feet wide, precluding an ADA-compliant main level.

Discussion Items

Staff Presentation: Jeremiah Huber (Building and Inspections) outlined the three variance criteria: unnecessary hardship (property cannot be developed without fill), unique property limitation (lot size), and no harm to public interest. He stated staff believed the variance should be granted. David Reinhart (Building and Inspections) clarified the variance is for the width of fill, not height, and that granting it would not violate DNR or FEMA rules because the 15-foot fill requirement is a DNR rule. Gideon Wertheimer (Attorney's Office) confirmed that state law requires the variance to be the minimum necessary.
Board Deliberation: Commissioner Johnson expressed initial concern about FEMA insurance and community rating but was satisfied that the width variance does not affect those. She later supported the variance after hearing the applicant’s water mitigation plan and noting that similar lots in the area have not been redeveloped. Commissioner Szymalak argued that the variance should be the minimum required and that the lot could be fully filled using retaining walls, as done elsewhere in the city; he worried that granting this variance would set a precedent undermining floodplain management. Commissioner Stepanek supported the variance as presented, citing no feasible lesser variance option. Commissioner Sherman initially supported the variance for simplicity but later voted against the modified motion.

Key Outcomes

Motion and Vote: Commissioner Szymalak made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Stepanek, to grant a variance reducing the 15-foot fill requirement to the north and south lot lines (resulting in required fill of approximately 6.3 feet on each side, representing reductions of 8.663 ft north and 8.736 ft south), with the additional requirement that the applicant bring in fill up to the minimum required elevation. Commissioner Johnson offered an amendment to add that condition, which was accepted. The motion passed 4–1 (Johnson, Cherf, Szymalak, Stepanek in favor; Sherman opposed).
Next Steps: The variance decision will be filed the next morning. Construction must commence within 180 days of the decision. The decision can be appealed to the La Crosse County Circuit Court within 30 days.

Meeting Transcript

All right. According to according to the gods at T Mobile, it is four o'clock. Today is Monday, February 16th of 2026. This is the Board of Zoning Appeals. Let's start with our roll call. Let's do a voice roll call. Please use your microphone. Ben Steponick. Jay Johnson. James Churf. Jim Simalak. Andrew Sherman. Thank you very much. You should have received a million years ago, it seems, uh the information on our code of ethics. Have you all had a chance to review that? All righty, very good. Then I will sign our certification, and we are good for another year. If you have any questions, don't feel um embarrassed to reach out to me, to the clerk, or to legal. Moving on. I would like to explain how this meeting works. Um for those with cell phones. Please turn them off. And for those who are not familiar with how this board procedure works, it starts with a public hearing session where the board will hear each appeal scheduled for this meeting as follows. First, testimony from the representative of building and inspections, followed by testimony from persons in favor of the appeal, followed by testimony from persons opposed to the appeal. Each person giving testimony before the board will need to approach the podium, uh, give their name and address to the board secretary and be sworn in to speak. All appeals shall be limited to 10 minutes for those in favor and 10 minutes for those opposed. If required, a three-minute rebuttal will be allowed for each side. Um arguments, if deemed necessary, may require closed session. Once we've heard all our appeals, we'll move into our deliberation session. Uh for the deliberation session, uh, no testimony will be taken from the public. A concurring vote of four members is required to reverse building and inspection department's decision. The board decision uh is available uh the next morning. If you choose not to wait uh to hear uh the verdict tonight, you may contact the city clerk in the morning. And then uh very important is appeal of the board's decision. If you are aggrieved by the board's decision, the decision may be appealed to the circuit courts of lacrosse county. However, pursuant to chapter 62.23, parent seven, parent e parent ten of the Wisconsin statutes, the appeal must be filed with said courts within 30 days from the filing of the board's decision. Uh regarding closed session, pursuant to Wisconsin Wisconsin statute 19.85 parent one parent A, the board may convene into close session to consider appeals under certain circumstances. And a very important special note is that if a variance is granted, construction must commence within 180 days after the board's decision is filed. The Board of Zoning Appeals functions like a court, must follow state laws and local zoning ordinances. The Board of Zoning Appeals cannot change or ignore any part of the zoning ordinance or state laws, but must apply the laws as written. The board may only grant a variance, special exception, or administrative appeal if the applicant provides evidence showing that they meet all the legal standards for that decision. The legal standards of the board will use on each application have been provided to the applicant and will be described at this meeting by staff. An appeal regarding the requirement to have fill 15 feet beyond the structure, one foot or more above the regional flood elevation at 412 Liberty Street. Before we hear from building and inspections, I do want to make sure that the applicant is clear that the um that in reviewing his application, it looked like there were a lot of requests in there. Uh staff has asked us to hear the appeal regarding that uh 15 foot of fill, not about anything else. All righty. Well, then let us start with uh the appeal hearing from uh the building and inspections department uh representative. If you could turn on your microphone, state your name and address, and raise your right hand. Jeremiah Huber, 400 the cross street. Do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

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