La Crosse Plan Commission Approves CSM, Rezoning, Girl Scout Lease Termination, and Receives Zoning Update on August 31, 2026
La Crosse Plan Commission Meeting – August 31, 2026
The City Plan Commission of La Crosse, Wisconsin, met on Monday, August 31, 2026, at 4:00 PM in the Council Chambers. All commissioners except Jacob Sciammas were present. The commission approved the minutes of the previous meeting, then acted on three agenda items and received an update on the zoning code revision project.
26-0799 Certified Survey Map – 1325 Saint Andrew St.
- Item: Certified Survey Map (CSM) for property owned by Stizo Development LLC, including a request for dedication of right-of-way and a waiver of platting requirements. The CSM would create three parcels: one for phase two development and two outlots to be dedicated as public right-of-way (extensions of George Street and Wood Street). One parcel is intended for the new Borton construction offices and shop, for which a rezoning had been approved earlier in the summer.
- Commissioner Recusal: Commissioner Elaine Yager recused herself from this item.
- Staff Recommendation: Approval, conditioned on meeting all engineering department requirements for finalizing the CSM.
- Outcome: Motion to approve (by Commissioner Szymalak, second by Commissioner Newberry) passed unanimously.
26-0833 Rezoning – 616 Saint Cloud St.
- Item: An ordinance to rezone the property from Local Business District to Single Family Residential District, allowing conversion of the former commercial building into a single-family residence with a garage and workshop on the first floor. The applicant (recent purchaser of the property) lives a block away and intends to downsize. Improvements would include repurposing an alley-facing overhead door into a residential garage door, removing a street-facing overhead door to create a porch, and converting the upper floor to living space.
- Staff Recommendation: Approval, citing that the rezoning is consistent with the comprehensive plan and creates a housing unit, while the property is unlikely to remain viable for its current commercial use.
- Outcome: Motion to approve (by Commissioner Szymalak, second by Commissioner Yager) passed unanimously.
26-0869 Lease Termination & Building Acquisition – 2710 Quarry Road (Girl Scouts)
- Item: Resolution authorizing termination of the 99-year lease between the City and the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin-Badgerland Council, Inc., and authorizing the City to acquire the building for $1. The Girl Scouts moved out as of June 1, 2026. The City owns the land; the Girl Scouts owned the building per the lease. After acquisition, the City plans to declare the property surplus in the next month and issue an RFP to sell the property, returning it to the tax roll.
- Costs: Minimal – only in-house mowing and reduced utilities until sale.
- Outcome: Motion to approve (by an unnamed commissioner, second by Commissioner Stine) passed unanimously.
25-0143 Zoning/Subdivision Code Update – Discussion
- Update from Deputy Director Tim: A joint meeting with the City Council and Plan Commission is scheduled for September 9, 2026. Supporting documents (a rough draft of the entire zoning chapter with districts) will be distributed to commissioners by September 1. Staff is consolidating the use table (e.g., reducing multiple ways to define duplexes to one), finalizing the Institutional District draft (shared with five institutions), and preparing a conservancy district draft for discussion with Friends of the Marsh. Community engagement sessions are scheduled for late September through October, including meetings with developers, architects, apartment owners, neighborhood associations, and Friends of the Marsh. Later, public meetings will address the citywide rezoning of every parcel.
- Timeline: The subdivision code ordinance is expected to be introduced in approximately one month, pending final language on impact fees. The zoning code is on track for introduction in November 2026 and adoption by January 1, 2027.
- Commissioner Questions: Councilmember Trost asked what feedback the commission should provide and how. Staff requested that any concerns be sent directly to him, with larger issues reserved for discussion at the September 9 joint meeting. Commissioner Yager thanked staff for their work.
- Outcome: No vote; the item was informational.
Key Outcomes
- Approved CSM for 1325 Saint Andrew St. (unanimous).
- Approved rezoning of 616 Saint Cloud St. (unanimous).
- Approved lease termination and building acquisition for 2710 Quarry Road (unanimous).
- Received update on zoning code revision; joint meeting set for September 9, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
Recording in progress. Test test. Hello, good evening, everyone. We are going to call this meeting to order at four oh two PM on August 33rd, twenty twenty six. I believe all City Plan Commissioners are present. Oh, oh, he would usually be online. Okay. Okay. Well, um, so all commissioners are present except for Jacob Siamas. Um, we'll move to the approval of the minutes from our last meeting. Move to approve by Commissioner Yeager. Is there a second? Second by Commissioner Similak. All in any discussion. All right. All in favor, please signify by saying aye, a raising of the hand. Aye. Any opposed? All right. That motion passes. Moving to our first agenda item twenty six zero seven nine nine certified survey map for property located at thirteen twenty-five St. Andrew Street in the city of Lacrosse, owned by Stitzel Development LLC, and request for dedication of right-of-way and waiver of platin requirements. Let the record reflect that Commissioner Yeager is recusing herself from this particular item. Um, for the phase two developments. While the other two will be outlots, and then eventually dedicated as public right away. A little bit of it will be George Street, and the other part of it will be for um new uh new extension of Wood Street. It also is uh one of the parcel number three, I believe, that is being um created is for the new Borton construction or Borden um construction offices and shop that they had asked for a rezoning of uh in a prior meeting this past summer. And they are finalizing the design review process for that um for that to be built. So this is also um helping speed that along so they can begin structure on that. Um staff recommends approval of this item as long as they meet all the requirements that the engineering department has for finalizing the CSM. Thank you. Any questions for staff? All right. Second by Councilmember Newberry. Any other discussion? CNN, all in favor, please signify by saying aye or raise another hand. Any opposed? All right, that motion carries. Commissioner Yeager, you can come back. Next agenda item 260833 an ordinance to amend subsection 115-10 of the code of ordinance of the city of Lacrosse by transferring certain property from local business district to the single family residential district, aligned for the property to be converted to a residential unit with a garage and workshop on the first floor of the building at 616 St. Cloud Street. Thank you, Mayor. So the applicant is either in the process of purchasing this processory as a recent recently purchased it. Um they currently own a home about a block away that is too big for them, and they like to um uh can't think of the right word, but like re downsize, thank you. Downsize to something smaller, and they were looking to invest in this former commercial property and redevelop it into a single family home for themselves. Um they would make considerable investment in this building. Um there's an overhead door off of the alley that they would then repurpose into more of a conventional residential overhead door for them to have an internal garage with a workshop, and then there's an overhead door that faces the street that they would then remove and recreate into sort of a setback little Porsche area for them to sit out at, and then the upper floor would be their living spaces. Um again, the rezoning this to single family or one single family is uh desirable use in this area of our comp plan, and so we recommend approval um of this item. Um particularly just because we're creating another housing unit, but also because it's unlikely that it would be able to continue to be used in the current fashion that it is. Does this um a property like this would this have to go but for the design review as well?
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