City commission agrees to family’s plan to move home to get bigger backyard

After months of footwork and fighting with city hall, a La Crosse family may be able to get the backyard they’ve been dreaming of.

The Kelly family has been working on a plan to move a house they own next to their primary home on Cass Street, so they can expand their backyard.

The family even offered to pay extra in property taxes to sweeten the deal.

They bought a lot on Main Street to move the house to, but city staff still recommended against the move, citing a housing shortage and pointing out that small yards are pretty common in the city.

Basically, they told the Kellys to suck it up and move on.

But, the city plan commission on Monday voted against that recommendation, agreeing with the Kelly’s plan, primarily because they’ve agreed to move the small house to a lot on Main Street.

The full city council will have to vote on the arrangement.