City Hall makes plans for how land around La Crosse will be used years from now

The city of La Crosse is discussing future land use during its council meetings this month, with one city leader citing an “insane” local demand for industrial property.

The future land use plan was briefly discussed by the city plan commission on Tuesday, and is also being reviewed by council committees. At the same time, some excess city property in La Crosse could be opened up to private development soon.

Two city committees have endorsed a plan to let developers build on two parcels on Kinney Coulee Road, near Valley View Mall. Last month, the city council declared that the parcels were surplus property, available for private uses. La Crosse city planner Andrea Trane told the city plan commission spoke of the demand for property to be developed in the community, and that got the attention of Mayor Mitch Reynolds.

“Did I just hear you say there’s a significantly high demand for industrial land in the city of La Crosse?” the mayor asked Trane.

“There is an insane amount of demand for industrial land in the city of La Crosse,” Trane responded.

“It’s almost like La Crosse is open for business or something,” Reynolds remarked, calling that good news for the city.

The plan commission and the city council judiciary committee also approved a zoning change for property on River Run Road, where more than a dozen two-bedroom homes are being proposed.

La Crosse residents have a few more days to comment on concepts for Future Land Use within the city. The deadline for those comments is September 10th, after which the public input will be used to help city staff put together a vision for the next 10 to 15 years. Senior planner Tim Acklin says that people living near areas to be developed are showing more interest in what will be done with the land, citing “architectural control” and the desire for “better design.”