EAU CLAIRE — After embarking on a Century Code Update process in 2023, new zoning code in the City of Eau Claire is now taking effect as of today.
The implementation of the new Land Development Ordinance (LDO), which is the zoning code’s more official title, comes after city council members unanimously passed the Century Code Update on Aug. 12. At the most recent meeting Tuesday last week, city council members finalized the zoning code with updates addressing DNR requirements and addressing parts of the ordinance related to tree preservation and impact fees, which are fees imposed on property developers for infrastructure that is built to accommodate new development.
The Century Code Update process was a major undertaking of looking at all items addressed in the city’s preexisting zoning code and updating them to a more modern vision. It is described by the city as a “once-in-a-generation effort,” with the code last being updated in 1990.
“The biggest thing is [we are] encouraging and requiring more compact development,” said Ned Noel, planning manager for Eau Claire. “As the city’s growing, we’re growing up and more compact because we want to use land more effectively and try to reduce sprawl. Our codes now are basically allowing smaller lots.”
As highlighted in the City of Eau Claire’s Comprehensive Plan, compact development is a primary area they want to see increase. With that objective, the LDO includes the removal of arbitrary density standards and reduces lot sizes, setbacks and parking requirements. Furthermore, it also allows for more types of housing developments and incentives for real affordable housing.
“Dwelling units are something that was new that a lot of cities are doing,” Noel said. “So that was approved: tiny home courts, or what we call cottage courts.”
The LDO also includes more graphics and aims to be a more user-friendly document.
With construction and preservation as a major area, the document also addresses areas like tree preservation and building design standards, with language on bird-safe glass being a new addition to the document.
Although discussion on tree preservation was consistent, a failed amendment leaves the current tree preservation limit at 12 inches, which is the same number as in the previous zoning code. That means that trees which are 12 inches in diameter or more must be preserved, replanted or replaced via a fee in lieu at $400 per diameter if a developer is looking to remove them.
As a 14-chapter document, the LDO includes information pertaining to environments, aesthetics, construction, traffic and more, with some details being transferred over from the previous zoning code.
While the process to move forward on the Century Code Update has been going on internally for three years, two-and-a-half of those years have been public-facing. Engaging with residents and local stakeholders through public meetings has been a big aspect of the process.
“It’s been intense,” Noel said. “It’s been totally worthwhile though; the public was super engaged; stakeholders, the city council really made a lot of those choices and they worked with our planning commission through those ZPAC meetings.
“Overall, it was a really robust process that I think the council in the end had a few tweaks, but they ended up without having to go back to the drawing board much. And I think those ZPAC meetings really paid dividends over that course of time. They were always there, we were always bouncing things off them, like, ‘What do you think about this? What do you think about that?’ And it would give us direction.”
As the Century Code Update now sees implementation, Noel said it is likely that there will be revisions to it in its future.
“It’s a living document, and that was happening too with our early code,” he said. “I think society’s always changing every year with new things and stuff like that. So there’s going to be things that we have to adjust to.”
The city also plans to continue sharing information via the news and social media to continue highlighting key changes, explain details and make the ordinance more accessible to the public.
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