Board of Zoning Appeals on 2026-02-16 4:00 PM — La Crosse, WI
Date: 2026-02-16

City Hall
 City of La Crosse, Wisconsin 400 La Crosse Street
 La Crosse, WI 54601

 Meeting Agenda - Final

 Board of Zoning Appeals

Monday, February 16, 2026 4:00 PM Council Chambers
 City Hall, First Floor



The Board of Zoning Appeals meeting is open for in-person attendance and will also be conducted through video
conferencing. The meeting can be viewed by visiting the Legislative Information Center
(https://cityoflacrosse.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx) and clicking on the "In Progress" video link to the far right in the
meeting list.

Call to Order

Roll Call

Annual Code of Ethics Review

Notice is hereby given that the Board of Zoning Appeals will hear the following
variance appeal in the Council Chambers on the first floor of City Hall, 400 La Crosse
Street, at 4:00 p.m. on February 16, 2026:
 2700 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, La
 Crosse, Wisconsin.

Adjournment

Property owners affected by an appeal may appear either in person, by agent, or by attorney, and may express
their written approval of or objection to the granting of the appeal by filing a letter in the office of the City Clerk, or in
lieu thereof may, upon oath, testify thereto. Written comments are encouraged to be submit in writing prior to the
meeting and should be submitted to craigs@cityoflacrosse.org, dropped in a drop box outside of City Hall, or
mailed to the City Clerk, 400 La Crosse Street, La Crosse WI 54601. Questions, call 608-789-7510.
 Dated this 4th day of February, 2026
 Board of Zoning Appeals
 Nikki Elsen, Secretary

Notice is further given that members of other governmental bodies may be present at the above
scheduled meeting to gather information about a subject over which they have decision-making
responsibility.

NOTICE TO PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY
Requests from persons with a disability who need assistance to participate in this meeting should call
the City Clerk's office at (608) 789-7510 or send an email to ADAcityclerk@cityoflacrosse.org, with as
much advance notice as possible.




City of La Crosse, Wisconsin Page 1 Printed on 2/11/2026
Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting Agenda - Final February 16, 2026



Board of Zoning Appeals Members:
James Cherf, Douglas Farmer, James Szymalak, Ben Stepanek, Andrew Sherman, First
Alternate Anastasia Gentry, Second Alternate Jai Johnson




City of La Crosse, Wisconsin Page 2 Printed on 2/11/2026

City Hall
 City of La Crosse, Wisconsin 400 La Crosse Street
 La Crosse, WI 54601


 Meeting Minutes - Final

 Board of Zoning Appeals

Monday, February 16, 2026 4:00 PM Council Chambers
 City Hall, First Floor


 Call to Order

 Chair Cherf called the meeting to order and explained the meeting procedures.


 Roll Call

 Present: 5 - Jai Johnson, James Cherf, James Szymalak, Ben Stepanek,Andrew
 Sherman

 Annual Code of Ethics Review

 Chair Cherf confirmed the Board's review of the Code of Ethics.


 Variance Appeals:


 2700 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, La
 Crosse, Wisconsin.
 Cherf clarified that the appeal request is only regarding the 15 feet of fill.
 Jeremiah Huber, representing the Building and Inspections Department, was sworn in
 to speak. Huber reviewed the three requirements for granting a variance: unnecessary
 hardship, hardship due to unique property limitations, and no harm to public interest.
 Huber stated that the owner of 412 Liberty Street had applied for a permit to construct
 a new single-family dwelling that does not meet the 15 feet of fill requirement for
 construction in a flood fringe district on both the North and South side of the property.
 He showed a current image of the property at 412 Liberty Street. Per Municipal Code
 Section 115.281 - Flood Fringe District (FF) 1. the fill shall be one foot or more above
 the regional flood elevation extending at least 15 feet beyond the limits of the
 structure. Huber stated that a variance of 12.6 feet on the North and 15 feet on the
 South side of the property would need to be granted and he showed images of site
 plans, floor plans, and elevation. Cherf asked how wide the lot is and Huber stated it is
 140 feet by 50 feet. Huber stated that the unnecessary hardship is that the property
 cannot be developed if the proper fill cannot be provided because it is in the floodplain,
 the hardship due to unique property limitations is that the size of the lot does not allow
 for the required fill, and that there is no harm to public interest; therefore, the
 requested variance should be granted.
 Johnson asked for clarification on the definitions of fill and setbacks as they relate to
 the appeal. Huber restated that the Code states 15 feet of fill which is horizontal, not
 vertical. David Reinhart, representing the Building and Inspections Department, was
 sworn in to speak. Johnson asked if the request is to build a house with no setback

City of La Crosse, Wisconsin Page 1
Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting Minutes - Final February 16, 2026

 on one side of the property and less than a three-foot setback on the other side.
 Reinhart stated that the zoning setback for the side yard will be met with a six-foot
 side yard on each side and the variance requested is for the fill because 15 feet of fill
 out from the dwelling is required. He clarified that the applicant requested zero fill on
 one side and three feet on the other side so the setbacks required by the Zoning
 Ordinance will be met, but the setbacks required by the Floodplain Ordinance will not.
 Johnson asked if granting the variance would affect the City's status in terms of
 community rating and insurance, and if this variance would be a violation that there are
 no external consequences for. Reinhart stated that the Board of Zoning Appeals is
 allowed to grant variances for the width of fill, not the height, so it would not be a DNR
 or FEMA violation because the 15 feet of fill is a DNR rule. Gideon Wertheimer,
 representing the Attorney's Office, was sworn in to speak. Johnson asked if ignoring
 the setback requirement could result in the City losing FEMA assistance and raising
 rates for insurance on properties within the City. Wertheimer stated that the Ordinance
 was approved based off the DNR and FEMA but he defers to Reinhart's judgment
 because he works with FEMA more. Szymalak asked why the lot cannot be filled to
 be above floodplain to become a buildable lot with the proper setbacks. Reinhart
 stated that fill could be brought in to bring it out of the floodplain if it is contiguous to
 lots outside of the floodplain, but the fill requirements would still need to be met.
 Szymalak asked why this lot cannot be filled to become floodplain compliant. Reinhart
 stated that the building would be floodplain compliant if the variance was granted for
 the width of the fill and that the lot is not wide enough to bring in the full 15 feet of fill.
 Szymalak asked what an example of a situation would be for a variance to be denied if
 this variance was granted. Reinhart clarified that the request is not for a height of fill
 variance but for a width of fill variance. Reinhart stated that if the requested variance is
 granted with changes, additional variances will be required. Szymalak asked what the
 standard is for granting a variance if this were granted. Reinhart stated that is up to the
 Board. Johnson asked why the retaining walls are not proposed to be on the lot lines to
 comply with a minimum variance. Reinhart stated that the current variance would not
 require additional variances, but if the Board grants a lesser variance than requested,
 the applicant may have to obtain additional variances. Szymalak asked for
 confirmation that the law in the State of Wisconsin pertaining to floodplain states that
 the variance should be the absolute minimum required to obtain compliance.
 Wertheimer confirmed that the law requires the minimum variance for meeting the
 requirements to grant a variance.
 Leonardo Silva, N2685 County Road FA, was sworn in to speak. Silva confirmed that
 the front, back, and side yard setback requirements would be met if this property was
 not in the floodplain. He stated that the 15-foot variance in question has to be 15 feet
 from the edge of the building. He added that on the South side, they decided not to put
 the retaining wall on the lot line but use a decorative foundation wall to contain all the
 fill 6.8 feet from the property line and anything remaining on the North side. Silva
 stated that the unnecessary hardship is in order to have the 15-foot extrusion from the
 foundation on all sides, given that this lot is only 50 feet wide, would leave only 20 feet
 of building space. Since this is a residential lot, the plan is designed to fit in with the
 neighborhood and will be 1,800 square feet. Silva added that the hardship due to
 unique property limitations is that the property is in the floodplain which includes the
 added requirement of 15 feet of fill. The finished floor level will be compliant with FEMA
 requirements. He stated that there is no harm to public interest because they are
 being conscious of neighboring properties, including placing the retaining wall farther
 back to create space from the neighboring single-story dwelling. Johnson asked for
 clarification on the amount of horizontal fill needed. Silva confirmed that they will need
 7.5 feet of fill from the street elevation. Johnson asked why they are not placing the
 retaining walls on the lot lines. Silva stated that on the South side, the reasoning is
 water mitigation, and to the North, a retaining wall is not needed, and a slope will be


City of La Crosse, Wisconsin Page 2
Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting Minutes - Final February 16, 2026

 used instead. Stepanek asked why the applicant chose to pursue this particular level
 of variance. Silva restated that a variance would not be needed if the building was only
 20 feet wide, but they wanted to make the first level ADA compliant.
 Reinhart clarified that the property to the North does not have an elevation certificate
 on file and that there is not fill being brought in to bring the property out of the
 floodplain, but rather that it is being used to make the property floodplain compliant.

 A motion was made by Szymalak, seconded by Stepanek, to grant a variance
 that reduces the 15 foot fill requirement to that of the North and South lot lines
 with the requirement that the applicant bring in fill up to the minimum
 requirement for elevation. The motion carried by the following vote:

 Yes: 4- Johnson, Cherf, Szymalak,Stepanek

 No: 1- Sherman


 Adjournment

 Meeting adjourned at 4:54 p.m.




City of La Crosse, Wisconsin Page 3