Industrial Zoning in La Crosse: What Businesses Told the City of La Crosse

Zoning Code changes proposed in the City of La Crosse led to a conversation about industrial land and how the changes could affect manufacturers, logistics firms, and other industrial users.

"Flexibility is great," said one attendee, "But heavy industrial space is so rare. There is usually 0% vacancy in heavy industrial buildings." The words were to encourage the city to continue with two different zones because the outdoor storage, noise levels, and other needs of some of our area's largest employers.

What the City Sought Feedback On

• The City is wanting to make development easier by simplifying the number of zoning classifications it has. For industrial there is light and heavy zoning. The question was whether they could be combined, especially in areas where there is a mix of industrial, office, commercial, and multifamily.

• Doing so would make land easier to convert or expand without multiple rezonings that require committee or council approval.

  
  

Concerns from Industrial Stakeholders

Industrial owners and developers raised several strong concerns:

• Keep Heavy Industrial Separate

  • Heavy industrial uses (steel fabrication, large trucks, potential night shifts) need protections that are different from light industrial and business parks.

  • Collapsing to one industrial district could weaken heavy industrial's manufacturing/service capabilities in La Crosse by bringing noise limits and complaints from nearby residents: ex. early‑morning truck traffic, air tools and fabrication noise

  • Examples from nearby communities show this can hamper existing businesses over time

• Loss of Industrial Land & Buffers

  • Industrial sites often have lower assessed values than new apartment projects, so the market tends to push industrial land toward residential. If “buffer” areas are redeveloped into housing, heavy industrial ends up directly adjacent to residences, increasing conflict and pressure to restrict operations.

  • Riverfront industrial land is especially valuable for logistics, yet highly attractive for high‑end housing with river views.

    
    

How the City Responded

City Planner Tim Acklin acknowledged the concerns and signaled a likely pivot to evaluate:

• Whether to keep separate light and heavy industrial zones.

• How (or whether) to apply a flex district in the River Point–adjacent area.

• The noise ordinance will be reviewed for consistency with mixed industrial/residential edges.

• Staff and consultants will return with a revised industrial zoning approach and more specific details (uses, setbacks, heights) for further business input.

Industrial leaders also urged the city to treat industrial land as a long‑term jobs asset, not just future redevelopment ground, and to make better use of underdeveloped areas like the Airport Industrial Park, where covenants and overlays may be limiting growth.

The City encouraged LADCO to assist with identifying new industrial development.