E.C. City Council Again OK’s Annexation for Subdivision
Orchard Hills development could include as many as 860 dwellings
Tom Giffey, photos by Sawyer Hoff |
The annexation of 438 acres into the City of Eau Claire once again got the go-ahead of the Eau Claire City Council despite objections from neighbors who say the development in what is now the Town of Washington would spoil the area’s rural character.
A day after hearing criticism of the plan at a public hearing, the City Council voted 9-1 on March 28 to approve the annexation of what had been referred to as Orchard Hills.
Current plans by the developers call for about 860 residential units, a mixture of single-family homes, twinhomes, and apartments, said Paul Holzinger of Holzinger Homes, which is part of the development group.
At the March 27 hearing, Holzinger acknowledged neighbors’ concerns about the density of the new development. However, he added, “The fact remains our community is still growing, we still need housing. … This is a place that’s been earmarked since the 1970s that’s been identified for residential development.”
James Rolbiecki was one of numerous Town of Washington residents who spoke against the plan. “It seems a lot like leapfrog development to me,” he said, noting the shape of the annexed area, which is connected to current Eau Claire city limits only by the annexation of Lowes Creek County Park. “A lot of the people that live out there have worked really hard to have that rural setting,” he added.
According to city documents, the 438 acres consist of vacant, agricultural, and public park land located on South Lowes Creek Road, Evergreen Terrace, Mischler Road, and Deerfield Road (County Highway II) in Eau Claire County.
City officials have contended that the annexation is necessary to add housing as the city continues to grow: According to the most recent census estimates, Eau Claire is the second-fastest growing large city in the state, and the state Department of Administration estimates that the county added 2,000 residents between 2020 and 2022 alone.
And it was the need for more housing for this growing population that weighed heavily for City Council members who supported the annexation.
“We have the beautiful issue of living in a growing city,” Councilwoman Kate Felton said. “We’re doing so many things right that more and more people want to move here. That’s something that we should be proud of, and also be really realistic that frankly we’re going to need the housing. Housing in this city across all incomes is in crisis. And we need to make these really hard decisions to steward smart growth within our city to accommodate for that growth in population.”
Last June, the City Council had voted to approve the annexation based on what is known as a “Direct Annexation by Unanimous Approval.” However, in February an Eau Claire County judge ruled that this annexation was not valid because the petition was not unanimous: A portion of the annexation area includes Lowes Creek County Park, and Eau Claire County did not agree to the annexation petition. Subsequently, the private property owners – LaVerne Stewart, Todd Hauge, and CDPG Developers LLC – filed a new annexation petition under a different procedure, known as “Direct Annexation by one-half approval.” It was this latter petition that was OK’d by the City Council on March 28.
CDPG Developers is a partnership among four local businesses: Holzinger Homes of Altoona, Chippewa Valley Excavating of Bloomer, Trend Stone Surfaces of Eau Claire, and C&E Wurzer Builders of Eau Claire.
Annexation is just the first step in the development process, noted Scott Allen, the city’s community development director. Typically, it will be followed by an amendment to the city’s comprehensive plan, rezoning of the property, approval of a generation development plan, and more.
