GET OUTTA THE FACEBOOK COMMENTS. City of Eau Claire community members are encouraged to apply for the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee. That group will will help shape future are develop by helping create the next Comprehensive Plan document. (Previous construction progress of what is now the Andante apartment complex, pictured.)

Ever wanted to have a hand in shaping the City of Eau Claire’s longterm plans for community development? Well, here’s your chance – applications are now being accepted for anyone interested in joining the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC).

This summer, the City will significantly update its comprehensive plan – first adopted in 1953, the most recent comprehensive plan was adopted by City Council in 2015 and updated twice thereafter, in 2022 and 2025 – and needs a local committee to help do so.

“(The Comprehensive Plan) provides a rational basis for local land use decisions with a 20-year vision for future planning and community decisions,” the City website states.

That document will be used by the City to guide the community’s physical, economic and social development. It will also identify “a coherent and fiscally responsible development pattern” for the Eau Claire area.

For example, the 2015 Comprehensive Plan document identified 10 “major land use and growth management issues.” Among those topics were the development of downtown Eau Claire beyond North Barstow Street, that of the Oakwood Mall area.

The 2015 plan considered whether or not the City should “participate financially in redevelopment east of North Barstow Street” – which it now has – and debated “more intensive development” in the Oakwood Mall area, including multi-story office buildings, multi-family housing and mixed-use development – most of which has since occurred.

The CPAC, which will ultimately be a group of ten or so community members serving alongside two city council members and two plan commissioners, will provide feedback and guidance on the City’s newest Comprehensive Plan.

Members of the CPAC will be part of approximately ten meetings from August 2026 through Fall 2027, each ranging from about one-and-a-half to two hours long. Additional time will be spent reviewing documents for the updated comprehensive plan.

“Backgrounds and expertise in natural resources/sustainability, transportation, land use and development, construction, urban design, business, economic development, neighborhoods, housing, health, social and community needs/facilities are all desired,” the City site says.

Applications must be submitted online by June 14 with official appointment determined by city council one month later.

After the CPAC is finalized, there should be ample opportunities for wider public engagement during the updating process of the Comprehensive Plan.

Learn more about the City of Eau Claire's Comprehensive Plan online at www.eauclairewi.gov/government/our-divisions/planning/comprehensive-plan • Applications can be filled out online, here