Proposal calls for talks over cities' border

Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Andrew Dowd, Leader-Telegram staff

Talks between Eau Claire and neighboring Altoona about future growth between the two cities are suggested in Eau Claire's draft of its updated comprehensive plan.

The proposed plan states that the neighboring cities could discuss where each would be interested in future expansion in a rural area between the two near Eau Claire's southeast corner.

"In my mind we should at least ask Altoona," said Darryl Tufte, Eau Claire's community development director.

Tufte noted that the border talks are suggested in a plan that's still in the making and won't be voted on until September, but it's a subject he believes should be broached.

"Where should the future municipal border be located between Eau Claire and Altoona east of U.S. 53?" a summary of the draft plan states.

Currently, the town of Washington is nestled between the two cities on their southern reaches. Rural landowners there can choose to annex into a city to access its water and sewer utilities and other municipal services. Eau Claire Councilman Bob Von Haden noted that current policy allows landowners close to both cities to decide if they would want to annex into Altoona or Eau Claire.

A boundary agreement between the two cities could take that choice away, Tufte said, but it would help both cities plan for extending utility services and roads to development sites.

Talks regarding future boundaries are a way for Eau Claire to make long-range plans, City Manger Russell Van Gompel said, as opposed to piece-by-piece when land owners ask the city for annexation.

"Eau Claire suffers from irregular boundaries through annexations at this point," Van Gompel said. "I don't think you want to foster that going forward."

Altoona Mayor Jack Blackburn said he'd be open to talks between the two cities.

"For Altoona and Eau Claire to speak to each other is always good and profitable," he said.

Though the area in question has not created difficulties in Altoona's growth, Blackburn said discussions between cities often yield good ideas.

"Oftentimes ideas bubble to the surface when you're having those discussions that wouldn't have been thought of any other way," he said.

Blackburn said that extending utilities to a new area can be costly, and Altoona currently is grappling with utilities costs related to the construction of an elementary school on the city's far east end.

The potential discussion of an intercity agreement piqued the curiosity of Eau Claire Councilwoman Kathleen Mitchell.

"How do you answer a question like that?" she said during Monday night's council meeting. "How would we be deciding where that border is?"

Agreement history

Tufte said this would not be the first time Eau Claire and Altoona came to an agreement about development. The two cities already have an agreement in place for reviewing building plans outside their boundaries. Eau Claire's extraterritorial plat review allows the city to have a say in plans for nearby town land, except for an area directly east of Altoona.

If pursued by Eau Claire and Altoona, the future border pact would be generally in the area of Schumacher and Prill roads, Tufte said.

The two cities already have firm borders between them in other spots. Altoona and Eau Claire touch along parts of South Hastings Way, Fairfax Street and Otter Creek. The Eau Claire River and Lake Altoona form a natural boundary to Altoona's expansion to the north, Tufte noted.

Eau Claire's draft comprehensive plan update also mentions the possibility of addressing a land peninsula in the town of Washington along London Road, which is surrounded by Eau Claire.

Similar to how the proposed 2015 plan suggests talks with Altoona and Washington, the previous version of the city's comprehensive plan led to similar conversations with rural governments. Following the adoption of the 2005 comprehensive plan, Eau Claire met with surrounding towns to make agreements on the city's future expansion and land use.

State law requires that the city's comprehensive plan be updated every 10 years. Eau Claire's new version is half done and will be ready for a vote in September, Tufte said.

Dowd can be reached at 715-833-9204, 800-236-7077 or andrew.dowd@ecpc.com.

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