La Crosse 2040 Comprehensive Plan

La Crosse adopted its first Comprehensive Plan, Confluence, in 2002, and, like many communities during the early phase of comprehensive planning, designed the plan to closely reflect the requirements outlined by state statute. The result was a 500-page document robust with information and graphics but lacking the user-friendliness to be widely understood and usable by many in the community. In 2022, the City selected GRAEF as the prime consultant to create a more user-friendly, visually appealing Plan that addressed the City’s current needs and challenges. During the creation of the Plan, GRAEF conducted an extensive community engagement process to ensure the Plan closely reflected the needs, priorities, and feedback of the residents, business owners, and elected officials who know and love La Crosse.

GRAEF designed the La Crosse Comprehensive Plan in a new format that incorporated the statutorily required elements into the following six sections: (1) Process & Engagement (2) Growth & Land Use (3) A Place to Call Home (4) A Place to Prosper (5) A Place to Admire (6) A Place for the Long Term. The Plan culminates with the “Next Steps” section, which provides key implementation actions and a framework both for tracking intermediate success and updating the Plan in 10 years. As part of this project, GRAEF coordinated efforts from four sub-consultants, which provided technical expertise to the City in core areas of focus.