RIVER FALLS — The first reading of an ordinance change that would change the maximum driveway width at the right-of-way line in R-1 zoned districts from 25 feet to 30 feet was heard by the River …
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RIVER FALLS — The first reading of an ordinance change that would change the maximum driveway width at the right-of-way line in R-1 zoned districts from 25 feet to 30 feet was heard by the River Falls City Council on Sept. 22.
“The proposed driveway width amendments were initially part of the 2025 Comprehensive Plan conformance updates but were tabled by council in February due to concerns over the aesthetic and stormwater impacts,” Page said. “Staff was asked to do further research and come back with a proposal that addresses the non-conformities while retaining the character and intent of the driveway ordinance. The proposal before council tonight is less extreme in its allowances, permitting a flat five-foot increase versus the percentage of frontage that we previously presented.”
The current ordinance limits driveway width to 25 feet at the right-of-way line in R-1 zoned districts, and 35 feet in R-2 and R-3 districts. Of 125 driveways sampled from five neighborhoods, which were largely recent builds due to the trend of three-car garages, 55.4% of homes were non-conforming.
“That was one of the issues is if we don’t change the ordinance, do we ask all of those homeowners to come into conformance,” Assistant Director to Community Development Emily Shively said. “Do we come up with something that fits some of these existing conditions, and then also anticipates that for the same type of development in the future?”
Staff landed on an increase from 25 to 30 feet for single and two-family properties. The other change is to move to land use designations rather than zoning categorization. According to city documents, the change better applies driveway regulations to the type of development they serve.
“It would allow for a more aesthetic taper where it widens out into that third stall and support that three-car garage constructions,” Shively said.
The city engineer found the change would not negatively impact stormwater despite the changes to impervious surfaces.
The second reading and potential adoption of the ordinance is expected during the Oct. 13 council meeting. The ordinance would take effect city-wide, but Shively said existing homes with driveways greater than 25 feet can retain that driveway.
Alderperson Melissa Abdouch asked how the city would enforce the ordinance change if over half of the surveyed residences were non-conforming.
“We would, again, try to get people to apply for permits where we can review the standards and make sure that they’re following all of our ordinances,” Shively said. “The idea is to educate people, let people know up front what the expectation is, what the standard is and what they can do to meet that ordinance. If they miss that information somehow, try to get that to them and create a plan to bring them into conformance,”
Abdouch opposed the ordinance because of a multitude of concerns.
“It’s not only about rainwater concerns, it’s about aesthetics. What do we want our city to look like? Do we want it to look just like a bunch of concrete out there with just giant driveways, or do we want to reinforce all of the green space that we have in our community,” Abdouch said. “When we have developers that understand that they can just come in and ignore our ordinances because the city will just update policies and ordinances and make it okay for all the homes that they’ve already built and walked away from. That’s the message that we’re going to continue to communicate if we continue to update ordinances to make okay what they’ve already done.”
City staff mentioned the ordinance returned to council by request of the board previously, and the decision is ultimately up to council.
“That’s not what we’re recommending you do is backdate because we think you should just come into conformance,” City Administrator Scot Simpson said. “We’re telling you what the result of your action would be if you did that. We’re not saying you need to do it because of that.”
“You should only pass this change if you think that 30 feet is acceptable to you, irrespective of how many driveways are not in compliance of the current 25 feet,” Simpson said.
Alderperson Diane Odeen spoke in favor of the revision, thanking staff for taking council feedback into account before returning.
“I’m glad to see this come before us with an in-between amount that appears to give homeowners plenty of room to get those three cars in there,” Odeen said. “I’m also very glad to hear that there’s minimal impact on runoff.”
Business Improvement District
Council declared intent to apply special assessments in the downtown business improvement district. The district board requested an assessment of $44,500 to fund improvements in the district.
“That district has a board, and then they recommend to the council what the overall assessment would be, and then it’s split against all the commercial properties within the district,” Simpson said. “All those properties that are in it are within that taxing district, and then they essentially agree to have that special tax assessed.”
Capital projects outlined
Council approved both the 2027-31 Capital Improvement Plan and the 2027-31 Long Range Fiscal Plan during the meeting. City documents listed 10 capital improvement projects that are planned over the five-year span”
“The 2027-2031 CIP totals approximately $122.3 million in investments over five years. Approximately 70 percent of the total dollar amount in the CIP is made up of 10 projects:
The CIP uses a mix of grants and donations, levy-backed and non-levy-backed borrowing, development-related revenues, tax increment financing, cash financing, and other funding sources. The five-year Fiscal Plan is used as a guide to ensure anticipated future tax levies and debt service for the CIP remain within established Council policies and targets.”
Other business
