RIVER FALLS — The River Falls City Council approved a 255-unit Mann Valley Corporate Park development Specific Implementation Plan for Valley View Apartments on Jan. 13. The proposal includes market rate, studio and income-based units as well as townhomes.

The plan includes 50 units of income-based housing (28 one-bedroom, 12 two-bedroom and 10 three-bedroom units. There would be seven buildings that make up the 255 units.

Valley View was one of two proposals put under a microscope by both the public and city committees during a series of fall meetings.

The city requested flexibility in development for setback decreases from 25 to 10 feet, parking ratio decreases from two stalls per unit to 1.7 to better match the unit size and a decrease in open space. Staff previously mentioned they were not opposed to the open space decrease because of the “quality” of the open space including a sport court, community garden and dog park.

Critics of the development, as well as the 93-unit Powell Avenue development that was climbing through the approval process at a similar time, had concerns both about the fact that some developments receive flexibility on city code as well as concerns about the nature of the specific exemptions. A few items that were mentioned included a lack of permeable surface for runoff due to the open space decrease and sport court and a change in the community’s character due to the density and decreased setbacks.

At the Jan. 13 meeting, resident Patricia LaRue spoke in favor of the development and the chance for more people to experience life in River Falls.

“When the staff puts up the maps on their screen, and there’s all these lines and there’s these little boxes, the first thing [people say] is we don’t want that, but each of those lines is somebody’s lot and each of those little boxes is someday going to be someone’s house,” LaRue said. “That house is going to have a door, and behind that door is a family. That family chose to move here to be with us, to be part of our community. They become our coaches, our teachers, our librarians, wait staff at Table on Main and they’re welcome here.”

LaRue said after moving into a smaller, affordable home, it was worth it to be a part of River Falls. LaRue mentioned not needing a four-bedroom house with a massive yard to live comfortably.

“I get what other people are saying. The character of our structures is changing, but the character of our community is not,” LaRue said. “We welcome those people whether they buy a small home or they buy a big home.”

Dana Linscott followed LaRue’s comment by saying there are many people in River Falls who would support affordable housing in the city, but they cannot do it without city leadership uniting and collaborating with developers to get it done.

Fire Station Remodel

During City Administrator Scot Simpson’s report, he shared that the Fire Station Remodel work is expected to begin around Jan. 27, with fencing going up over the next few weeks. After consideration, the city determined the alley between Main and Second will not need to be closed.

The project will start with demo work, followed by a brief pause for utilities before the rebuild around April.

Other business

• Approved uncollectible EMS accounts for Fiscal Year 2025.
• Approved open container exemptions, noise control exemptions, street closure and city assistance for River Falls Business Leaders special events.