The City of Eau Claire Plan Commission on Oct. 6 recommended that the City Council approve a rezoning and certified survey map (CSM) for land in the Gateway Industrial Park area, forwarding staff’s recommendation by unanimous vote.
City planning staff told commissioners the property was annexed into the city in 2020 from the town of Wheaton but never received permanent zoning. Planner Brandon Petrie said the proposal would set about 44 acres to industrial uses, with an adjacent parcel — roughly 30 acres along County Road T — guided for commercial corridor uses. Petrie said the CSM in the commission packet shows a future lot for stormwater dedicated to the public and an outlot for future development; he said a later plat is anticipated and would return to the commission and council for review.
The rezoning and CSM were presented as consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan and similar in character to other industrial development in the immediate area. Gareth Shambaugh of Ayres Associates, representing the applicant Gateway Industrial Park, was present to answer technical questions; no members of the public spoke during the hearing.
Commissioners voted to recommend approval and send the item to the City Council next week for final action. The commission’s recommendation does not itself rezone the property; council action is required for the change to take effect.
The staff packet included a general development plan describing permitted uses, setbacks, building design guidance and nonbuilding elements for future site plans. Petrie told the commission that future individual projects would return for site-plan review.