The Eau Claire City Council appointed a citizens task force in December of 2015 called the Neighborhood Revitalization Task Force with the charge of developing a plan for the revitalization of Eau Claire’s central neighborhoods. The creation of the Task Force came from a recommendation in the 2015 Comprehensive Plan. The Task Force was a 38 member committee representing groups and organizations such as the neighborhood associations, businesses, realtors, bankers, university, school district, etc.

The Task Force met five times starting in January, 2016, to discuss issues related to the central neighborhoods and develop recommendations to be presented to the City Council. The focus was to look at new strategies for these areas with an emphasis towards housing. The City has adopted neighborhood plans for all the individual neighborhoods surrounding downtown, but these plans lack an overall coordinated approach to address issues of property upkeep, declining home ownership, lower household incomes, etc.

As part of the effort, speakers from other cities such as St. Paul, Madison, Milwaukee, and La Crosse were invited to discuss programs and activities implemented in their respective communities.

The report was completed in June and accepted by the City Council on June 28, 2016. It includes a review of 16 actions that the City currently is involved in to improve the neighborhoods and categorizes them as to those that are done well and those that need improvement. The report also includes 14 future actions that the City should consider to enhance the community’s efforts to improve and revitalize the older neighborhoods.

Information related to the task force including meeting notes, summaries of speaker presentations, and the final report are provided with the links shown below.

For more information, please Community Development Department at 715-839-4914.

Meeting Information: