Community group advocates for biodiverse changes in EC's Century Code Update

Matthew Baughman, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·3 min read

EAU CLAIRE — As the City of Eau Claire looks to update its century code, some community members believe that a few changes could help the city follow a more biodiverse path.

Jane Mohler, co-founder of the Chippewa Valley Biodiversity Partnership, said their organization connects 14 different organizations in a partnership to represent over 4,000 people in the community. Their partnerships include Beaver Creek Reserve, JONAH Environmental Task Force, sustainability groups at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and more.

An update to the city’s century code will mean change to zoning codes and ordinance.

Those with the CV Biodiversity Partnership who support the change stood outside of the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, just before the Zoning Policy Advisory Committee had their meeting on May 20.

“We are really interested in sustaining biodiversity in nature within the Chippewa Valley,” said Mohler. “What we’re doing is we searched for best practices throughout the nation and we’re trying to have them implemented into the zoning process so that we can steer this city in a positive, nature-friendly direction.”

Mohler said there are three specific things they are asking for:

• Native plantings at 70% for commercial buildings, which sustains nature as commercial space clear-cuts areas.

• Bird-friendly first floors, which helps prevent death or injury of birds that hit clear windows.

• Saving significant trees, which discourages builders from knocking down these significant trees by costing them, as money can go towards a green belt to reestablish biodiversity.

“These are best practices,” said Mohler. “We have put forward documents to the city, and they have had very little response to our requests. The technical committee was all real-estate agents and developers, and we asked to have an ecologist on it. We got a lot of pushback, but we were able to get the meeting to open based on Wisconsin Open Meeting Law and we were able to sit an ecologist at the table.”

Brad Grewe, a member of the Green Team representing First Congregational Church in Eau Claire and representative for the Interfaith Green Team to the Biodiversity Consortium, said one of the concerns by many people in the zoning laws is they do not want to make things unaffordable.

“But in the long term, if we don’t maintain some of our diversity and our greenness, we’re going to lose our designation of a tree city and a bird city and those kinds of things. It will start to detract from being a community where people want to come. And in the long run, it will probably be harmful if they don’t embrace that… It is going to be important for our children and grandchildren.”

With the rally advocating for these biodiverse changes, Dailyn Wold, an environmental biology student at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, said she hopes that it gets the attention of city officials and brings awareness to the importance of sustainability.

“Even though we are just working in Eau Claire, protecting our local biodiversity is essential to protecting our planet as a whole,” she said. “Small steps matter, doing small things matters and just taking it one step at a time is essential. It is good to see that people are here supporting it, and I hope that more people really see us out here with our signs and find some passion for the environment.”