City looking for five homes to begin floodplain relief project

Program open to all prop. owners in La Crosse’s floodplain.

The city of La Crosse’s floodplain relief program is launching with the goal of identifying five properties as part of a pilot for the matching grant and loan program.

Applications for help under a new program are now being accepted. The general idea is to get as many properties as possible out of the floodplains.

The program, which will be reviewed in July, is open to all property owners in the city’s floodplain areas. Up to $20,000 in loans can be used for things like demolition, elevation and landscaping.  

Up to 1,000 properties in La Crosse are located within federal floodplain zones and pay thousands per year in special property insurance because of it.  

The program is hoped to be the first substantial step in stemming the deterioration of neighborhoods and property values that come with having so many properties in a floodplain.