It’s mayor vs. city in La Crosse court filing

It’s gets strange at times in La Crosse’s city hall. This is one of those times.

It’s not exactly the city suing itself. But it’s close.

A petition filed in La Crosse County Circuit Court, on behalf of La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat, is against the city’s own zoning appeals board.

The Board of Zoning Appeals, which is used to getting zero attention — ever — is now the focus of a request for a court review, and a possible overturning of a decision made to grant a variance for a kitchen renovation.

The problems with that decision, according to documents filed with the court, are numerous.

A couple on Cliffwood Lane wants the new kitchen.

The board, at a meeting last month, said yes. That decision after the city inspector, engineers and DNR all recommended against it.

The most significant problem here — and why it was recommended against — is that the variance isn’t allowed by law because the house in a floodplain, and that planned renovation goes well beyond what the couple would be allowed to do to their home.

The filing says the decision by the board was “arbitrary.”

Kabat wants to overturn the decision of the board, in part, because it could lead to an increase in flood insurance premiums for everyone in the city who has property in a floodplain.