Town of Washington files lawsuit against City of Eau Claire

EAU CLAIRE CO., Wis. (WEAU) -One town in Eau Claire County files a lawsuit against the City of Eau Claire over a recent land annexation.

In June the Eau Claire City Council voted to add hundreds of acres of land to the city as part of the Stewart-Hauge annexation petition. That land was part of the Town of Washington. Now the town is filing a lawsuit against the city saying the annexation isn’t legal.

In a court filing, the Town of Washington said the annexation request was inaccurate.

The land’s owners Laverne Stewart and Todd Hauge filed it as a unanimous petition. That means all those owning the land in question agree they want it annexed.

The Town of Washington said Lowes Creek Park which is owned by Eau Claire County is part of the annexation area and is the only land in the proposal that borders the city.

Since the county did not sign onto the petition, the Town of Washington said the annexation is not valid.

The City of Eau Claire said land like Lowes Creek Park doesn’t count.

“Generally under Wisconsin law, government land that is not developable or usable isn’t counted for these types of annexations, and we think that’s what applies here,” said Douglas Hoffer, the deputy city attorney for the City of Eau Claire. “We’re confident that the City of Eau Claire complied with Wisconsin statutory requirements for these types of annexations.”

The City of Eau Claire has 20 days to respond to the lawsuit.

Hoffer said the city is prepared to take its case to court if necessary, but hopes it can come to an agreement with the Town of Washington before that.

We reached out to the Town of Washington’s attorney Rick Manthe for comment, but did not hear back.

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