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County Commissioners unanimously approved a new version of its Natural Resources Overlay last week, changing how natural resources, like water and wildlife, are protected from future development in the county.
The updated regulations only apply to private county land.
It’s the final step of a decade-long rework, intended to better balance private development in the county with the ecosystem through a stricter environmental review process.
The new system ranks areas in three tiers, from the highest valued areas, like those bordering the Snake River, to areas that aren’t as ecologically sensitive. Property owners with land in the higher tiers are subject to more scrutiny when developing.
Since 1994, that distinction had been binary: land was either in or out.
In recent discussions, environmental advocates like Protect our Waters Jackson Hole said the new overlay doesn’t go far enough. Amberley Baker who represents the Gill Family, which owns over 100 acres south of town slated for up to 600 homes, said the new requirements to develop on private land in some areas encroaches on private property rights. Northern South Park, however, has an exemption from the overlay because its development regulations are specific to that area.
“We have to strike a thoughtful balance between achieving natural resource goals and respecting private property rights,” Baker said.
Commissioner Natalia Macker said the commission struck that balance, one that’s been in the works since she first became a county commissioner in 2015.
“I think the completion of this is a really big step forward,” Macker said of the new regulations.
Macker said that by treating different types of habitat differently the county hoped for more “flexibility” when making development decisions.
She and other commissioners said that while not perfect, the update is intended to better manage the balance between private development in the county and the ecosystem in which they reside.
The new overlay goes into effect on May 1.
