County Commissioner Wes Gardner first met Jackson photographer Morris Weintraub on the ultimate frisbee pitch.
Twenty years later, one friend is desperately trying to find a one-bedroom home to rent for less than $3,000 a month. The other is tasked with building what could be the solution.
Both are asking one central question: Who deserves to live in paradise?
Weintraub, 52, took a break from packing up boxes to share his predicament with KHOL.
“You have to ask yourself, ‘If I haven’t made it work by now, if I don’t own a home, then do I deserve to live and remain in the best town in America?’” he asked. “And I’m not sure I do. Financially anyway.”
Gardner asked the same question at a recent joint community meeting. The market has become “insane,” he said. And his friend is “on the brink of being lost.”
“This is the story of living in Jackson for anybody whose housing is insecure,” Gardner said.
Yet at the same meeting, the commissioner soured on plans to build more than 200 affordable homes at 90 Virginian Lane. Gardner is part of a cadre of electeds worried about rising project costs. After two years of planning, the government-owned RV park slated for those homes will stay undeveloped.
The fate of that project dovetails with similar yearslong negotiations on about 600 affordable homes in northern South Park, which critics also worry could become unaffordable without more regulations.
The nonprofit Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust is planning to build nearly 200 homes there for an “essential workforce.” Director Anne Cresswell says that’s a broad group.
“It’s the snowplowers in the winter, it’s plumbers, it’s electricians, it’s teachers, it is first responders,” she said. “You can kind of choose your own adventure, but there are most certainly employees in our community that we would be hurting if we were not able to have them living and working in the community they serve.”
And they look at more than just employment. For a recent project, Cresswell said households averaged over 650 hours of community service.
But even the problem-solvers disagree on housing strategies.
Take Hank McKinnell, the former CEO of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, who lives in a Jackson Hole home estimated at $24 million dollars.
McKinnell has pushed officials in public meetings to approve $3,000 monthly housing stipends for first responders.
“When seconds count and backup is an hour and a half away, that’s not good enough,” he said of current sheriff deputies’ commutes.
Wendy Martinez oversees housing efforts for the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole. She grew up here and supports a broader approach.
“We can get into trouble by just focusing on a certain segment of the community,” she said. “I think the way we approach it needs to be a little more expansive because everybody needs housing.”
McKinnell agrees that there’s a broad need. But he’s skeptical of how the valley’s current affordable housing stock is being used. “We need to look again at these 1,800 units,” he said in an interview. “As I drive through the parking lots, I see two things: Number one is out-of-state license plates; number two is $100,000 vehicles parked in the parking lot. So I do think there’s a need here to do an audit of who is residing in these units and do they really deserve to live there.”
The government-run housing department does annual compliance checks, a rigorous process that includes responses from employers. It also investigates compliance violation complaints.
Meanwhile, local officials are building for bottomless demand. They, too, weigh ideal tenants and homebuyers: First responders or teachers? Artists or river guides? Should those born here get priority? What if you have kids?
Weintraub hopes that training to work as a therapist might help his chances. But he doesn’t envy officials like his friend Gardner who have to make those decisions.
“There’s no silver bullet or easy answer,” he said. “And yet here I am on the outside looking in. I would love to see forward momentum and stable housing for those in Jackson who can’t afford the rising prices since COVID.”
Weintraub’s situation is what happens to longtime community members without better government planning, Gardner said.
Weintraub recently found housing at the top of his price range. It’s not clear how long he and his dog will stay.
“Maybe I can make it work somehow,” he said. “But the reality is that money’s moving in. Things are going to get more expensive, and it’s going to be a struggle to keep up forever.”
