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Almost a year out from lifting a moratorium on large scale construction, Jackson elected officials are on track to weigh land development regulations yet again. The town’s comprehensive plan — and whether it should be used to spur or curb more growth — is at the center of recent debate.
In the last year, Jackson ushered in the largest wave of development approvals in town history, at nearly 500,000 square feet in the last year. That’s over 11 acres.
In September, the council called for Monday’s workshop, in which a vote passed unanimously to launch a scoping report, which will poll public sentiment on development and growth.
Jackson’s comprehensive plan provides a guide for the town’s long-term aspirations for growth and development, or the lack thereof.
“And updating the comprehensive plan is potentially an opportunity to check in with the community about what that vision is,” according to Town Councilor Kevin Regan.
Over the summer, Jackson town councilors approved a sketch plan from Utah-based developers Mogul Capital, a project that, since inception, has drawn heated debate from the public, for what would become the town’s largest hotel. At the same time, it rejected a smaller but still ambitious proposal for another hotel which would have taken up significant use of underground space.
The town also broke ground on St. John Hospital’s Hitching Post workforce housing construction, greenlit over 70 rentals and condos near Snow King resort and approved a new building for the Browse ‘N Buy thrift store. The town is also working on an affordable housing development that will replace the Virginian RV park.
Not all Jackson residents are on board for so much change so fast. At least that was the prominent sentiment at a community forum Regan presented at last week.
“We’re hearing a lot from the public about concerns about traffic, about building size and about environmental impacts,” Regan said.
At the “swap meet” hosted by the Teton County Library on Oct.15, Regan joined County Commissioner Luther Propst to discuss growth and development and hear community feedback. More than 60 people showed up for the discussion.
“One of the big takeaways of the ‘swap meet’ is about the tremendous level of community interest in issues about growth and development in Jackson Hole,” Regan said. “As a town council, we’re striving to be responsive to those concerns.”
After this week’s vote, town staff are now directed to explore options for changing the town’s land development regulations, otherwise known as LDRs.
Those need to follow the comprehensive plan to be “strong and legally enforceable,” said Regan, who is also an attorney. “There’s a lot of good stuff in the comprehensive plan now. So the first question is, well, what can we do with the comprehensive plan we have now to make sure that the LDRs reflect that vision?”
