JACKSON HOLE, WYO – The Jackson Town Clerk confirmed it has received a referendum petition today, just prior to the 5:00pm deadline. The petition is regarding Ordinance 1197 pertaining to the rezoning of Districts 3-6 in Jackson. This ordinance took effect on July 18, 2018.
Pursuant to Wyoming Statutes, the Town Clerk’s office will be working to certify this petition in the coming days. Certification includes verifying signatures and making sure there are enough. Statute calls for 10% of registered voters in town to make it a valid petition for referendum.
According to the petition’s organizer, Judd Grossman, who is also running for town council, a total of 483 signatures were collected.
“We may have fallen short, but we won’t stop fighting for our town,” Grossman told Buckrail. “I started this referendum petition drive by myself to gauge public interest in the issue of overcrowding of our beloved neighborhoods, and was quickly joined by many other interested people with 10 petition books circulating at one point.”
Grossman said it was a challenge collecting signatures in the midst of a busy summer. While he found most people he contacted willing to sign, the process was time-consuming and the 20-day deadline to turn in the referendum paperwork was daunting.
Should the petition be certified, the Town Council would immediately suspend the ordinance, determine whether to repeal the ordinance or place the question on a ballot for the voters at either a special election or the general election in November.
“We are gratified by all the support we received from the public, and we vow to never give up,” Grossman added. “We will continue to raise awareness of the impacts of growth on our town’s character and quality of life, and we will continue to advocate for better Town government planning decisions.”
