JACKSON, Wyo. — In a three to one vote, Town Council approved a Development Plan and Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a new 20,288 square foot school for Central Wyoming College’s (CWC) Jackson campus located at 2020 W. High School Road. Town Council approved the plan on Monday, July 1.
The proposed CWC Jackson campus will operate on a two-acre parcel located on the southern side of High School Road, just west of Jackson Hole High School.
Councilman Jim Rooks voted in favor of CWC’s Development Plan and CUP, and reflected on how long it has taken the school to reach this point: “We all know the saga story of CWC trying to create itself for so long.”
Mayor Hailey Morton Levinson commented before giving her final vote of approval. “Getting a public institution through with all the state and federal funding is important to me,” Morton Levinson said. “The Town of Jackson will benefit from everything a community college provides.”
On Feb. 27, Council Members approved Jorgensen Associates to move ahead with a Sketch Plan to design the school’s campus. A Development Plan was then required because the building’s floor area exceeds 5,000 square feet.
According to the staff report, a notable change from the Sketch Plan is that a new 20-foot wide, two-way private private road will be located within a new 60-foot private access easement that straddles the western property line of the CWC parcel and the property to the west. The access driveway will likely serve as one of the primary future access points for the Lockharts’ portion of the Northern South Park development. The road will be aligned with the current three-way intersection of High School Road and Corner Creek Lane. Additionally, the access drive that leads to the parking lot has been shifted approximately 50 to 60 feet closer to High School Road, which allows for more parking.
According to the Town, CWC’s 20,288 sq. foot single-story building is modest in size when compared to the nearby High School, Middle School and Elementary School buildings, which are much larger. Staff finds that the proposed building height, which is primarily 17 feet tall with some portions reaching 24.5 feet tall, is compatible with the two-story apartment complex to the north across the street and a two-story high school to the east.
The building permit will come with conditions that include recommended pathway connections to the Middle School/High School Road intersection and Corner Creek Lane/High School Road intersection and a landscape buffer consisting of tall grasses.
Operationally, the proposed CWC Jackson campus will focus on programs in nursing, culinary arts, science and computer science. Classroom spaces will provide science laboratories, simulation nursing labs and health labs.
