JACKSON HOLE, WYO – The Jackson/Teton County Long-Range Planning Department has released the 2018 Annual Indicator Report. Each spring, the planning department monitors a series of 19 indicators to gauge our community’s progress towards achieving the 2012 Comprehensive Plan’s vision.
The 19 different indicators fall into one of three categories:
- Ecosystem Stewardship
- Growth Management
- Quality of Life
The Annual Indicator Report is a yearly, evidence-based snapshot of where we are as a community as compared to where we want to be according to the Comprehensive Plan Vision.
“This report helps our community answer the question, ‘Are we living our values?’” said Tyler Sinclair, joint planning director. “Through the presentation and analysis of these 19 indicators we can gauge how we, as a community, are doing in this realm.”
The results from the Annual Indicator Report help to shape the annual Work Plan. The Work Plan identifies the Comprehensive Plan implementation efforts to be undertaken in the next fiscal year, as well as prioritizing the efforts to be pursued in the coming years.
The Work Plan includes Teton County projects, Town of Jackson Projects, and projects that will be carried out jointly by both jurisdictions.
The 2018 Work Plan will be reviewed and approved at the public meetings listed below:
- Teton County Planning Commission, March 12, 2018 6pm, Board of County Commissioners Chambers – RECENTLY APPROVED
- Town of Jackson Planning Commission, March 21, 2018 6pm, Town Hall
- Town Council and Board of County Commissioners Joint Information Meeting, April 9, 2018, 3pm, Town Hall
The Annual Indicator Report lists “The Community in 6 Trends Since Comprehensive Plan Adoption in 2012.” These trends include:
- Multifamily and apartment unit construction peaked in 2016 at 73 units, but dropped in 2017.
- The percentage of units built in Complete Neighborhoods topped 60% in 2015 and 2016, but dropped below 60% in 2017.
- The percentage of the workforce living locally rebounded from a low of 57% in 2014, to 58% in 2015, and 59% in 2016.
- 62% of housing is occupied by the workforce, up from 60% in 2012.
- Jobs have grown at an annual rate of 3.5%, compared to 1.1% of annual growth in housing.
- Transit ridership reached 1 million riders but per capita ridership remains flat.
The following is an excerpt from the report:
Over the last several years, these indicator reports have shown that the growing effective population is more closely related to job growth than construction of buildings. The relationship between effective population growth and job growth indicates the importance of local workforce housing. The effective population grows when jobs are added.
Not building workforce housing does not stop the workers from coming to the community every day. If those workers are here day and night they have time and motivation to volunteer and invest in the community. If there are housing opportunities available, the children of the community may be able to fill those new jobs and stay in the community. If the workforce leaves every night, they have a greater daily impact on the ecosystem, contribute less to the community’s quality of life, and do not actually reduce the amount of growth we feel.
