Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misspelled the name of Chairman Thomas Smits. It has been corrected and Buckrail regrets the error.
JACKSON, Wyo. — On Wednesday evening, the Town of Jackson Planning and Zoning Commission made the decision to recommend that Town Council deny a 46,000-square-foot development proposed for West Pearl Avenue.
The three-story development is slated for the east end of the Pearl Avenue block between South Millward Street and South Glenwood Street — the current location of Pearl Street Bagels and Pearl Street Nail and Spa. According to the sketch plan, the footprint would stretch along Glenwood Street from Pearl Ave. to the alley next to Trio Restaurant, also displacing the Shari Brownfield Fine Art cabin. The proposal includes 15 apartment units, three of which will be deed-restricted, an underground parking garage accessed from the alleyway, and two ground-level retail spaces of 2,000 and 3,000 square feet each.
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted on whether to recommend approval of the development plan to Town Council. The board voted 3-to-2 to not recommend approval, with some board members recommending denial due to land development regulation (LDR) compliance and potential impact on public infrastructure. The commission uses a set of findings to determine whether a development plan proposal should be recommended.
“I’m going to recommend denial based on finding number three, that it does not have a significant impact on public facilities,” said Chairman Thomas Smits. “I feel it has a huge impact on our public facilities, chiefly transportation: the alley and Pearl Street.”
Density and rooms labeled as a “den” were other topics of contention between presenter Andrew Bowen, architect Pierre Langue and the board. Of the eight units designated as short-term rentals, three as deed-restricted and four as long-term rentals, there are six units that are labeled as having one bedroom, two bathrooms and a “den.” Langue clarified that the decision to label the space as a den stemmed from the rooms’ interior locations with no windows or natural light.
Chairwoman Laura Bonich argued that the den in a 1,500-square-foot unit could easily turn into another bedroom, which would be problematic because there are no egresses or smoke detectors planned for those spaces. She said that she was uncomfortable saying the space complied with the intent of local codes.
“It just seems wrong to me on every front knowing that people are going to sleep in those bedrooms,” Bonich said. “It’s a bedroom. … I feel like the LDRs are being, to some degree, circumvented.”
The property at hand, owned by Jeff Neishabouri, borders property to the west owned by Ted Staryk. That adjacent property is a green space with large trees along the property boundary that could be harmed as a result of Neishabouri’s development, per the staff report. There has been an informal agreement between the two parties that the trees will be removed and new trees will be planted, though a formal written authorization has not yet been provided.
Jackson Town Council is expected to consider this proposal on March 2.
