JACKSON, Wyo. — Concerned with the state of the housing crisis in our community, Kathy and Paul Spicer approached the Community Housing Trust about donating a property they have held in their family for generations. They wanted to know how they could help in a meaningful way, believing their 13-acre property on Horse Creek would be a perfect place to develop permanently deed-restricted Affordable housing for members of our essential workforce.
“It is obvious that Jackson’s current housing supply cannot sustain the individuals that serve this community,” said Kathy Spicer. “We are excited that our donation of this land can support the amazing work of the Community Housing Trust to build truly Affordable housing for local employees. Paul’s parents would be happy to know the land they purchased many years ago will be used in a way that benefits the community.”
The Community Housing Trust and the Spicer family are asking Teton County to rezone the property from Rural-3 to Suburban to allow the development of permanently deed-restricted Affordable housing.
While the property is zoned Rural, it is flanked on two sides by Business Conservation zoning, it is adjacent to a four-lane highway, it is 1.5 miles from Hoback Market and a Park & Ride, and is served by the Community Pathway.
The Community Housing Trust’s plan is to create a neighborhood that is sensitive to the natural surroundings by clustering townhomes on the already heavily disturbed portion of the site, preserving the hill landscape to the north, and leaving the area along Horse Creek undeveloped — allowing for wildlife permeability on the undisturbed areas of the property.
As soon as the Spicers approached the Community Housing Trust, the CHT engaged Jorgensen Engineering to evaluate infrastructure and utility requirements, including a preliminary and informative evaluation of water and sewer to ensure the project can be supported on this site with an advanced wastewater treatment system. The Community Housing Trust will continue these evaluations and engage with the Wyoming DEQ and the Teton Conservation District should the rezone be approved to ensure that the development complies with all local and state regulations.
If the rezone is approved, the site will provide housing for up to 25 families in a development that is made possible by the Hughes Charitable Foundation’s generous $10M commitment to the Community Housing Trust. The Hughes Charitable Foundation gift is dedicated to creating housing for employees of the Teton County Sheriff’s Department, the Jackson Police Department, Jackson Hole Fire/EMS, and Human Service Council (HSC) employees.
On Monday, April 25, the Teton County Planning Commission voted to approve the rezone request 2:1.
“We are grateful for the support of the Planning Commission; it’s not every day that we have a gift of land in a sensible location coupled with private grant funding required to develop permanently deed restricted Affordable housing,” said Anne Cresswell, Executive Director of the Community Housing Trust. “This project provides an unparalleled opportunity to give back to employees that provide urgent, essential services for our community’s most vulnerable populations.”
If the rezone is approved by the Board of County Commissioners, the Community Housing Trust will continue to work with land planners, architects, and engineers to develop more detailed plans for the property.
