Editor’s Note: Buckrail wishes to clarify that the extension of the building moratorium will not be official until the third reading of the ordinance by the Town Council during its Sept. 16 meeting.
JACKSON, Wyo. — During the Monday, Aug. 19 Town Council workshop, Councilors continued to hammer out changes to the Land Development Regulations (LDRs) and design guidelines. The temporary moratorium on large commercial development, originally slated to expire on Oct. 1, was extended to Nov. 20 to give Town Council more time to consider how the updated LDRs will impact the community.
At times the discussion, which was a continuation from the July 19 Planning Commission/Town Council Joint Workshop and the Aug. 5 Town Council meeting, grew heated as Councilors and community members shared their concerns with the new building regulations.
Town Planning Director Paul Anthony presented amendments to the LDR/design redline draft for the Council to review. The draft recommends limiting building size to 40,000 square feet for downtown. Hotels and 100% deed-restricted housing can be up to 50,000 square feet. The draft also proposes that a building’s maximum facade length be restricted to 150 to 200 feet, which is approximately four lots. Anthony also explained that a CUP could set individual project parameters through a work plan process.
“It’s a deterrent to aggregate large sites,” Anthony said. “(Developers) will have to break up a project into multiple smaller buildings. We are seeing a lot more outside money coming in to develop here and I don’t see the market changing. We are telling the market what we expect them to do.”
A few community members voiced opposition to the proposed changes and wanted more established design guidelines. Real Estate Agent Micheal Kudar told Town Council that his rights were being taken away with the new restrictions.
“I don’t have four lots,” Kudar said. “You have double, tripled my costs. An 85,000 square foot building — if built in right way — preserves community character.”
Councilor Arne Jorgensen said that the CUP tool is an opportunity to have a discussion with developers to potentially allow for the construction of larger and smaller buildings by accommodating different setbacks.
“We aren’t saying that you can’t build more than 40,000 to 50,000 square feet,” Jorgensen said. “We are disincentivizing a Marriott or a Hilton. I look at this as a first round. I think it’s important to finish this moratorium in this calendar year but we are not finished with the work. The CUP helps us with this transition. It might not be ideal.”
Anthony added that while the town does not have a defined aesthetic, larger buildings will need to adhere to the same design standard as smaller buildings, including roof changes, composition, entrances and public space. He emphasized that applicants will need to adhere to a higher design standard when applying through a work plan process. He also said that a CUP will provide town with the flexibility to address many different issues.
Rooks said that while there isn’t a unifying architectural design in the valley, one aesthetic that everyone can agree upon is nature. He stressed that the CUP is too broad to also incorporate environment, water quality and traffic analysis.
“I would like to see us craft a basic environmental analysis process,” Rooks said. “We don’t do any traffic or water analysis outside of the CUP. I defer to staff to develop a mechanism by which those analyses will be triggered. Even if we just specify that water quality and traffic restrictions will be embedded in the project. It’s important to have it in there as a bedrock of our LDRs.”
Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance Community Planning Director Amy Kuszak told the Council that the moratorium should address environmental, wildlife, water and traffic impacts.
“If you only look at size of building, you are missing a lot of what this moratorium requires,” Kuszak said.
Staff was directed to provide more information about environmental analysis in the redline draft.
Councilor Jim Rooks said that the maximum building size could possibly disincentive affordable housing and asked for staff to define deed-restricted housing in the plan. Anthony assured the Council that deed-restricted housing will provide an option for all types of units including work-force and affordable. He said that the role of the 2:1 workforce bonus will be required to fit the maximum building size, depending upon the zone.
Per Rooks’ suggestion, the plan will include an optional incentive to dedicate 10% of commercial/non-residential space to childcare.
Mayor Hailey Morton Levinson stressed that the moratorium is not going to solve all the issues.
“I just want to be sure to move it through the process,” Morton Levinson said.
In a 4 to 1 vote, Town Council approved the redline draft and directed staff to prepare the next version of the LDR and design guideline plan. The draft will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners, Planning Commission and the Design Review Committee. A series of draft readings and public hearings have been scheduled in August and September.
The review schedule and information about the emergency building moratorium can be seen here.
