JACKSON, Wyo. — Town Council unanimously approved a continuance to further discuss the sketch plan conditions for the Mogul Hotel/Condominium application on Monday, May 5, moving to consider the largest development project to be proposed in Jackson at a special meeting next week.
Councilwoman Devon Viehman made the motion for Town Council to continue the discussion as a special meeting on Wednesday, May 14 at 9 a.m.
“We need to give the applicant direction on this,” Viehman said. “I would like to call a special meeting to get this over the finish line.”
According to the staff report, the mogul property would comprise approximately 190,000 square feet (sf) of habitable mixed-use space, including 109 hotel rooms, 17 market long-term residential units (2:1 Bonus), 16 workforce-restricted units (2:1 Bonus), 155 parking spaces, a spa and fitness center, a restaurant and bar and two rooftop decks.
The property would be broken up into five separate buildings along North Cache St. The east site would consist of four commercial buildings, each less than 35,000 sf with a shared underground parking garage. The west site would consist of one 100% residential building with an underground parking garage that uses the 2:1 workforce housing bonus. All buildings are proposed to be three stories, ranging from 35 to 42 feet tall.
Mogul’s sketch plan addresses an extensive list of development-related issues including site design, the public alley, parking, traffic, environmental impacts (the underground benzene plume), vehicular access, pedestrian improvements, lighting, landscaping, trash removal, snow storage, bicycle parking and affordable and workforce housing, per the staff report.
Town of Jackson Planning Director Paul Anthony reminded Town Council that a sketch plan doesn’t determine development requirements. According to Anthony, the development plan phase, which occurs after sketch plan approval, is when Land Development Regulation (LDR) compliance needs to occur.
“Approval of a sketch plan in no way obligates you to approve a project,” Anthony said.
Mayor Arne Jorgensen said that the proposed project has a lot detail and the sketch plan will help to identify issues that need further clarification.
Groundwater
Councilor Kevin Regan proposed an additional condition requiring the applicant to provide a monitoring and mitigation plan for dewatering and disposing groundwater. The condition states that engineering must ensure that there won’t be negative impacts to nearby property owners, Flat Creek or the Town’s stormwater or wastewater systems.
“One of things we do in this town is manage our stormwater,” Regan said. “We can work as a neighbor with a goal to maintain and protect Flat Creek.”
Mogul Capital said that they could implement this new condition.
Benzene plume
During public comment on April 21, a main concern of the community was the benzene plume located underneath the northern portion of the site.
Mogul Capital CEO Brad Wagstaff said that deep soil mixes and cutoff walls would create a giant underground bathtub-style structure to completely seal the contaminated space from outside groundwater.
Regan asked the applicant how the proposed bathtub design would pump out groundwater. Wagstaff responded that they planned on cleaning and discharging groundwater with guidance from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
“Anytime you are going down into groundwater, you clean the water and discharge it under the purview of the DEQ,” Wagstaff said. “This is not a new process. This process has been done all over. We think it’s a good solution that doesn’t require constant pumping.”
Town of Jackson Senior Planner Tyler Valentine said that the process of sealing the contamination would be fully analyzed by the Wyoming DEQ, and a third party, during the development planning period.
“It will take until the spring of ’26 to put a mitigation action plan together,” Valentine said.
During the public comment period, Protect our Water Jackson Hole Executive Director Phil Powers stressed the importance of receiving DEQ’s assessment of the benzene plume prior to 2026. According to Wagstaff, the DEQ has reported that the plume has reduced significantly since 2023, and it’s expected to continue to shrink and self-mitigate.
Site design
In addressing the proposed design of the project, Wagstaff said that he envisions the hotel to look similar to Hotel Jackson and the Cloudveil. He added that the restaurant would be approximately the size of the Bistro.
“Our goal is to create a vibrant area with pedestrian access,” Wagstaff said.
Viehman said that she continually hears from the public that the proposed hotel doesn’t reflect the Western character of the town.
“I haven’t heard that anyone likes the design,” Viehman said. “They want retail or something that they can walk up to instead of just walking by it.”
Jorgensen said that the evolution of Mogul’s design has improved since its original sketch plan. He suggested a future review of the project’s building materials, simplifying architecture to reflect more of the character of town and possibility adding public services.
Traffic impacts
Councilor Jonathan Schecheter asked the applicant if a traffic study have been completed.
Wagstaff said that a prior traffic study indicated that there would not be significant impacts along North Cache. He explained that the current design internalizes all of the arrival traffic. Additionally, Wagstaff said that a private bus system could be devised to transport the hotel’s employees.
The staff report states that North Glenwood St. and the public alley would be used as the primary access points to the buildings and the underground parking in order to help screen parking and traffic from public view. Additionally, the proposed plan distributes
traffic impacts onto the less congested streets of North Glenwood St., Perry St. and Mercill Ave. to avoid North Cache St. altogether.
Workforce Units
Councilwoman Alyson Spery said that while she appreciates the proposed hotel setbacks and street landscaping along North Cache, the scale of the workforce units still needs to be addressed.
According to the staff report, the market rate condos range in size from 1,957 sf to 4,094 sf, and the workforce condos range in size from 979 sf to 3,445 sf.
“Could a workforce unit that is 3,900 square feet be broken up into multiple units?” Spery asked.
Spery recommended that staff draft a condition to determine the scale of the workforce units.
Jorgensen acknowledged the applicant for continuing to work with Town Council and the community to make needed improvements.
“I just want to give the applicant credit for listening to community,” Jorgensen said. “It’s been an evolution from the original sketch plan.”
