JACKSON, Wyo. — During Monday’s Town Council meeting, the council opted to continue the discussion about the Condos at Cache + Pearl sketch plan to their next meeting on Jan. 18.
Tyler Valentine, senior planner for the town, briefed the council on the project and explained some of the issues the Planning Commission had with the project, including lack of affordable housing, although they ultimately approved the sketch plan.
“In 1994 when we developed the housing program, we also established credits for every property in town based upon the size of the building, the use, etc.,” Valentine said. “That has been the methodology up until this current date. I think as they see new development coming in it begs the question of where is the affordable housing. “
“I think [the Planning Commission] were somewhat pushing back a little bit and asking the question many people are asking, which is: is this the right methodology of allocation of housing credits?”
The new development requires 6.57 deed-restricted units, but applying the previous credits attached to the property, a housing credit of 3.86 units will remain on the site even after the project is complete.
The applicant, Crystal Creek Capitol, was involved in the meeting.
“Crystal Creek Capitol started in 2009. We have had several projects in the town as well as the county. We are a local firm. We are very proud to live and work here,” CCC President Jim Walter said.
Crystal Creek is the owner of the Cloudveil and the developer of One Town Hill.
The overall design and size of the building, and how it fits into Jackson’s “western character,” was heavily discussed. According to the staff report, the overall building size spans nearly 500 linear feet along both ache and Pearl and the 350 feet long facade on Pearl will be the longest building façade in downtown Jackson, nearly twice the length of The Cloudveil hotel on Center Street. Zoning regulations do not regulate maximum building size, cap the number of adjacent lots that can be developed, or cap the number of lodging/short-term units per development.
Councilor Jonathan Schechter also asked about the use of the property.
“Should I be thinking of these new condos as second homes or as short-term rentals, or as some combination?” Schechter questioned. “I don’t have a clear sense of the primary use once they are built.”
“We are definitely losing lodging, I believe on the site there were about 59 existing lodging units versus the 17 larger condo short-term rentals,” Valentine resopnded. “Some of these can be lived in, some of these could be short-term. We are seeing more of these coming on, with Glenwood/Gill development.”
Councilor Jim Rooks said he felt “strongly there is no reason to continue this and sometimes votes are more powerful than anything.”
Rooks moved to approve the sketch plan with amendments to parking and make additional design efforts to address the perceived scale of the building.The motion died without a second. The Council ultimately decided to continue to item to the next meeting.
“Sometimes we continue items, not for new information but simply to digest it a little bit more,” Mayor Morton-Levinson said.
Rooks apposed the continuation.
