JACKSON, Wyo. — On Monday, Oct. 7, Town Council approved new revisions to development regulations during its ongoing discussion to define the size and character of large buildings in Jackson.
In response to the building moratorium instated on June 3, Town Councilors have held a series of Land Development Regulation (LDR) and design guidelines draft readings over the past few months. To date, there have been 10 public readings, according to the Town.
The Town Council’s most recent public hearing on Monday included new details pertaining to maximum building size, maximum use size, Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for large buildings, 2:1 workforce housing bonus and design guidelines.
Councilors were in agreement that an amendment would include all above-ground habitable floor area and above-ground parking in the overall maximum building size of 40,000 square feet (sf) in town and 50,000 sf for hotels. The new revision also states that all floor area dedicated to child care facilities will not count towards a site’s maximum building size. Additionally, underground parking will not be included in the overall size.
For projects spanning larger than 50,000 sf, multiple buildings can be situated side-by-side, but a revision states that there cannot be any internal physical connection between the structures.
Many residents voiced concerns that the building regulations will not adequately address monolithic development.
Matt Kim-Miller, a Jackson lawyer, asked, “What is the purpose of saying you can have two 50,000 sf buildings? How is that different from saying you can have one 100,000 sf building?”
Town Planner Paul Anthony said that the restriction on building size will be a deterrent for developers to build multiple buildings. He stressed that design guidelines will help create structures that will be effective and reasonable.
While multiple buildings cannot be physically connected, Councilors said that it is more environmentally conscious to have one underground parking area or mechanical system for an entire site project.
“One of our goals is to take parking and put it underground,” Councilor Arne Jorgenson said. “Except for where there are ground water impacts in certain areas of town.”
Protect Our Water Jackson Hole Board Member Kay Modi said that displaced water from multiple building projects has increased the flood levels on Flat Creek.
“Some type of environmental analysis needs to be done with each property to understand the underground impacts to water,” Modi said.
Town Manager Tyler Sinclair explained that the CUP will be a tool to address water quality, traffic, infrastructure, historical value and more. The purpose of the CUP is to provide public and site-specific analysis of a structure’s impact on community resources, according to the redline draft. A CUP will be required for all projects size 30,000 sf or more.
“The CUP is important,” Councilor Jim Rooks said. “This is the introductory requirement to give us information on a project and we don’t have to accept it. We may need to hire an outside consultant. The CUP acknowledges that not all projects are the same and that the water table is unique to each property.”
Town Council is still reviewing the requirements for the 2:1 housing bonus, since capping the size of large buildings leaves less space for affordable units.
“We need a full review of the 2:1 housing bonus,” Jorgensen said. “If we max out buildings at 50,000 sf, you could still build a second building and half the building could be deed restrictive to get the bonus.”
According to the staff report, for a building to qualify for the maximum use space, all deed-restricted units are to be permanently restricted and acceptable to the Jackson/Teton County Housing Department. Deed-restricted units can include up to 20% of the total above-ground habitable space for non-residential buildings, including retail, office and hotels.
Michael Stern, president of the Teton County Historic Preservation Board, said that more work needs to be done to effectively manage growth in the valley.
“If you do pass this ordinance, I urge you to make the commitment to do the real work to follow-up with this,” Stern said.
Mayer Hailey Morton Levinson directed staff to complete a more detailed report of each topic and to prepare an ordinance of the redline draft changes to be read during a public meeting on Monday, Oct. 21.
“The point of the moratorium is so we can better review these large buildings, it was never meant to reconsider development all together,” Morton Levinson said. “I am feeling good about this redline draft for the purpose of getting a handle on large buildings.”
According to Town, the second reading of the draft will be on Nov. 4 and the third reading is scheduled for Nov. 18. Each reading will incorporate updated amendments to the moratorium’s LDR draft. Public comment is welcome at all of the readings.
