JACKSON, Wyo. — On Monday, July 15, Town Council and the Teton County Planning Commission held a workshop to discuss proposed changes to Land Development Regulations (LDRs) in response to the emergency building moratorium. Council members and the public emphasized that future design guidelines need to help preserve the character of Jackson.
This workshop was the first time the Town Council met to discuss proposed changes to commercial building size since implementing the 120-day moratorium. On June 3, Town Council imposed a temporary ban on applications for non-residential buildings larger than 35,000 square feet. The moratorium is scheduled to end on October 1, unless the Council extends the moratorium period through another emergency ordinance.
Town Councilors said that some of Jackson’s buildings have been inconsistent with the preservation of the community’s historic character. Planning Director Paul Anthony said that the town’s design guidelines were adopted in 2004, and that changes are now needed. The staff report recommends that larger buildings require more architectural changes and exterior materials need to have integrity.
Anthony provided initial recommendations for ways to address large buildings, including changes to deed restrictions, building size, facade length, design guidelines and Conditional Use Permit (CUP) review.
The staff report recommended a maximum commercial building size of 40,000 square feet, which is based on four downtown lots. Staff also recommends 50,000 square feet for buildings along the highway and for hotels, based on the fact that hotels have certain scale needs. Previous LDRs allowed 90,000 square feet for hotels, and this size is about 20,000 square feet less than the Ranch Inn redevelopment, according to Town.
Staff’s recommendation for maximum building facade length is 150 to 200 linear feet and up to 75 feet in depth. For context, Cloudveil Hotel’s Center Street facade is approximately 190 feet in length, the Wort Hotel’s Glenwood facade is 200 feet long and the Ranch Inn redevelopment is 350 feet long on Pearl Street.
Councilor Jonathan Schechter was concerned that the maximum use size of 50,000 square feet could discourage national hotels and box store chains. Anthony assured the Council that 50,000 square feet is sufficient for the future construction of hotels. He also explained that if a maximum building size is established, developers can still construct multiple buildings on multiple city blocks. Councilor Jim Rooks then asked if it is possible to limit the amount of square footage of an entire project size.
“We can limit the project’s set size by clarifying existing design guidelines to restrict breaking up buildings on multiple blocks,” Anthony said.
Anthony added that an additional strategy is to add an option for a CUP review process for larger buildings, which would allow the public to participate and allow the Council to require conditions to mitigate certain impacts, including environmental and traffic impacts.
“Target in Jackson wouldn’t exist today under these new conditions, so a CUP review could potentially allow certain larger buildings,” Planning Commissioner Thomas Smits said.
“It’s harder to design larger buildings versus smaller buildings, so certain standards need to be set for the architecture of large buildings,” Anthony said. “Town hasn’t had a style of architecture up this point, so we can demand more from our guidelines.”
Schechter gave examples of large scale development for future guidance. He said that the Cloudveil Hotel presence fits in well with the town but the Springhill Marriott Suites are monolithic, homogenous and don’t fit in well with the environment.
The public had the opportunity to comment on the current LDRs and voiced concerns about the future character of Jackson.
Community member Michael Stern said that the Town Council needs to define a social design versus just focusing on building size numbers. “We don’t have a design plan for what we want to see in this community,” Stern said.
Councilor Arne Jorgensen said that LDR and design review will be a multi-step process in order to build on the shorter term work with the moratorium. He envisions that it could potentially take one to two years to more thoroughly review LDRs and amend design guidelines for clarity.
“I see a need for a comprehensive plan revision, recognizing that we are a different community today than we were in 2012,” Jorgensen said.
Mayor Hailey Morton Levison made the motion to continue the discussion to a date to be determined. She requested that staff work on addressing how to apply a building size limit to an entire project.
“I don’t want to have a building size limit and have six of them lined up next to each other,” Morton Levinson said. “Most of the community conversation that I heard today and prior to today, is that it’s not just the building size but how do we continue to grow as a community?”
A public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, August 7 to review a redline draft of the proposed LDR and Design Guideline changes and make final recommendations. On September 9 and 16, Town Council will read the approved changes.
