A message from Town Manager Tyler Sinclair and Planning Director Paul Anthony
JACKSON, Wyo. — The Town of Jackson has approved more large residential and commercial projects in the last five years than ever before. In the last year alone, Council approved plans for Mogul’s new Hotel on North Cache, Teton County’s Justice Center, condos at Snow King, workforce housing at the Hitching Post, and the redevelopment of Browse ‘N Buy. These were all approved as they were consistent with the Town’s current Land Development Regulations (LDRs). Some community members are feeling overwhelmed by the amount and scale of proposed developments and have shown up and spoken out about it. Constituents have shared concerns about the potential impacts developments may have on traffic congestion, housing, local businesses, our ecosystem, and our small-town character. Community members have shared insight and perspective via email, commented at meetings, and posted on social media, which is all welcome. This is how democracy works.
Town Council addressed some of these concerns through a six-month moratorium that ended in November 2024, when the Town adopted new LDRs focused on reducing the size of new buildings. Town Council and staff are committed to continuing to listen to community members and to utilizing our LDRs and Comprehensive (Comp) Plan to help shape our community. Reviewing proposed developments is not a subjective process. The Town must consider the details of proposed developments to determine whether they align or diverge from the LDR’s regulations and vision in our Comp Plan. Our LDRs and Comp Plan are thorough and complex tools, which we know can also be refined and improved to better meet our community’s future vision. Before going any further, though, let’s get on the same page about what we are talking about. What are the Comp Plan and LDRs?
Comprehensive Plan:
A visionary policy document that describes what we want our community to look
like and be in the future. Our Comp Plan illustrates the vision for what our community will look like and be in the future, including the built environment and community character. It provides a vision, “To preserve and protect the area’s ecosystem in order to ensure a healthy environment, community, and economy for current and future generations,” and strategies and goals to work toward reaching that vision. The Comp Plan’s vision is the basis for the LDRs. So, then what are LDRs?
Land Development Regulations (LDRs):
Local government regulations, also sometimes referred to as zoning, establish specific standards for how land can be used. They dictate what can be built, where, and how. LDRs cover building height, allowed uses, parking, landscaping, and more to help manage growth and implement our community’s Comprehensive Plan.
The Town firmly believes that our LDRs and Comprehensive Plan are powerful tools and guideposts for our community. This is evident in recent Town Council decisions. On August 22, Council unanimously denied a request to change zoning to allow for commercial development of a steep parcel on High School Butte. Neither the LDRs nor Comp Plan support increasing the potential for development on steep slopes or the amount of developable land overall. On September 8, Town Council denied a plan for a 66,000 square-foot hotel on Millward between Broadway and Pearl. Relying on the current LDRs, Council determined that this project would “negatively impact the safety and experience of the public realm, sidewalk interface, and pedestrian infrastructure.” The Town’s LDRs and Comp Plan are working, and, as shared above, could be updated and refined based on the realities our community faces today.
Council has prioritized discussing whether updates to our LDRs and Comp Plan are desired and/or necessary at this time. At the Town we firmly believe that, “People support what they help create,” and invite everyone to share perspective about possible reviews and updates to these two important documents and tools. Again, this is how democracy works.
Call to action:
At Council’s Workshop on Monday, Oct. 20, from 1:30 to 5 p.m., staff will present possible options for updating either the LDRs, the Comp Plan, or both. Share insight and perspective before, during, or after this item is presented to Council.
