|
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
1) Make
a difference -- vote in the August 17 primary • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1) Make a difference -- vote in the August 17 primary 2010 is an election year and many local and state elected positions are up for grabs in the August 17 primary and November 2 general elections. In Jackson Hole, many of the issues that affect our daily lives are decided by just 10 people -- the five people on the Jackson Town Council (the Mayor and four councilors) and the five Teton County commissioners. And since most decisions are made by simple majority, just three people on the Town Council can carry a lot of weight on town issues; likewise, only three commissioners need to agree to get decisions passed for the county. That’s one example of why it’s so important to do your homework on the candidates running for office, and to get out and VOTE for the people you think will represent the best interests of our community. Please keep an eye on the local newspapers for their election coverage and try to talk with as many of the candidates as you can. (The Jackson Hole News&Guide is posting links to all of its election-related articles at www.jhnewsandguide.com/elections-town.php.) Call (307) 733-7733 or stop by the elections office (downstairs at 200 S. Willow St. in Jackson) for voter registration, absentee voting and other information, and to pick up sample ballots. The August 17 primary is also when voters will decide which of 11 projects seeking a total of $38 million will be funded by the specific purpose excise tax. (SPET is a 1 percent sales tax approved by voters to fund capital facilities in Teton County. The tax is collected until all voter-approved projects are funded. According to Teton County’s website, if voters approve each of the 11 projects, it will take three to four years to collect the money to fund all of them, based on current collection rates.) You can check out descriptions of the gamut of proposed projects by clicking here.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 2) Jackson/Teton County Comp Plan discussions take a breather The town and county planning commissioners wrapped up their year-long review of the draft Comp Plan on July 1, and planners estimate that the Jackson Town Council and Teton Board of County Commissioners won’t get a crack at the result until October at the earliest. The planning commissioners decided to forward just the Themes and Policies portion of the draft to the electeds, along with a recommendation that after they finish reviewing that section, the electeds then ask the joint planning commissions to review the Future Land Use Plan section. (The FLUP section is meant to make the draft plan more predictable and to provide concrete guidance for future land development regulations and land use decisions. This approach should avoid the wasted effort of revising the FLUP twice in the event that the electeds make major changes in the Themes and Policies section.) The joint town/county planning commission also voted to recommend that the electeds wait to adopt the revised plan in its entirety until after the planning commissioners finish reviewing the FLUP. The Alliance hopes that this admittedly lengthy process will result in a new Comp Plan that will include some teeth to back up its goals, which is what our community has been asking for since the revision began more than three years ago. We also hope the volunteer planning commissioners, the town and county planning staffs, and all the dedicated citizens who’ve contributed so much during the revision process know how much we appreciate their efforts on behalf of our community -- our thanks go out to all of you. Meanwhile, it's still unclear just when the electeds will begin their review. Planners say they won't be able to finish tweaks to the draft and changes to its last two chapters (on sustainability and administration) until this fall. They estimate that the electeds won't get the draft plan until sometime between October and the end of the year. (Recent reductions in planning staff due to budget cuts are likely contributing to the delay.) Since this is an election year, which could result in significant changes in the makeup of both the Jackson Town Council and the Teton Board of County Commissioners come January 2011, we expect that voters will want to find out how the candidates stand on the draft plan. The Alliance's next magazine, due out in September, will include a Comp Plan Q&A with the winners of the August primary election. Right now, the message that the electeds and candidates need to hear is that while the newest Comp Plan draft is an improvement over the second draft that came out in April 2009, much more work still needs to be done to make it better than our current Comp Plan and to ensure that it includes the policies needed to protect Jackson Hole’s irreplaceable wildlife, scenery and community character. That’s what we’ll continue to work for. For links to all of our comments on the Comp Plan revision, click here. For recaps of all the Comp Plan hearings, click here; for background info, click here.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 3) Other community planning updates In addition to the Comp Plan, the Alliance keeps tabs on many other town and county planning matters. Here’s a partial roundup, but please bear in mind that all meetings are subject to change. Call the Town of Jackson at (307) 733-3932, Teton County at (307) 733-8094, or reach Becky Tillson at Rebecca@jhalliance.org or (307) 733-9417 for confirmation. Also, this list isn’t exhaustive, since many meeting agendas aren’t finalized until shortly before the meeting takes place. Check back or visit www.ci.jackson.wy.us or www.tetonwyo.org for updates. If you’d like to comment on any of these items, contact information for all local public officials is available by clicking here. MONTHLY TOWN/COUNTY JOINT INFORMATION MEETING: Jackson Town Council and Teton Board of County Commissioners, August 2, 2 p.m., County commissioners’ chambers, 200 S. Willow. The agenda for the August JIM includes discussion about the possible relocation of the Bridger-Teton supervisor’s office (see item #6 below) and a report from the Blue Ribbon Panel on Workforce Housing. (This panel has been meeting since Fall 2009 to try to figure out how our community can implement a goal in the draft Comp Plan to house 65 percent of Teton County’s workforce locally. Click here for the panel's report.) Click here for the full JIM agenda. WHEN WILL THE JACKSON SOUTH HIGHWAY FINAL EIS BE RELEASED? We keep hearing “soon,” so please check back for updates on when and how you’ll be able to make comments. For recaps and additional updates on this and other transportation-related items, please click here. UPDATE ON TOWN ZONING CHANGES: On July 19, the Jackson Town Council directed the planning staff to prepare a text amendment that would allow accessory units within the auto-urban residential zoning district to be sold separately to independent owners. (One single-family residence and two accessory-residential units are allowed on single lots in this district, but current regulations stipulate that all three structures must be owned by one owner.) At the last minute, they also decided that similar changes to three more districts -- the business conservation, auto-urban commercial (within the lodging overlay) and possibly mobile home park zoning districts -- should also be included. These zones cover a huge portion of downtown Jackson and they’re a source of affordable rentals, so there's concern that this change could inflate housing prices and displace workers. (Unless they’re deed restricted, more homes don’t necessarily equal more affordable homes, especially in desirable communities. Simply put, many people who can afford to live anywhere in the world would like a place in Jackson Hole, where they can end up outbidding local working families.) The timing of possible changes before the new Comp Plan is finalized is also a concern. For links to the Alliance’s comments on this issue, please click here. Formal review of the new text amendment isn’t expected to begin until September at the earliest; we’ll keep you posted.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 4) Park Service unveils preliminary winter use alternatives for Yellowstone To keep plans to regulate future snowmachine use in Yellowstone on track, park officials are looking for comments on a preliminary range of alternatives they’re considering for a draft environmental study due out in early 2011. Given that Yellowstone’s own biologists have determined that snowmobiles can be detrimental to the park’s wildlife and habitat, this is another chance for you to share such concerns. Information on how you can comment is available at http://www.nps.gov/yell/parkmgmt/participate.htm. For background information on this issue, click here (see “Park Service takes another stab at winter use plan” on the second page). • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 5) Plan to produce plutonium-238 at Idaho National Laboratory alarms downwinders As reported in the June 30 Jackson Hole News&Guide, the U.S. Department of Energy is seeking money to produce plutonium-238 -- a highly toxic radioisotope used to provide power for space missions, among other things -- in a 47-year-old reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory 90 miles west of Jackson Hole. Since our valley is downwind of INL (as anyone who witnessed the giant smoke plume over the Tetons from a July fire at the INL site could tell), this raises concerns. Kit DesLauriers, interim executive director of Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free, says the group is following this issue and will post information at http://www.yellowstonenuclearfree.com as it develops. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 6) Bridger-Teton news B-T LAND SALE AND RELOCATION OF SUPERVISOR’S
OFFICE: The Jackson Town Council and Teton Board
of County Commissioners are scheduled to discuss
this issue during their joint information meeting
on August 2, 2 p.m., County commissioners’ chambers,
200 S. Willow. (The staff report is available by clicking
here.)
The Alliance is continuing its work to help the
community find ways to keep the supervisor’s
office in Jackson, plus help the B-T figure out
how to fund needed new facilities and employee
housing without selling off public lands. Please
contact Louise Lasley at Louise@jhalliance.org or
(307) 733-9417 if you’d like to get involved.
Background info is available at www.jhalliance.org/Library/AllianceAction/AA.2010/July10AA.htm#AA4, www.jhalliance.org/Library/AllianceAction/AA.2010/June10AA.htm#AA4, www.jhalliance.org/Library/AllianceAction/AA.2010/April10AA.htm#AA3 and www.jhalliance.org/Library/AllianceAction/AA.2009/Nov09AA.htm#AA3. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 7) Fish and Wildlife weighs Endangered Species Act protection for whitebark pine On July 19, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that listing whitebark pine as a threatened or endangered species may be warranted. (Bark beetles and blister rust have ravaged the pines in recent years, resulting in millions of acres of dead trees across the west. Grizzlies and other species rely on whitebark pine nuts for food, and the trees play a critical role in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Find out more background information by clicking here.) Fish and Wildlife officials plan to conduct a status review of whitebark pine during the next 12 months to determine if the species should get federal protection. To ensure that the review is comprehensive, they’re collecting scientific data from whitebark pine experts. If you can provide this kind of information, please submit your comments by September 20. To comment online, visit the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. In the box
that reads “Enter Keyword or ID,” enter
the number FWS-R6-ES-2010-0047-0001 and click search.
Then click “Submit a Comment.” • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 8) Coming Events Wednesday thru Friday, August 4, 5 & 6 Sunday, August 8 Wednesday, August 11 Wednesday, August 11 Wednesday, August 11 Saturday, August 14 Wednesday, August 18 Saturday, August 28 Saturday, August 28 Sunday, August 29 Save the Date! • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 9) Valley Voices “Remember that when you leave this earth, - St. Francis of Assisi
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Alliance Action is a publication of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance. The Conservation Alliance is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to responsible land stewardship in Jackson Hole to ensure that human activities are in harmony with the area’s irreplaceable wildlife, scenic, and other natural resources. We’re located at 685 South Cache Street in Jackson, Wyoming. Our mailing address is P.O. Box 2728, Jackson, WY 83001-2728 and our phone number is (307) 733-9417. If you'd like to sign up to receive our monthly Alliance Action via email, please click here. |
|
Home | About
Us | Take
Action | Issues | Monthly
Agenda | Events | Success
Stories | Library | Maps | Join
and Donate |