NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: 4/20/07

Workshop Takes Mystery Out of Comp Plan

In coming months, Teton County and the Town of Jackson will review the community’s Comprehensive Plan, which guides the growth and development of the entire county. Citizen involvement is crucial to the Comp Plan revision process, but for many citizens, getting involved can be intimidating due to the complexities of the subject matter. Hearing a few of the terms involved – LDRs, PUDs, CUPs, NRO – one can quickly see how the process might frighten off even the most knowledgeable and concerned community members.

Not only is there a need to help crack the code of the Comp Plan, but citizens often express the desire to get involved – if they only knew how. What’s the best way to contact their elected officials? At what point in the planning process is their input most valuable? When they have something to say, how do they go about writing a letter or standing up in front of the council or commission?

The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance is taking the mystery out of the Comp Plan process by hosting an instructional workshop on April 26. Called Comp Plan Uncomplicated: A Citizen Advocacy Workshop, the forum is being funded by a Community Foundation of Jackson Hole grant and will feature a panel of knowledgeable public officials who can answer your questions. There will also be free mini-guides available with valuable information on citizen advocacy, as well as a digestible overview to the Comp Plan.

“It’s huge when you think about how much our valley’s future is impacted by decisions in the Comprehensive Plan. The upcoming planning process will affect housing, traffic, community character, scenery, wildlife and the economy for years to come,” said Kristy Phlegar, the Conservation Alliance’s community planning director. “It’s vitally important that people get involved, and we want to make sure that citizens have access to the information they need to help craft our community’s future.”

The Conservation Alliance has held similar successful trainings in past years on general citizen advocacy. This is the first time, however, that the group is offering an advocacy workshop regarding a specific subject. The workshop is not intended to promote any specific viewpoints; it is designed to help Jackson Hole citizens have the tools and confidence to participate in the decisions that substantially affect their daily lives.

The free workshop will be on April 26, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Teton Board of County Commissioners Chambers, 200 S. Willow St. Pizza will be provided. For more information or to RSVP, please contact 733-9417 or info@jhalliance.org.

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The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to responsible land stewardship to ensure that human activities are in harmony with the area’s irreplaceable wildlife, scenic and other natural resources. The organization has 2,000 members from Jackson Hole and across the nation.