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1) Speak
up this month on the “Preferred” Comprehensive
Plan Draft • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1) Speak up this month on the “Preferred” Comprehensive Plan Draft On June 5, Comp Plan consultant Clarion Associates released a full draft of the preferred plan’s themes and policies, plus future land-use maps of Teton County and the Town of Jackson. Information and comment forms are available at www.jacksontetonplan.com. Online comments are being accepted through July 11; public meetings are being held through July 24. (See schedule below.) This is a critical time to weigh in on the plan and the update process, which have both become increasingly confusing. First, the draft plan and maps don’t include build-out ranges, and it’s unclear when they will. How can people make constructive comments on the land-use maps if the numbers behind them (potential numbers of additional dwelling units, residents and commercial square footage) aren’t provided? Without this critical data, consequences can’t be assessed. Second, it continues to be unclear how many more public meetings and iterations of the plan will occur before planning commissioners and elected officials begin their considerations. Overall, the draft plan downplays the role of Jackson Hole as a gateway community to one of the last relatively intact temperate ecosystems left on Earth, and therefore inadequately addresses its unique planning context. The draft “themes and policies” include many items that are on the right track, but the Conservation Alliance is very concerned that the “future land-use plan maps” don’t lay the groundwork to carry out these items. During the week of July 7, we will submit detailed comments on the draft text, which we’ll post at www.jhalliance.org/issuescompplan.htm. Meanwhile, please check out our “Big Picture” concerns about the Comp Plan update at www.jhalliance.org/Library/Alerts/CompPlanConcerns.6-08.pdf, and our initial comments at www.jhalliance.org/Library/Alerts/DraftCompPlanComments.5-08.pdf. RIGHT NOW is the time that county and town planning commissioners and electeds need to hear what you think about how the Comp Plan update process is going. Three recent surveys ranked “Provide stewardship of wildlife habitat and other environmentally sensitive areas” and “Manage growth responsibly” as the community’s highest priorities. Will the draft plan carry out the will of the community? Does the draft plan adequately consider the impacts of land-use decisions on wildlife, natural resources, traffic and quality of life? A list of people to contact is available at www.jhalliance.org/Library/Alerts/CompPlanContacts.6-08.pdf. Also, please plan to attend one or more of this month’s public meetings: Tuesday, July 1 Thursday, July 3 Tuesday, July 8 Thursday, July 10 Monday, July 14 Thursday, July 17 Thursday, July 24 Finally, Conservation Alliance community planning director Kristy Bruner will be available to answer Comp Plan questions 4 to 6 p.m. every Tuesday through July 22. Just stop by the Alliance office at 685 S. Cache St., at the base of Snow King ski hill. (Visit www.jhalliance.org/contact.htm for a map.) For background information about the Comp Plan update, please visit www.jhalliance.org/issuescompplan.htm. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 2) More on moratoriums Moratoriums are common planning tools used by communities in the process of working on their comprehensive plans. While communities figure out how to plan for responsible growth, moratoriums provide relief from development pressures that could otherwise compromise the process. Four different local moratoriums are currently in the news. First, in May, Teton County commissioners voted to enact an immediate moratorium through the end of 2008 on new residential subdivisions and zone changes on parcels greater than 20 acres. This included the controversial Teton Meadows Ranch proposal (see www.jhalliance.org/Library/AllianceAction/June08AA.htm for details), and on June 5, Sequoia Development filed a petition in Ninth District Court asking for a judge to overturn the residential moratorium, but that’s as far as it’s gotten to date. Then, on June 9, Teton County planning commissioners unanimously recommended a temporary ban on all commercial developments larger than 3,450 square feet, and on those that don’t promise to house all of their workers. County commissioners are scheduled to discuss this on July 1, 9 a.m., Commissioners’ chambers, 200 S. Willow. They’ll also consider whether to allow commercial redevelopment projects to proceed if the new building's size is more than 10 percent larger than what's being replaced. (UPDATE: At the July 1 meeting, the commissioners voted down the moratorium on commercial development, saying that staff is working on a proposal to address employee-housing shortfalls by increasing mitigation rates. We'll keep you posted.) Planning commissioner Tony Wall, who proposed this moratorium, said commercial development is creating a need for more employee and affordable housing than developers are required to build, making the valley's housing problems worse. As quoted in the June 5 Jackson Hole Daily, Wall said, "We can't keep adding to the problem by permitting more commercial construction and development that doesn't mitigate its own need for employee housing." Wall added that it's the combination of resort and town development -- specifically large-scale planned mixed-use developments in Jackson -- that led to his decision to call for a moratorium. The third moratorium being considered addresses Wall’s last concern. On June 2, the Conservation Alliance submitted a letter to the Jackson Town Council recommending that they enact an immediate, temporary moratorium on all development proposals using the planned mixed-use development tool. Adopted in 2001, the PMD was intended to encourage redevelopment that would allow people to live, work and shop in Jackson, but a rash of PMD applications and approvals is changing Jackson’s character (see #3 below). A temporary ban on PMDs would give planning staff time to: 1) focus on the Comp Plan update, and 2) evaluate the PMD to determine if or how it can be modified to better implement community goals. (A copy of the letter is available at www.jhalliance.org/Library/Alerts/PMUDmoratorreq6-2-08.pdf.) The Jackson Town Council and planning commissioners have tentatively scheduled a workshop to discuss the PMD tool on July 14, time to be determined, Town Hall, 150 E. Pearl. Lastly, the fourth moratorium -- a ban on converting apartments to condominiums in the Town of Jackson -- is set to end July 13. See “Town condominium conversions and affordable housing” under #4 below for details.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 3) Town review of 156,000-square-foot hotel near 5-Way to continue July 7 On June 16, the Jackson Town Council began its review of a hotel complex at the current Painted Buffalo site, and is set to continue on July 7, 6 p.m., Town Hall, 150 E. Pearl. The applicant, Mills Wyoming Hotel LLC, wants to build a four-story, 163-room luxury hotel (including a spa and fitness center, meeting space, restaurant, bar and some retail) using Jackson’s planned mixed-use development tool, rather than apply as a hotel, even though the development is nearly 93 percent lodging. (Under the PMD, larger buildings and more dense development are permitted if parking and employee housing requirements are met on site.) The Conservation Alliance questions the bulk and scale of this proposed 156,000-square-foot hotel, particularly given its prominence at the main gateway to downtown. The application for a 70,000-square-foot-plus Marriott Hotel proposed at Pearl and Broadway, adjacent to the Mills project, is currently on hold. Either development would affect Jackson’s character. Also, consideration of such projects detracts from the current Comp Plan update process, which is supposed to take into account the community’s input about the kinds of development preferred in the downtown area. In all the recent Comp Plan surveys (available at the Comp Plan website, www.jacksontetonplan.com), the majority of the public has consistently said they don’t want four-story buildings along major corridors.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 4) Affordable housing updates RECONSIDERATION OF RESIDENTIAL COUNTY AFFORDABLE HOUSING “FEE IN-LIEU” INCREASE -- July 1, 9 a.m. County commissioners’ chambers, 200 S. Willow. On May 20, the Teton Board of County Commissioners voted to increase the affordable housing “fee in-lieu” for residential development, as proposed by the Teton County Housing Authority. However, on June 3, after hearing complaints from valley real estate agents and developers about the burden the increased fees would create, the commissioners decided to reconsider the fee increases on July 1. The intent of the amendment is for residential developers to pay fees that are closer to covering the costs of providing affordable housing (in the event they opt to not actually build the number of affordable homes required to mitigate for the impacts of the new development). According to an April planning staff report, "Projects using an in-lieu fee are currently paying to house only about one-tenth of the population required to be housed by the regulations. As a result, either the required percentage of people to be housed in each new development is not met, or the public subsidizes the remainder of the developer's obligation." COMMERCIAL COUNTY AFFORDABLE HOUSING “FEE IN-LIEU” INCREASE -- July 15, 9 a.m., County commissioners' chambers, 200 S. Willow. In a related matter, Teton County commissioners are set to discuss an amendment to increase the in-lieu fee for commercial employee housing mitigation on July 15. Teton County planning commissioners unanimously recommended this amendment on June 9. PROPOSED MODIFICATION OF PUD-AH ZONING DISTRICT -- On June 23, Teton County planning commissioners postponed until August a decision on whether to recommend major revisions to the planned unit development for affordable housing zoning district. Two recent proposals that sought to use the PUD-AH (Osprey Creek and Teton Meadows Ranch) highlighted its inherent problems, and county commissioner candidate Brian Grubb suggested changes this past spring. These included amendments that would require PUD-AH projects to be located only in specific areas of the county, and to restrict density to 125 percent of the density of surrounding neighborhoods and to 150 percent of the density permitted by right. The current PUD-AH zone has no limit on density. Planning commissioners agreed that the PUD-AH needs work, and they invited Grubb to return sometime in August with more data to back up his recommendations. TOWN CONDOMINIUM CONVERSIONS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING -- Next hearing to be determined. During a May 19 discussion about the town’s apartment-to-condo conversion policies, the Jackson Town Council decided that a study should be conducted on rental housing in Jackson to see if a problem exists, and if so, what the extent of the problem is. (A moratorium on condo conversions is set to end July 13, so the study is under a time crunch.) As real estate prices have shot up, more apartment building owners are converting rental units to condos. And converted buildings haven’t had to meet the same affordable housing requirements as new construction, so displaced renters end up with fewer options for places to live. The Conservation Alliance promotes diverse strategies to address affordable housing, including preserving current inventory and increasing mitigation rates for residential and commercial development. Policies that don’t protect existing workforce housing exacerbate the demand for additional affordable units. (Plus, to date, the Town Council continues to stall discussions on the need for increased affordable housing mitigation rates. (The county raised the rate from 15 to 25 percent last year, but Jackson's is still 15 percent.) The 2007 Housing Needs Assessment, available from the Teton County Housing Authority, recommends increasing the mitigation rate to a minimum of 40 percent just to “keep up” with housing needs associated with new growth.) Get informed about the strategies our community can use to address affordable housing at www.jhalliance.org/Library/Alerts/AffordableHousing.2-08.pdf. For more information, contact Kristy Bruner at (307) 733-9417 or Kristy@jhalliance.org.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 5) Other community news includes North Cache upzone, Wilson, EAs In addition to the above items, the Conservation Alliance is monitoring several other county and town private lands matters. Here’s a brief roundup; however, please note that all meetings are subject to change. Please call Teton County at (307) 733-8094 or the Town of Jackson at (307) 734-3993 for confirmation, or contact Alliance community planning director Kristy Bruner at Kristy@jhalliance.org or (307)733-9417. NORTH CACHE REZONE PROPOSAL -- Jackson Town Council, July 21, 6 p.m., Town Hall, 150 E. Pearl. On June 18, the Jackson Planning Commission recommended denying a request to upzone an area in the 300 block of North Cache. In a non-PMD scenario, the requested change would double the density allowed on the site from 42,250 to 84,500 square feet and increase allowable height from 35 to 42 feet. The Conservation Alliance’s written comments stated “We appreciate and concur with staff’s findings that such a request should not occur in the middle of our current comprehensive planning process. The Town should not support a request that would allow an increase in development intensity at the same time it is asking the community members if they in fact support such a shift.” WILSON COMMERCIAL ZONING DISTRICT -- Teton Board of County Commissioners, July 1, 9 a.m., County commissioners’ chambers, 200 S. Willow. Commissioners will continue to discuss a proposal to create a commercial zoning district for Wilson on July 1. County planners say some of the development allowed in Wilson’s commercial core under current zoning could drastically change its character, while some types of development desired by residents is prohibited. At this meeting, more discussion is expected on how the commercial use will be restricted and what percentage of commercial is appropriate. For details, visit www.tetonwyo.org/plan and click on “Link to Wilson Planning Page” in the Announcements box. TEXT AMENDMENT REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS -- Teton Board of County Commissioners, August 5, 9 a.m., County commissioners' chambers, 200 S. Willow. On June 23, County planning commissioners voted 2-2 on a proposed text amendment to the land development regulations that would require the county to hire the consultants who conduct environmental assessments on properties. (Developers would still pay for the required studies.) Currently, developers hire and pay consultants to do assessments required for certain developments, such as those within the Natural Resource Overlay. This amendment would avert potential conflicts of interest. The Conservation Alliance strongly supports a change in policy that would require such consultants to be hired by Teton County rather than the developer.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 6) Motorized travel plan leads Bridger-Teton National Forest news NORTH ZONE MOTORIZED TRAVEL PLAN DRAFT EIS COMMENTS DUE AUG. 4 -- Currently, there are no restrictions on motorized travel from May 1 through Nov. 30 on more than 255,000 acres of the northern part of the Bridger-Teton. This has led to disturbed wildlife, degraded habitat and miles of user-created trails. The complete draft EIS, maps and comment forms for a plan to fix these problems is now available at www.fs.fed.us/r4/btnf/projects/travelrevision/index.shtml. The alternatives range from increased motorized access (Alternative E) to greater restrictions (Alternative B). Alternative D is the preferred alternative, which falls somewhere in the middle. All alternatives (except the “No Action” alternative) make use of seasonal road closures, and address trail and habitat deterioration. Comments are being accepted through Aug. 4. If you have difficulty with downloads from the website, hard copies are available at Teton County Library and the B-T Supervisor’s and District offices. For more information, or to make comments by mail, please contact: David Wilkinson, Public Outreach, BTNF, Jackson Ranger District, P.O. Box 1689, Jackson, WY 83001. COMMENT ON GOLD MINING ON THE B-T BY JULY 15 -- Bridger-Teton officials are requesting public comments on a proposed gold-mining operation on Cottonwood Creek in the Gros Ventre drainage. The miners, who are scheduled to begin this summer, plan to dig 10 to 15 trenches within a 5-acre area to determine the feasibility of extracting precious metals. Should the site prove commercially viable, they could then seek to expand operations to more than 340 adjacent acres. Forest officials said an 1872 mining law made it difficult for them to deny the test trenches, which they allowed via a “categorical exclusion” -- a project considered too small to merit environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act. Therefore, public comments at this stage can only address the scale of the test project, not whether it should have been authorized. Visit www.fs.fed.us/r4/btnf/projects/2008/gros_ventre_mine/scoping.pdf for details. Please direct questions and written comments
to: Dale Deiter, Jackson Ranger District, P.O.
Box 1689, Jackson, WY 83001 WINTER ELK MANAGEMENT -- The Bridger-Teton is wrapping up its environmental Impact statement on the authorization of permits allowing the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to continue elk-feeding operations on seven sites within the forest. The draft analysis looked only at the structures on the sites and didn’t analyze the feeding operations. It also identified riparian and habitat impacts, but stated that since feeding would continue elsewhere if the Forest Service denied the permits, these degradations would still happen. The final EIS and Record of Decision are expected to be released by July 15. In a related matter, the Conservation Alliance and four other groups were in court in June to debate the U.S. Department of the Interior’s decision to continue the harmful artificial feeding of elk on the National Elk Refuge. To prevent the spread of disease caused by crowded feedlines, the groups seek a gradual phaseout of feeding over five to 10 years accompanied by efforts to improve habitat. Visit www.jhalliance.org/Library/PressReleases/ElkRefugeLawsuitPR.6-3-08.pdf for details.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 7) Comment on wolf-hunting proposals by July 3 On April 28, the Conservation Alliance, along with 11 other organizations, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Montana to overturn the decision to remove Rocky Mountain gray wolves from Endangered Species Act protection. On this same date, the groups filed for an immediate injunction that would return wolf management to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service while the case is being heard. A federal judge held an injunction hearing on May 29, but hasn’t yet issued a ruling. In the meantime, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission is moving forward with drafting hunting season regulations for wolves in the trophy game area (12 percent of the state). A draft of the proposed season is available at http://gf.state.wy.us/services/education/wolves/index.asp. The hunting proposal extends across the trophy game area, which is divided into four hunt units. The Gros Ventre unit, which encompasses the Jackson area, has a quota of five wolves and a season running from Oct. 1 through Nov. 15. The season for the Francs Peak hunting unit to the north, which encompasses the Teton Wilderness, runs from Oct. 1 through Nov. 30 and has a quota of 10 wolves. These two units overlap the majority of the territories of the six wolf packs using Grand Teton National Park and the greater Jackson Hole area. Under the worst-case scenario, the 60-plus wolves in this area could suffer as many as 15 deaths. All comments must be in writing and must be received at the following address by 5 p.m. on July 3: Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wildlife Division, ATTN: Regulations, 3030 Energy Lane, Casper WY 82604. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission will take action on these items at its July 30 - Aug.1 meeting in Dubois. If there’s any good news in this proposed hunting season, it’s that for now, there will be no trapping allowed, and the season will end in each hunt unit when its quota is met, regardless of whether or not the closing date has been reached. For background information, please visit www.jhalliance.org/issueswolves.htm.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 8) Save the Date for Candidates' Forum; Check out Alliance Summer Rendezvous Series Thursday, July 31 Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance Summer Rendezvous Series: Please join fellow community members, visitors and the Conservation Alliance for these fun, educational field trips, forums and social gatherings during our 28th summer of partnering for a wild and beautiful valley! For more information and to RSVP for any of these events, please call (307) 733-9417 or email info@jhalliance.org. Visit www.jhalliance.org/contact.htm for a map to our office at 685 S. Cache St. Saturday, July 12 Wednesday, July 16 Thursday, July 17 Saturday, July 19 Saturday, July 26 Saturday, August 2 Friday, August 8 Saturday, August 9 Saturday, August 16 Wednesday, August 20 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 9) Valley Echoes “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” - Albert Einstein
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Alliance Action is a publication of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance. The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance is dedicated to responsible land stewardship in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to ensure that human activities are in harmony with the area’s irreplaceable wildlife, scenic, and other natural resources. The Alliance is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization. (If you no longer wish to receive this e-newsletter, please send a note saying you’d like us to remove your email address from our list to: allianceaction@jhalliance.org.)
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