Where I Stand:

○ Implement a hard buildout cap at the lowest possible population level, while seeking a balance of development types, and providing for open space preservation.
○ No increase of square footage or units beyond 1994 plan, except for deed restricted workforce housing, and incentives for conservation.
○ Future electeds can tweak the  LDRs to react to unforeseen imbalances in zoning.
○ The pace of growth has as big an effect on quality of life as the amount of growth.
○ We shouldn’t restrict our roadway system to inadequate levels of service as a surrogate for responsible land use planning.
○ We need to protect our stable neighborhoods.
○ Growth in government and institutional uses adds to our traffic and workforce housing problems.

The Challenge:

We are loving Jackson Hole to death. Overpopulation, overdevelopment, over-commercialization, commoditization, and over-promotion are rapidly destroying the character of this magic valley. An overheated economy generating thousands of jobs that require an in-migration of thousands of workers who then demand the development of thousands of housing units is driving a hyper-growth death spiral. Unchecked this process will lead to a large city surrounded by sprawling suburbs, overused and overburdened recreational areas, high taxes, impossible traffic, and the eventual destruction of the livability and the “bucket list visitability” of this legendary and world-renowned environmental gem of a valley.

The Solution:

Growth and change are inevitable, but a lack of smart planning and the pace and amount of growth are overwhelming our quality of life, and disappointing our visitors. Our valley is already suffering from overpopulation and overdevelopment. We need to seek a balance of development types while limiting total build out as strictly as possible. We can’t build our way out of our challenges without destroying the world-class natural character and livability of our valley. The prosperity of our community is important, but it needs to come second to the preservation of the amazing natural resources we locals have a responsibility to steward.

Our valley is a magnificent, world-class jewel of open space, ranching heritage, wildlife habitat and open space that should be protected for both the quality of life of our residents and the enjoyment of our visitors. The Town of Jackson is a beautiful place with an iconic town square and charming stable neighborhoods. Town is not a homogeneous dumping ground for density to serve employers’ interests. Each neighborhood has it’s own unique character and deserves to be protected from degradation. The commercial urban core is the appropriate place to focus density and development.

We should avoid suburban sprawl in the county by focusing development into appropriate areas of Town and Teton Village. Any expansion of allowed units or square footage in the county should be strictly tied to the preservation of rural values.

Town should work to preserve stable neighborhoods while encouraging denser residential development in the commercial urban core where there is easy access to transit, shopping, work, and entertainment. Any increase in development rights in Town should be targeted specifically at development types that are out of balance – currently, that means deed restricted workforce housing. Bonus schemes in Town that allow increased free market expansion in exchange for subsidized price-controlled deed-restricted housing should be abandoned and replaced with strictly targeted density bonuses that allow increased development potential only for unsubsidized workforce occupancy deed-restricted housing that is located in the commercial urban core, is size limited, has no parking requirements, and has no income, price or rent caps – free market housing that is restricted to local working people, and that allows real cost savings for having fewer cars.

Our comprehensive plan gives us the tools to control and channel growth. We need our electeds to have the courage to stand up to special interests who want to recklessly cash in on our valley. We have a duty to preserve the character of our valley and town.

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Questions, comments, concerns? Do you have a better idea? Contact Me…