Jackson Hole, Wyo.-A map included with the Comprehensive Plan update will provide “the level of predictability asked for” in public comments by creating neighborhood themes and by showing how those neighborhoods together serve the community of Jackson Hole, according to a town official.

At least one Town Councilmember, however, says that the map reflects the overall Comp Plan process – that is, it’s too rushed to attract useful public comment.

When the new Comp Plan draft unveils on March 26, Teton County neighborhoods will have official names and four or five paragraphs describing the “salient points” about them.

Because residents can see for themselves how themes will be implemented, planning staffer Alex Norton called the new map a bridge “between policy and regulation.”  

Town Councilman Mark Obringer maintains the Comp Plan process has brought the “cart before the horse,” and is concerned that neighbors will be reacting to lines on a map, instead of providing input about overarching themes, he said in an interview last week.

The first rounds of public comment on the Comp Plan, mostly received in 2008, have been incorporated into seven “themes” or “policies,” here paraphrased: protect wildlife, manage growth responsibly, maintain “town as heart of region,” provide adequate workforce housing, promote economic diversity, develop a multi-modal transportation network, and maintain services and infrastructure. 

Those themes will be ranked differently for each of the 25 neighborhoods (12 in the county and 13 in the town), also called “character districts,” which will help determine development rules.

Controversy during 2008 over large residential developments in the county and planned mixed-use developments in the town led staff and electeds to reconsider community concerns while still providing for growth. 

County Planner Jeff Daugherty said the old Comp Plan did not identify appropriate locations for density in the county, which is why some arguments were so heated.

“Thinking back over the applications that the County has had recently, like Teton Meadows Ranch or Osprey Creek, the new plan provides predictability,” Daugherty said. “This [Comp Plan draft] shows areas that are appropriate for town-style densities.”

Those districts will be three-quarters-of-a-mile off High School Road in South Park, parts of Wilson, the Aspens and some of Teton Village; but not  in the reaches of Teton County’s open space, away from goods and services Daugherty said.

Residential areas like East Jackson will remain mostly neighborhoods, and density will go at places like the “Y,” and nodes in the county.

“What we’re trying to do is have the conversation about public benefit now, so that in the future, we won’t have those conversations about each development,” Norton said.

And though diverging opinions might heat up the impending discussions, planners hope the public can be proactive, not reactive. 

“The criticism needs to be coupled with constructive advice,” Daugherty said. “That’s the reaction we want to get.” 

Sinclair wants feedback to be holistic.

“We will challenge people to look at [the new draft] from two levels,” Sinclair said. “Start in your back yard… but then bring it back into a more comprehensive discussion of the overarching goals, and how your district plays in to that.”

Daugherty and Sinclair both said they think residents will be happy with the new draft. It will ensure that no one theme or interest runs the others out of town. 

That said, Daugherty added that the new draft reflects the “vision” stage of the plan. The discussion about these districts will shape how zoning rules are written for those districts, which will happen during a later “legislative” stage of the Comp Plan. PJH