Council Chronicles: Bye bye barrio; not quite Eden

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

By Jake Nichols

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Residents at the Virginian Apartments, known loosely to cops and hacks as “Little Mexico,” will soon be getting the heave-ho. On the upside, renters at the 56-unit tenement complex will return when the dust settles to 56 spanking new condominium units. The downside: If they all pooled their money – every mechanic, dishwasher, roofer, maid, and waiter – the still couldn’t likely afford a place at the new Virginian Village Condominiums.

Brian Grubb offered the opposing voice of Save Historic Jackson Hole, arguing improprieties on the grounds of a procedural mistake that allowed the Final Plat Approval hearing for Erik Bedford’s project to happen before a formal decision was to be made on whether or not the applicant required a final development plan.

Grubb also rallied on behalf of the current renters at the Virginian Apartments, saying “the conversion of apartments is a real negative impact to this community’s affordable housing.” Grubb cited stats from the Housing Authority that claimed the apartments are affordable to at least 87 percent of the population. Post-condoization, they will be affordable to less than 13 percent. Grubb further contended Bedford pushed the project through sensitive phases of the process where density was an issue by promising the property would remain apartments.

Councilman Abe Tabatabai said he didn’t see how the property would change all that much as the owner would continue to rent it out. “I don’t see concern that rents will go up,” Tabatabai said.

“It seems kind of odd that it’s here [on the town’s agenda] before the Board of Adjustments will act on it Wednesday,” said Bob Lenz in acknowledgment of Grubb’s issue. “I’m going to support the motion tonight but we are going to have to go back and see what the legislative intent was when they were approved [in 1983].”

Melissa Turley simply could not get past the point of procedure saying she has consistently stated her position on the interpretation of an apartment-to-condo conversion and the town’s outlook that there was no “change of use.” She was alone in dissenting on a vote of 3-1 (Mark Obringer was absent) that passed the project.

Can’t see the Eden for the trees
Next stop for Jackson’s roving construction crane – it is currently building a stairway to heaven at 30 S. King St – will be the corner of West Gill and North Glenwood, the former site of the JH Guide. The Eden Group development, all four stories and 46 vertical feet of it, will have Teton Barbershop shearers cutting hair in its shadows.
To distract council members from the height, Arne Jorgensen chose to focus on the street trees and the interval at which they would be placed. He liked 16 feet apart believing this would create a forest of firs that would hide the 57,540 s.f. Mixed-Use development behind it.

Wait one minute, said Jay Varley during public comment. How can we call this a Mixed-Use development if its only use is housing? “This project is not in the spirit of the intent of the PMD,” he said. “I don’t think we are looking at a project that warrants all the leeway it’s been given. I’m really worried about the precedent we’re setting.”
Precedents set thus far by past PMD projects make cage fighting rules look stringent.
Tabatabai managed to assure Varley that LDR’s allowed such a 70-30 split of short term to long term housing as mixed-use. “It’s in the book,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Shawn O’Malley said it was a pain in the plow to remove snow between trees spaced closer than 30 feet apart but the council was reluctant to commit arbor assassination in an area other than the Town Square. “If spacing is what you want now, we will deal with the consequences,” said administrator Bob McLaurin. “It’s nothing money can’t fix in the long run.”

The project passed its final development plan for a PMD, 3-1, with Lenz vowing never to erect a four story building in Jackson.
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