Faces of change

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

By Ben Cannon

With a Wyoming Dept. of Transportation (WYDOT) analysis warning of poor emergency access for a 500-home development proposal in South Park, the applicants moved for a continuance with the county this week.

Teton Meadows Ranch and Sequoia Development officials were set to go before the county planning commission Monday, but moved for a hold.

TMR spokesperson Kari Cooper said the delay was not only intended to allow more time to respond to concerns raised by the WYDOT letter, which called the proposal’s traffic impact assessment “enigmatic and misleading,” but to address letters submitted by planning staff, as well as public comment.

WYDOT commented that the single road access proposed for the project could be “potentially catastrophic to emergency response if the sole access were to become compromised.”

Cooper said she felt the questions raised by the WYDOT likely point to a discussion the state roadways authority needs to have with Teton County, and has less to do with the TMR proposal itself.

Additional questions have been raised about an environmental impact study regarding wildlife on and near the 288-acre parcel, identified as disturbed agricultural land and zoned as rural. About 50 homes could be built on the property without an upzone from the county.

“The depth of some of the questions raised we thought warranted thorough responses,” Cooper said of the move for a continuance. With public comment closed after dozens spoke at a meeting last week, planning staff and the development team will have time to flesh out new or existing concerns and responses to wildlife and traffic impacts.
TMR is scheduled to return before the county planning commission March 10.

In other news, last week’s announcement that Brian Grubb has left conservative development non-profit Save Historic Jackson Hole came as a surprise to some.
Grubb, who announced last summer he would step down as town planning director, joined on with SHJH in the fall. He took the first paid position in the organization and was, in effect, its one-man staff.

“As a high level planner, I possessed a skill set that was a bit of a luxury for an upstart non-profit,” Grubb said. He signed on with the non-profit with the understanding that there would be something of an initial trial period to see how his planning background, and particular focus on land regulations, would mesh with a 5-year old group, he said.
SHJH Board Chairman Louis Wang, speaking for the group’s seven-member board, said he was surprised when Grubb was quoted about his resignation in a News & Guide article last week.

Wang countered that Grubb was aloof at the board’s behests to tighten down on administrative duties.

“[Grubb] told us he was taking leave to work on his house,” said Wang, who added he was not contacted for the article. “The planner’s stuff he had nailed. … But the breadth of the job as director he just would not do for us.”
Grubb was departing for Sun Valley Tuesday for a Western resort community planning conference.

“The focus is on community character and affordable housing,” said Grubb, who is building a home on a deed-controlled lot.

He is also privately working on land development ordinance to overhaul the controversial affordable housing development zoning, which allows developers to seek density bonuses for building affordable housing irrespective of location in the county.
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Faces of change | Planet JH News Article: County News

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