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1) Third
draft of Comp Plan due out May 7; hearings to
resume June 10 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1) Third draft of Comp Plan due out May 7; hearings to resume June 10 Even though many questions remain unanswered -- and many of the public’s concerns unaddressed -- the Town of Jackson and Teton County planning commissioners decided to wrap up their initial review of the draft Comp Plan on April 8, just a few days shy of the one-year anniversary of the day it was released. They decided to postpone discussions on the draft’s administration chapter and the still unwritten “energy conservation” chapter until their final review begins in early June. The planning commissioners also decided to put off reviewing the draft’s controversial Future Land Use Plan section until after the elected officials complete their review of the plan. (Click here for a link to all their votes to date.) Also on April 8, the planning commissioners and planning staff agreed to a schedule for the remainder of the review process, but on April 28, they postponed everything by a week. Here is the current schedule: Friday, May 7: A rewritten draft incorporating all the joint town and county planning commission recommendations is to be released on the Comp Plan website, www.jacksontetonplan.com. (UPDATE: This third draft of the Comp Plan did come out on May 7; they're calling it the "PC Preliminary Draft" and you can download it at www.jacksontetonplan.com/2010/04/pc-draft-comprehensive-plan-update-release. For links to our comments on the new draft, please click here.) Friday, May 28: Public comment on the new, rewritten draft of the Comp Plan will be due by May 28 to the planning staffs, either via www.jacksontetonplan.com, via email to Jeff Noffsinger (jnoffsinger@ci.jackson.wy.us) or Alex Norton (anorton@tetonwyo.org), or in person to the town or county planning departments. Thursday, June 10: A joint planning commission hearing on the new revised draft of the Comp Plan is set for 5:30 p.m., County commissioners’ chambers, 200 S. Willow. Planning commissioners say they intend to discuss any new ideas and inconsistencies that need to be reconciled in the revised draft starting on June 10. They say they will not reconsider past votes. Staff will then rewrite the draft yet another time and send it to the elected officials for their review. As it stands now, the planning commissioners do not intend to review that next version of the plan before it’s submitted to the Jackson Town Council and Teton Board of County Commissioners for them to take their shot. On May 18, the Alliance will host a discussion on the new draft, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., at 685 S. Cache. As always, we’ll continue to work for a strong plan that will serve to protect what makes Jackson Hole so unique -- our wildlife, natural resources and community character. Please click here for links to our comments. For background info, click here.• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 2) A number of transportation-related issues gearing up According to the Wyoming Department of Transportation, about one-quarter of the state highways in Teton County are slated for reconstruction and expansion in the next 10 years. Since road kills already take a toll on wildlife -- not to mention drivers, passengers and vehicles -- the Conservation Alliance is working to ensure that both WYDOT's plans and the transportation chapter of the new Comp Plan take safety and wildlife into account. Here are some of the items we're monitoring: SOUTH PARK TRANSPORTATION ANALYSIS: Teton Board of County Commissioners hearing, May 4, 9 a.m., County commissioners’ chambers, 200 S. Willow. The county commissioners are scheduled to resume a discussion from April 6 about contracting for transportation studies in the South Park area. The Alliance has raised concerns regarding the details of this proposed study to ensure it’s done in a manner that best benefits the ongoing comprehensive planning process. Click here for our comments. ALLIANCE’S HIGHWAY ALTERNATIVES PROJECT IS 1% FOR THE TETONS GRANT FINALIST: In keeping with our goal of working for transportation solutions that uphold community priorities, such as protecting wildlife and community character, while ensuring driver safety, the Alliance is seeking $6,700 for our wildlife-friendly highway alternatives project. This year, 1% for the Tetons is attempting to raise $300,000 to fund 19 local projects. Donations to specific projects can be made via www.1PercentTetons.org between May 8 and June 5 (click here for the direct link to our project). For information about the Alliance’s project or to get involved in promoting safe wildlife crossings in Teton County, call Kristy Bruner or Louise Lasley at (307) 733-9417. A PDF of our grant application is available by clicking here. “JACKSON SOUTH” HIGHWAY FINAL EIS DUE OUT IN MAY: Wyoming Department of Transportation officials say that the final environmental impact statement on the expansion of Hwy. 26/89/289/191 from south of Jackson to Hoback Junction will be released this month. The draft EIS proposed two disappointing 5-lane alternatives in this 7-mile section of road and it’s unlikely there will be any pleasant surprises in the final EIS. From the time this project was first raised many years ago, the Alliance has opposed making the highway five lanes wide, given the impacts it would have on wildlife and community character. (We have supported a modified 3-lane alternative.) Moving forward, the Alliance will work to ensure that the best possible wildlife mitigation measures are incorporated into this project’s design. We’ll also continue to question the need for a 5-lane highway throughout this section and to explore other options. Importantly, the impacts from this proposed reconstruction won’t be restricted to Jackson South alone; the project stands to set a bad precedent for many future road “improvements” and expansions in the county. MELODY RANCH GRAVEL OPERATION: Teton County Planning Commission hearing, May 24, 6 p.m., County commissioners’ chambers, 200 S. Willow. Melody Ranch Investments is applying for a special use permit to allow them to operate a level-one gravel operation independently from the Melody Ranch Planned Unit Development. The Alliance will be evaluating this application closely, considering a number of factors such as the original intentions of the Melody Ranch approval process, the wildlife and scenic values of the site, and the future gravel needs of the county -- especially with looming highway work (see Jackson South above), which will require gravel and lots of it. Our preliminary comments on this application are available by clicking here. WYDOT TO PRESENT PROPOSED SIX-YEAR PLAN ON MAY 27: Wyoming Department of Transportation officials are looking for local input on the State Transportation Improvement Program, a plan that WYDOT is using to prioritize, design and schedule road construction projects over the next six years. The public is invited to review and comment on the STIP plan on May 27, 1:30 p.m. at the WYDOT office south of Jackson. Contact Louise Lasley at Louise@jhalliance.org or (307) 733-9417 for additional information. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 3) PMD moratorium leads other community planning news Here’s a partial roundup of community planning matters, but please keep in mind that all meetings are subject to change. Call the Town of Jackson at (307) 733-3932, Teton County at (307) 733-8094, or reach Kristy Bruner at Kristy@jhalliance.org or (307) 733-9417 for confirmation. Also, this list isn’t exhaustive, since many meeting agendas aren’t finalized until shortly before the meeting takes place. Visit www.ci.jackson.wy.us and www.tetonwyo.org, or check back here for updates. If you’d like to comment on any of these items, contact information for all local public officials is available by clicking here. PMD MORATORIUM: In a surprising turnaround, on April 19 the Jackson Town Council unanimously enacted an emergency one-year moratorium on the planned mixed-use development tool. Since the start of the Comp Plan revision process three years ago, the Alliance has asked town officials to consider a moratorium on the flawed tool, which allows increased development potential in exchange for questionable community benefits. (The fact that the Jackson Town Council was approving PMDs during the revision contributed to development pressures that undermined the process. A Comp Plan can’t protect something that’s already gone.) A year ago, our Spring 2009 Alliance News included a special section on the PMD tool and town officials promised reforms, but continued to postpone workshop after workshop. (Our special report is available by clicking here.) Following yet another inconclusive town meeting on the PMD in January, during which Mayor Mark Barron said he wanted to make the tool more predictable but did not want to eliminate it, Alliance community planning director Kristy Bruner penned a letter to the editor that ran in the Jackson Hole News&Guide on March 24. It urged people to ask town councilors to schedule a workshop to discuss repealing the PMD tool. Then, the April 7 News&Guide reported that Barron had unexpectedly asked town staff on April 5 to begin working on an emergency moratorium on all planned mixed-use developments. Barron was quoted as saying that “We've been talking about making changes for a while and this seems to be a good time to do it.” In that same issue, the News&Guide ran an editorial titled “Development tool a mess” that also called for a moratorium on PMDs. Finally, on April 19, the Jackson Town Council voted 5-0 to enact an emergency ordinance establishing a one-year moratorium on PMD applications. What’s next -- changes to the tool, or a repeal? We’ll keep you posted. PUD-AFFORDABLE HOUSING & PUD-PLANNED RESORT TOOLS: In another positive step for the Comp Plan revision process, in March the Teton Board of County Commissioners voted 3-1 to eliminate two unpredictable planning tools -- the Planned Unit Development-Affordable Housing and Planned Unit Development-Planned Resort tools -- from existing regulations. (A moratorium on the tools was set to expire April 1.) ENVIRONMENT COMMISSION: For the ninth month in a row, the proposed Environment Commission is on the agenda for the joint town/county information meeting scheduled for May 3, 3 p.m. at Jackson Town Hall, 150 E. Pearl. Since this appointed volunteer board could provide the public and officials with a comprehensive, science-based understanding of the health of the Teton region’s ecosystems -- plus make it easier for scientific data to be incorporated into public policy -- we hope that the electeds will soon make it a reality. For our full comments on this issue, please click here. GRAND TARGHEE: Teton Board of County Commissioners hearing, May 4, 9 a.m., County commissioners’ chambers, 200 S. Willow. The Grand Targhee Resort Master Plan is set to expire on Feb. 4, 2011. On May 4, the county commissioners will discuss Grand Targhee Resort’s request to extend the expiration date to February 4, 2014, and to modify the master plan requirements during this interim period. The Alliance, along with county planning staff, have concerns regarding some of these requested changes. (UPDATE: On May 4, the county commissioners agreed to give Grand Targhee more time to get started on its expansion. (Targhee's owner says the recession threw a wrench into his original schedule.) They decided to extend the Alta resort's deadline for submitting a final development application by two years to Feb. 4, 2013. They also decided to allow the resort to do limited facility expansions between now and then without complying with conditions specified under the master plan that were meant to provide mitigation for the impacts of expansion. Specifically, Targhee is now allowed to make interim expansions up to a total of 5,000 square feet; individual projects representing increases of 1,000 square feet or more will require the commissioners' approval. Any interim expansions are to be subtracted from the total square footage allowed under Targhee's master plan. For background info on Grand Targhee Resort, click here.) RIVER CROSSING: Teton Board of County Commissioners hearing, May 18, 9 a.m., County commissioners’ chambers, 200 S. Willow. The commissioners will resume a discussion on a final development plan and amendment to an approved Rafter J Master Plan proposed by River Crossing, which wants to expand by building housing units and a 658-person auditorium. The Rafter J Homeowners’ Association is opposed to the current proposal and has raised a number of concerns regarding the scale of expansion as it relates to consistency with the original master plan, as well as associated traffic impacts, impacts to Flat Creek and compatibility with the Rafter J neighborhood. Given conflicting information and legal questions that arose at an April 20 hearing, the commissioners voted to continue their discussions on May 4, but the applicant requested a postponement until May 18. TOWN'S AUTO-URBAN RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICT: Another workshop on a proposal that would allow accessory units within the auto-urban residential zoning district to be sold separately (essentially as condominiums) to independent owners is expected later this month. (One single-family residence and two accessory-residential units are allowed on single lots in this district, but current regulations stipulate that all three structures must be owned by one owner.) Since the A-R zone is currently a source of affordable rentals for the local workforce, there's concern that this change could inflate housing prices. Also, this zone covers a large portion of downtown Jackson and the timing of possible changes before the new Comprehensive Plan is finalized is troubling. Click here for links to the Alliance’s comments. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 4) Website hosts info on new forest planning rule process Forest Service officials are still looking for more public input as they develop new rules that will determine how and for what purposes our nation’s forests will be managed for years to come. This means that we now have the chance to tell them that we want the health and vitality of wildlife and their habitat to take precedence over extractive uses, such as energy development, mining, logging and grazing. Information about the process and how you can get involved is available at http://fs.usda.gov/planningrule. Hopefully, this process will result in a new plan that will remove uncertainties about how to approach forest planning -- uncertainties that have stalled revisions to the Bridger-Teton’s 20-year-old management plan. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 5) Fish and Wildlife wants comments on wolverines by May 17 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to
determine whether wolverines in the lower 48 states
warrant protection under the Endangered Species
Act and is seeking comments by May 17. They’re
looking specifically for technical information
concerning the taxonomy, biology, genetics and
status of wolverines in the contiguous United States;
the potential distinct population segment of wolverines
in the U.S. and their conservation status; threats
to the wolverine; conservation actions to improve
wolverine habitat and decrease threats; and the
potential effect of climate change on wolverines,
their habitat and food sources. If you can provide
this type of information, please submit your comments
via the Federal “eRulemaking” portal
at http://www.regulations.gov (type “wolverine” in
the keyword search field) or mail them to: The Alliance's comments are available by clicking here. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 6) Wolf Updates Last June, a coalition of conservation groups including the Alliance filed suit in U.S. District Court in Montana against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for its March 2009 decision to remove wolves in Montana and Idaho from Endangered Species Act protection. In April, Judge Donald Molloy set June 15 as the date he’ll hear oral arguments on the case. (For background information, click here.) We’ll keep you posted on the results. Meanwhile, despite reports from Wyoming Game and Fish that elk hunter success remains high, and that overall herd numbers are over objective, some outfitters have expressed concerns that wolves are solely responsible for low cow/calf ratios, or low numbers, in segments of some of Wyoming's elk herds. For an excellent Casper Star-Tribune editorial titled "Don't blame wolves for elk hunting woes" from March 19 that addresses this issue, please click here. On April 28, the Jackson Hole News&Guide also ran two pertinent and well-researched articles worth checking out: “Wolves make few unnecessary elk kills, study says” (available by clicking here) and “State elk count 34 percent above objective” (click here). (Another News&Guide article that ran on May 12 titled "Moose declines puzzling" (click here for a link) reports that poor habitat, malnutrition and various predators are all taking a toll on Jackson Hole's moose population, although experts disagree about the degree to which predators are responsible.) The Conservation Alliance believes that Wyoming and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service need to use the best available science for a wolf management plan that will work for the health of all species -- predator and prey alike. For background information on this issue, please click here. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 7) Conservation Alliance news E.D. APPLICATIONS DUE BY MAY 17: The Conservation Alliance is seeking a collaborative, dynamic and passionate executive director to lead the organization and a staff of eight into its 4th decade of partnering for a wild and beautiful Jackson Hole. For details, click here. GIVE A GIFT TO MOM, AND TO MOTHER EARTH: In honor of mothers everywhere, the Alliance is offering gift cards for your loved ones in celebration of Mother’s Day, May 9. (Cards will be mailed the same day orders are received.) For more information, please click here. FACEBOOK PHOTOS SOUGHT: Would you like to share any fabulous photos you’ve taken of Jackson Hole’s wildlife and scenery? The Alliance is looking for submissions for our ongoing Photo of the Month feature on Facebook (check us out at www.facebook.com/JHConservationAlliance). Email your candidates to Dorothy@jhalliance.org. AFRICAN RUG RAFFLE DEADLINE APPROACHING: Now’s the time to get your tickets for our African Rug Raffle -- the winning one will be drawn on June 4 during Party for the Pronghorn (see below). Click here for details and a photo of the gorgeous prize!• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 8) Coming Events Wednesday, May 5 Saturday, May 8 Saturday, May 8 Saturday, May 8 Saturday, May 15 Tuesday, May 18 Wednesday, May 19 Wednesday, June 2 (This event was previously scheduled
for May 31) Friday, June 4 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (Back to top) 9) Valley Voices “The starting point for a better world is the belief that it is possible.” - Norman Cousins
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Alliance Action is a publication of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance. The Conservation Alliance is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to responsible land stewardship in Jackson Hole to ensure that human activities are in harmony with the area’s irreplaceable wildlife, scenic, and other natural resources. We’re located at 685 South Cache Street in Jackson, Wyoming. Our mailing address is P.O. Box 2728, Jackson, WY 83001-2728 and our phone number is (307) 733-9417. If you'd like to sign up to receive our monthly Alliance Action via email, please click here. |
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