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Commission approves Tetonia‑area concept plan with conditions to protect wildlife habitat and limit 7,000 North access
Summary
The commission approved the Grama Subdivision concept plan in the Tetonia area but added conditions requiring building envelopes to avoid indicator wildlife habitat and asked public works to study access options to avoid relying on West 7000 North.
The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the concept plan for the Grama Subdivision in the Tetonia Area of Impact Thursday, subject to conditions that require building envelopes and lot placement to avoid identified wildlife indicator habitats and that ask public works to review access options that would mitigate or avoid adding traffic to West 7000 North.
Planning staff said the parcel — about 50 acres in the Tetonia AOI — includes overlays for big‑game migration and sharp‑tailed grouse breeding habitat across much of the site; the applicant provided an in‑progress wildlife habitat assessment and said they had designed the concept with habitat considerations in mind.
Commissioners pressed for stronger protections. One commissioner asked that building envelopes be placed outside conservation priority areas shown in the applicant’s wildlife exhibits; another urged clustering development away from the foothill and steep slope areas that harbor native vegetation. The commission added a condition directing staff and the applicant to shift density and building envelopes away from the indicator habitat areas identified in the WHA.
Public comment included a nearby resident who said two proposed subdivisions on the same stretch of road would increase traffic on an unmaintained county road and said the area’s elk frequent adjacent properties year round. The resident asked the commission to consider moving lots closer to 3000 South and to increase open space.
Commissioners also asked public works to review whether a single access or a different access alignment would reduce impacts to West 7000 North and whether a stub road for future connection to the city would be appropriate. The commission approved the concept plan with explicit conditions: (1) legal/county process check for AOI completeness (done earlier), (2) building envelopes outside conservation priority areas 1 and 2, and (3) a public‑works review of viable access configurations that would avoid or mitigate use of West 7000 North.
What happens next: the applicant must submit a completed wildlife habitat assessment and the typical technical studies (traffic, test pits, fire‑safety) at preliminary plat; staff and public works will advise on access design to minimize road upgrades and cumulative impacts.
