The Teton County Board of County Commissioners on July 15 granted a wetland-setback variance for a 40-acre parcel owned by the Frase family, overturning a previous unanimous recommendation against the variance from the county planning-and-zoning commission.

The vote was 2–1 after several hours of public testimony and rebuttal. Commissioners who supported the variance said the application met the criteria for a variance; the dissenting commissioner cited the county’s land-development code requirements and said the application did not show the minimum necessary encroachment and posed conflicts with public‑interest protections for wetlands.

Applicant Brian Frase and his design and environmental team told the board they must place a single‑family residence and engineered septic facilities in the location requested because of site soil bearing and groundwater constraints. Frase’s representatives said the project includes an Army Corps of Engineers permit and a mitigation plan that will convert an existing low‑functioning, cattle‑impacted emergent wetland into higher‑function shrub‑scrub wetland contiguous with Fox Creek. They said the mitigation will remediate bank erosion and increase habitat function.

Opponents, including an attorney for the neighboring Huntsman property and local residents, argued the county code’s riparian and habitat protections require the applicant to use more upland area and to avoid wetland disturbance. The opponents also pointed to the planning commission’s unanimous recommendation against the variance and urged the commission’s decision be upheld.

County staff and legal counsel advised commissioners on relevant code sections and on the scope of the board’s review of a planning‑and‑zoning decision on appeal. The board’s action modifies the prior recommendation by concluding, by majority, that the application qualifies for a variance under the county code and that conditions filed with the record satisfy mitigation and permitting requirements.

The board directed staff to record the decision and include the conditions of approval in the project file. The motion and roll call are in the meeting record.