Jackson planning panel recommends housing-mitigation exemption for Mental Health and Recovery Services expansion

The Town of Jackson Planning and Zoning Commission voted Aug. 20 to recommend a narrowly tailored amendment to the Land Development Regulations that would allow some public or semi‑public nonprofit uses to qualify for an exemption from affordable workforce housing mitigation fees.

Planning staff said the amendment, identified as P25‑031, would add language to LDR section 6.3.2(c) to permit an exemption for qualifying public/semi‑public uses regardless of zone, subject to specific criteria and conditions. “This is to introduce and to add a public semi public use to the existing, semi public exemption within the LDRs,” Andrew Bowen, planning staff, said during the meeting.

The amendment was proposed after Mental Health and Recovery Services of Jackson Hole (MHRS), a local nonprofit and the county’s designated provider for state‑mandated Title 25 involuntary hospitalization services, sought relief from a housing mitigation fee triggered by a planned expansion of its facility at 640 East Bridal. MHRS Executive Director Deidre Ashley described the organization’s work: “We’re responding to the hospital, to the jail, to the schools for people who might be at risk to harm themselves or others.”

Nut graf: The amendment would exempt qualifying nonprofit providers that (1) operate a use allowed in the PSP (public/semi‑public) zone, (2) are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, (3) provide a community service required by law or court order, and (4) have at least 50% of annual funding from federal, state or local government. Staff recommended adding a requirement that an affidavit affecting title be recorded before an exemption is granted so that future changes of use or structural expansions that do not meet the exemption criteria would remain subject to workforce housing requirements.

In its presentation, planning staff said MHRS’s proposal arose because the agency plans a small addition to consolidate operations currently spread across sites. Staff estimated that the expansion had triggered a housing mitigation obligation; the meeting transcript gave the mitigation estimate in approximate or uncertain terms. Staff and the applicant indicated MHRS receives most of its funding from public sources and noted MHRS’s designation in a 2017 county action as the agency responsible for Title 25 services in Teton County. Public notice for the text amendment was provided June 30, 2025.

Commissioners discussed the narrowness of the proposed exemption and possible unintended consequences, such as a future owner or lessee avoiding mitigation by using a differently purposed nonprofit. To address that, staff recommended the recorded affidavit tied to title and narrowly written qualifying criteria. Commissioners also asked whether the 50% public‑funding threshold should be higher and whether employee‑count thresholds should be considered; staff said the criteria could be adjusted but advised caution about arbitrary numeric cutoffs.

The Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of the amendment as presented with the staff‑recommended conditions. The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Town Council for final legislative action under LDR section 8.7.2.

Votes at a glance - Motion to approve the July 16, 2025 meeting minutes: Approved (yes: 4; abstain: 1 — Commissioner Jennings abstained). - Motion to continue item P25121 (1220 Grama Lane) to Sept. 17, 2025: Approved (unanimous among present commissioners). - Motion to recommend approval of LDR text amendment P25‑031 (affordable workforce housing exemption for qualifying public/semi‑public nonprofit uses): Approved (unanimous among present commissioners).

Next steps: Because this is a legislative text amendment, the Planning and Zoning Commission provided a recommendation; Town Council review and final action are required under the LDRs. Planning staff told commissioners they and housing staff would work with the applicant and adjust language if council requests further narrowing.