Planning commission backs sketch plan for new Teton County Justice Center after lengthy design and access debate

The Planning and Zoning Commission on June 18 recommended the town council approve a sketch plan for a new Teton County Justice Center at 180 South King Street, an approximately 80,000-square-foot civic building that would combine the county jail, courtrooms, sheriff's offices, 911 dispatch and related county functions.

The commission's recommendation follows a conceptual review of the site and design, public comment and detailed presentations from county representatives and the applicant team. Tyler Valentine of town planning staff described the sketch-plan stage as “this is the conceptual review of the project,” and said the plan identifies building location, size, access, parking and issues the development plan will address.

The project is being advanced after the community-approved 2024 SPED initiative allocated $88,000,000 “for the design and construction of the justice center,” Valentine said. The county owns roughly a two-acre, L-shaped site that currently includes the Clifford Hansen Courthouse, a general services building and a jail; the sketch plan envisions a new building roughly on the courthouse footprint with phased temporary relocations during construction.

Why it matters: the site houses essential public-safety and court functions that must remain operational during construction, and the commission repeatedly raised how design, access and phasing will affect pedestrians, jurors, nearby Town Hall functions and school-area circulation.

Commissioners and staff pressed the applicant for more detail on several operational and site matters that will be required before development-plan approval. Among the conditions staff recommended are changes to alley circulation, removal of a curb cut near Pearl Street, additional signage and wayfinding, and a final phasing and temporary-displacement plan that identifies where displaced county functions and staff parking will be located during construction.

Applicant presentation and design response

Jason Bernie, the county project manager, told the commission the team and county landed on a design that “combines basically 2 buildings into 1” to improve operational efficiency and meet seismic, code and security requirements. Architects from Anderson Mason Dale and other consultants described the project goals as “functional, safe, secure, and welcoming,” and said the team is targeting LEED Silver for sustainability.

Architects acknowledged the building will be larger than surrounding structures and stressed design moves intended to reduce perceived bulk at the pedestrian level. Designer Stefan Hall described stepped massing, recessed ground-floor elements, landscaping and porches intended to create a more approachable street experience and asked the commission to consider those pedestrian-scale details during development-plan review.

Access, circulation and parking

Access and secure circulation were the most contested technical topics. The applicant proposes a secured, fenced parking area with an entrance on Willow Street to serve sheriff and secure operations. Town staff and transportation reviewers recommended removing one curb cut near Pearl Street and converting a one-way alley to two-way circulation to disperse traffic. The applicant and sheriff's representatives said two distinct exit routes are operationally important for secure vehicle movements and emergency response.

Tyler Valentine noted the applicant’s materials show a total of about 120 parking spaces when including town-owned and nearby lots; staff’s parking analysis referenced different figures and recommended the project submit a final, use-specific square-footage breakdown to confirm required parking. The commission also heard a September 2024 observation referenced in staff materials that on-street and on-site parking utilization was roughly 68 percent at the time of that snapshot.

Phasing and public operations

The applicant described a three-phase construction and occupancy plan: (1) set up temporary offices and some interim courtrooms so court functions can continue, likely in the existing Hansen Courthouse; (2) demolish the current courthouse and build the new justice center, move staff and inmates into the new building; and (3) demolish the old jail and perform site remediation and final site work. County representatives and the clerk of district court emphasized the need to keep core services, including victim services, functioning during the work.

Public comment and committee review

The town’s Design Review Committee reviewed the project twice and ultimately recommended approval with conditions; the DRC discussion repeatedly noted tension between the PSP zoning, which allows large civic uses, and the design guidelines, which emphasize pedestrian scale. A public commenter who asked to remain anonymous urged the commission to “consider the culture of the town” and said the proposed height felt “too tall” and would obstruct mountain views.

Commission action and next steps

After extended discussion, including multiple commissioners expressing concern about pedestrian experience and site integration, the planning commission voted to recommend approval of sketch plan P25-019 to the town council, subject to the conditions in the staff report and additional conditions the commission discussed. Commissioners and staff repeatedly noted the sketch plan is an early, conceptual review and that the development-plan stage will be the formal opportunity to address detailed design, security operations, parking calculations and a final construction-phasing plan.

The project will return to the commission and the town council for subsequent approvals; staff emphasized the town attorney and county attorney will confer about how much plan-level detail can be publicly shared given security and statutory concerns about sensitive areas and floor plans.

Ending note: the sketch-plan approval advances a long-running county project intended to replace aging facilities, but commissioners repeatedly recommended additional development-plan-level refinement to improve pedestrian scale, clarify secure circulation and ensure temporary accommodations keep critical services operating throughout construction.