Commissioners continue Northern South Park Area 1 master site plan after extended review of housing, transport and parks

The Teton County Board of County Commissioners continued, without final approval, the master site plan for Northern South Park Area 1 (MSC-2024-4307) on April 15, setting a continued hearing date of May 6 to allow staff and the applicant to refine proposed conditions on phasing, parks, transportation mitigation and wildlife permeability.

Chandler Windham, Teton County senior planner, summarized staff's recommended conditions and explained how the applicant proposes to meet the Northern South Park affordable workforce-housing standard by using a land-conveyance method. Windham said the Northern South Park regulations require a 70% deed-restricted to 30% market-rate split across Area 1, and described how the applicant's proposal would convey full "restricted" blocks (each 2.5 to 5 acres) to nonprofit housing developers or the county at the time of the development plan so unrestricted market blocks may proceed.

Windham told the board staff expects to track development-plan and building-permit approvals across the overlay to ensure the 70/30 ratio is maintained. He recommended a condition that recipients of deed-restricted blocks provide a written phasing plan at the time of initial subdivision plat so the county and the public understand timing, coordination and the expected delivery of infrastructure and units. Commissioners asked for the phasing requirement to cross-reference the relevant master site plan standards in LDR 4.5.1, so expectations are explicit.

Integration and housing types: Windham and staff emphasized the goal that restricted and market housing be integrated at the block level rather than segregated across the site. Windham said nonprofit grantees told staff they generally cannot mix unrestricted units within a nonprofit's restricted development because of nonprofit charters and financing constraints; the master plan instead aims to integrate blocks of different types across the neighborhood to avoid a visible split between market and deed-restricted sections.

Transportation and off-site mitigation: The board spent substantial time on transportation, reviewing the applicant's Transportation Impact Study (TIS), a neighborhoodwide Transportation Demand Management plan, and the West Jackson Transportation Study. Planning staff proposed a condition requiring the applicant to work with county public works staff before the first development plan to prepare a list of off-site improvements affected by Area 1 and how each block's traffic will contribute a percentage of the cost. Director of Public Works staff explained this would likely take the form of financial contributions (fees or escrowed amounts) tied to each development plan and based on the share of trip generation attributable to a block.

A central point of debate was whether an East'West connector road crossing Area 1 and Area 2 is required now or whether widening and targeted improvements on High School Road can serve Area 1 alone. County transportation staff said prior analyses showed High School Road could be upgraded (including widening) to serve Area 1'scale development, but that peak-hour delays (school drop-off/pick-up) already cause brief periods of poor operations. Commissioners and members of the public urged active work on East'West connector options, coordination with the school district over easements, and that the county act as a convener of landowners and municipal partners to identify feasible alignments. Staff and the applicant agreed a parallel process is needed, but staff also cautioned the board that land east of Area 2 is privately owned and that county condemnation (eminent domain) would be legally and financially complex and should be considered a last resort.

Parks and open-space options: The plan includes a network of parks and smaller linear open spaces. The applicant presented two layouts (option 1 and option 2) and a hybrid option provided during the meeting. The applicant emphasized that option 1'the developer's preference'creates connected pocket parks and multi-use pathways that place parks within a short walk of most residences. Parks staff said they preferred larger, regularly shaped exactions that can accommodate active uses and be maintained by the county, while noting smaller linear parks could be conveyed to homeowners'associations for upkeep. Commissioners and parks staff discussed conveying larger parks (for example, a 5-acre Park 1 in the hybrid plan) to the county while leaving smaller connective parks to private management; staff cautioned that accepting small linear parks creates maintenance obligations and could reduce functionality for play fields and structured recreational uses.

Wildlife permeability and fencing: Staff noted Northern South Park will continue to be subject to wildlife-permeability standards in the LDRs and to countywide wildlife-friendly fence rules. Planning staff and Game and Fish recommendations called for keeping yards and internal block faces permeable to wildlife where practical; commissioners asked staff to use agency wildlife expertise during subsequent development-plan reviews rather than adding unspecified new obligations that might raise project costs for nonprofit housing partners.

Draft conditions and next steps: Planning staff presented a draft set of conditions to guide the remainder of review. Key items the board asked staff and the applicant to refine before May 6 included: (1) the phasing language and a requirement that recipients of deed-restricted blocks submit a public phasing plan tied to the subdivision plat; (2) a transportation condition establishing a schedule of off-site improvements and a method to apportion costs by block (with funds held in escrow or similar mechanism until improvements are prioritized); (3) a requirement that each development plan include a construction management plan that avoids sending construction traffic onto High School Road during school peak drop-off/pick-up hours; (4) parks layout and conveyance language that clarifies which parks the county would accept and which could be maintained privately; and (5) continued application of wildlife-permeability standards with agency review.

The applicant and Gill family representatives said they support a public-facing phasing plan and expressed concern about adding conditions that would make financing the affordable-housing components infeasible. Jason Walz, chief financial officer for the applicant team, told the board that the project must remain financially viable and cautioned against additional regulatory costs that would threaten the plan's feasibility.

The board voted to continue consideration to a May 6 public hearing so staff, parks, public works and the applicant can revise the draft conditions and provide supplemental materials (revised park layouts, a clearer phasing schedule, and more detailed transportation-cost apportionment) for the commissioners and public to review.

Action taken: The motion to continue the Northern South Park Area 1 master site plan (MSC-2024-4307) to May 6, 2025, was moved by Commissioner Macker and seconded by Commissioner Carlin; the motion carried unanimously.

What's next: Staff and the applicant will refine the phasing, parks and transportation conditions, and circulate updated materials before the May 6 hearing. Planning staff also said they could reconvene earlier with a brief update if substantive new materials become available prior to May 6.