Planning commission recommends FY27 work plan, asks staff to study housing bonus, height limits and short‑term rental caps
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Summary
The commission voted to recommend a modified FY27 long‑range planning work plan and directed staff to analyze possible LDR amendments including changes to the 2‑for‑1 workforce housing bonus, building height standards, caps on short‑term rentals, basement rules and a comprehensive update to design guidelines.
The Jackson/Teton County planning commission voted to recommend its FY27 long‑range planning work plan and asked staff to perform detailed analyses of several potential land‑development regulation (LDR) changes, including revisions to the 2‑for‑1 workforce housing bonus, building height limits, short‑term rental allowances, basement/dewatering rules and a comprehensive design‑guidelines update.
Paul Anthony, the town/county planning director, opened the presentation by summarizing the comprehensive plan context that informs the work plan. “The comprehensive plan has triggers and metrics that we have to decide every year,” he said, noting staff’s responsibility to monitor indicators and recommend targeted changes. Ryan Costetter, the joint long‑range planner, walked commissioners through the new online indicator dashboard and the 2025 data, explaining that the community has exceeded the comp‑plan’s 7% residential‑growth trigger since 2020.
Why it matters: staff told the commission the growth trigger requires a formal check‑in with the public and elected officials; the dashboard data also show the town is meeting location metrics but is still falling short of a stated goal to house 65% of the local workforce within town limits. Staff reported roughly 79 new residential permits across town and county in 2025 and 82 newly completed deed‑restricted units during the year.
Major items the commission directed staff to analyze
- 2‑for‑1 workforce housing bonus: commissioners and staff discussed multiple options, including changing the ratio (for example from 2:1 to 1:1 or a sliding scale), requiring deeper affordability rather than a workforce‑only restriction, capping the size of deed‑restricted units, and limiting how much bonus can be used on a single site. Staff noted that the initial incentive pool (created during a prior downzoning) has been partly spent and estimated roughly 500 incentive units remain between jurisdictions.
- Building height and scale: council had proposed reviewing height limits; commissioners generally opposed an immediate reduction in height due to concerns about livability, floor‑to‑ceiling needs for energy‑efficiency, and unintended effects on housing supply. Several commissioners suggested alternative LDR approaches (setbacks or façade articulation) to break up building mass rather than blanket height cuts.
- Short‑term rentals in lodging overlay: staff briefed the commission on options for limiting short‑term rentals (STRs) in the downtown lodging overlay, including potential caps or permitting limits. Commissioners asked staff to research what other resort communities have done and to consider whether restrictions should target new construction rather than be retroactive.
- Basements and groundwater: commissioners raised concerns about the increasing use of deep, habitable basements and possible dewatering or groundwater impacts. Staff said there are currently no specific groundwater rules tied to basement depth and that they will research model regulations and mitigation studies.
- Design guidelines: the commission supported a comprehensive update to the town’s design guidelines (the base guidelines date from 2004), with public outreach and consultant support anticipated.
Motion and next steps: the recommendation motion was made by Ryan Costetter and seconded by the chair; commissioners approved the motion by voice vote to forward the recommended FY26/FY27 work‑plan modifications to council with the additions and direction described above. The commission asked staff to coordinate with the housing department and other stakeholders (developers, architects and housing‑affordability experts) when preparing analysis and options.
The meeting ended with procedural announcements from staff about an upcoming contested‑case appeal (Board of Adjustment) and a separate town/county meeting on a development agreement (the Virginian project). The commission adjourned after the announcements.
Sources and attribution: quotes and attributions are drawn from statements by planning director Paul Anthony and joint long‑range planner Ryan Costetter during the planning commission meeting on the long‑range planning FY27 work plan and indicator report presentation.
