Planning commission endorses tiered natural-resources overlay and several LDR updates, defers wildlife-fencing decision

The Jackson Hole Planning and Zoning Commission on April 15 voted to recommend multiple amendments to the town's Land Development Regulations, endorsing a tiered Natural Resources Overlay (NRO) map and approving text changes to wetland and water-body protections and a new retaining-wall standard, while deferring a final decision on wildlife-friendly fencing.

Staff presented the package as a follow-up to county work completed in 2025 and described a science-driven, three-tier mapping system (base, mid and high) that scales review and mitigation requirements to habitat value. Ryan Hostetter, long-range planning staff, told commissioners the intent is to protect critical habitat and movement corridors while avoiding undue burdens for in-town development: “We don't want to make this burdensome for residents in town,” he said, describing exemptions for small additions, accessory structures and certain existing master-planned projects.

Public commenters representing conservation organizations urged stronger protections. Amy Kushak, community planning director for the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, supported the tiered map but said the draft does not go far enough on permeability and setbacks. Jennifer Evans of Protect Our Water Jackson Hole noted that Flat Creek was placed on the Wyoming DEQ impaired streams list in 1996 and urged expanded creek buffers; she said a GIS analysis of her group's recommended setbacks would protect roughly 84 acres along the creeks.

Commissioners debated exemptions and thresholds through the meeting. On mitigation, staff proposed requiring habitat mitigation for high-tier properties larger than 1 acre; commissioners discussed whether the one-acre cutoff is appropriate and many favored giving the planning director discretion to require mitigation on smaller parcels when warranted. On water-body buffers, staff recommended retaining most existing setback distances and adding prohibitions on certain activities within buffers (snow storage, dumpsters, fertilizer use). The town engineer and staff advised that, for water-quality issues driven primarily by sediment and E. coli, widening building setbacks alone would not necessarily address the principal sources of impairment in Flat Creek.

On formal actions, Chair Commissioner Smith moved to recommend approval of zoning map amendment PM26-005 to implement the tiered NRO; that motion passed. The commission next recommended approval of PM26-006 (NRO/LDR process updates) with the meeting's exemptions discussion appended to the recommendation (motion carried, recorded as 4–2). The commission recommended approval of PM26-007 (water-body and wetland buffer updates) after hearing comment and staff rationale that the proposed buffer distances represent a balanced approach for in-town lots. A motion to recommend approval of PM26-008 (the wildlife-friendly fencing section) failed; commissioners then voted to continue PM26-008 to the commission's May 6 meeting so staff can return with revised options and additional stakeholder input. Finally, the commission recommended approval of PM26-009 to add retaining-wall provisions requiring gaps or staggered designs to improve wildlife permeability.

Next steps: the recommended amendments (except for the fencing section that was continued) will go to town council for consideration. The fencing text will return to the Planning and Zoning Commission on May 6 for further deliberation after staff incorporates commission feedback and stakeholder input.