Council approves Jackson Hole Community School middle school CUP but denies its fee waiver

Jackson, Wyo. — The Town of Jackson on April 20 voted to approve a conditional use permit (CUP P26-013) allowing Jackson Hole Community School (JHCS) to use Building 400 in the Flat Creek Business Center for a middle school, but the council rejected the school’s request for a fee waiver for building permit review costs.

Associate planner Caitlin Page described the CUP as enabling a 7,250-square-foot middle school with a maximum occupancy of about 90 students. Staff recommended approval with two conditions: that the applicant make a good-faith effort to encourage alternative transportation (walking, biking, carpooling or transit) and that the applicant not install a painted crosswalk between Buildings 200 and 400. Page said staff calculated the site needed 14 short-term bicycle parking spaces and that vehicle parking calculations showed 20 spaces would be provided.

Ted Smith, head of school at Jackson Hole Community School, told the council the school — founded roughly 25 years ago — provides an alternative 9–12 education, expects to extend that model to middle-school grades, and said about 30% of students currently receive financial assistance. "We believe this project provides extraordinary charitable, civic and educational benefit to the community," Smith said in support of both the CUP and the fee-waiver request.

Council discussion on the CUP focused on zoning compatibility and traffic. Staff and consultants said preliminary traffic modeling did not show a significant short-term impact on High School Road but that a broader study could recommend intersection improvements (including two roundabouts by 2030) as regional traffic volumes increase. The council voted to approve CUP P26-013 (motion carried unanimously).

Separately, the council considered a request to waive building permit review fees associated with the CUP. Several councilors said the town’s tight budget and the cumulative effect of frequent fee waivers weighed against granting a waiver even for a nonprofit school. One councilor referenced publicly available financial figures showing about $4.95 million in revenues and a roughly $770,000 balance for the most recent year; Ted Smith responded that the referenced balance primarily funds the school’s financial-aid program. After debate the waiver motion failed, recorded in the transcript as a 1–4 vote against the waiver.

The council did not direct staff to return the fee-waiver request to a future meeting beyond the regular budget and fee-waiver policy discussions already scheduled.