Jackson town council on Oct. 20 directed staff to prepare a scoping item identifying land-development regulation (LDR) amendments that could be addressed under the town’s current comprehensive plan and also authorized continuation of a joint scoping report for a comprehensive-plan update with the use of outside consultants.

The actions followed a lengthy staff overview of development patterns over the last five years and public comment that urged the town to accelerate code updates. Paul Anthony, director of Planning and Building, told the council the town has seen a recent increase in larger multi-story developments and lot consolidations that were enabled in part by past LDR changes intended to support workforce housing. "We are seeing 3- and 4-story buildings on relatively small parcels," Anthony said, and that pace of change has raised concerns around character, traffic, water, and housing impacts.

Staff walked the council through four options: (1) status quo; (2) add LDR updates to the current FY26 work plan to address issues that do not require a comprehensive plan amendment; (3) swap or reassign work-plan priorities to allow more focus on comp-plan scoping; and (4) a full commitment to both a comprehensive plan update and a set of LDR amendments at once. Staff emphasized that some LDR amendments can be accomplished faster and without a full comp-plan update, while other changes that "fundamentally alter the direction of the community" would require a comp-plan amendment.

Ryan Hostetter, the joint long-range planner, told the council that the town’s adaptive-management trigger for a comp-plan review is 7% residential growth since the last update; the most recent indicator was 6.7 percent, putting the town close to the threshold. Staff described a scoping approach that would gauge whether a limited update or a full comprehensive update is required and refine consultant scope and cost estimates.

Public commenters and multiple council members urged clearer, broader community engagement, and asked that the town consider topics such as climate resilience, seniors and non-workforce residents, affordable housing, parking reform, and design standards. Ally Dunford of the Riverwind Climate Action Network urged the town to align LDRs with climate mitigation and adaptation; Whitney Openhisen of ShelterJH asked the council to use LDR changes to prioritize housing for local residents.

Council action: The council unanimously approved two motions. First, Councilor Beeman moved and Councilor Regan seconded a motion directing staff to prepare and present an LDR scoping item to identify possible code amendments consistent with the current comprehensive plan; that motion passed. Second, Councilor Veenan moved and Councilor Schechter seconded a motion directing staff to continue the comprehensive-plan scoping report — expanded to determine community concerns and opportunities — using outside consultants for consideration at a future joint town/county meeting; that motion also passed unanimously.

Staff said the LDR scoping item will return to the council with a prioritized list of potential text amendments and a proposed schedule tied to staff capacity. The comprehensive-plan scoping effort remains on the FY26 work plan; adding consultants and expanding scope would require coordination and cost-sharing with Teton County. Staff estimated a scoping report and next steps could be complete in the FY26 timeline but noted consultant procurement and an expanded scope would extend the timeline into the following months.