July 15, 2024

RE: Land Development Regulations suggestions

Dear Jackson Town Councilors,

Thank you for taking the initiative to pass a commercial development moratorium. We applaud you, the elected officials, along with local outspoken commenters and organizations that have long advocated for this cause.

You may remember that back in 2021, ShelterJH called for an emergency moratorium. Our members wrote letters expressing their support for this cause, even though we were being told at that time that such bold action was impossible. Today, in the face of the Mogul Capital hotel proposal — one of the largest developments this community has ever seen — we are inspired to see our community use its collective power to come together and organize for the greater good.

Since the moratorium passed, we have collaborated with our members and partner organizations to create this non-exhaustive list of ideas for land development regulation revisions while we have this unique opportunity the moratorium presents. We are proud to offer these thoroughly-researched suggestions for your consideration during this time.

PARKING

Pro-housing communities across the country are revising parking regulations which are often one of the most costly requirements for affordable housing developers. Parking is a resource that is not necessary for all residents so we encourage monetizing parking when possible to create additional revenue sources while investing in our public transportation system to make it possible for more locals to live a car-free lifestyle.

• Eliminate or significantly reduce parking minimums for all commercial and residential units: Eliminating parking requirements would not mean that developers wouldn’t provide parking; however, it would equip developers with more flexibility when designing housing and commercial complexes. We suggest eliminating parking requirements so developers can determine what kinds of parking is most useful for users.
• Implement alternate street parking in the winter: Our members, who are overwhelmingly renters, are vocal about the need for alternate street parking in the winter. We were encouraged to see that the Equity Taskforce also supported this change during their deliberations. A pilot program may help ease communities into this change and allow for maximum flexibility as adoption takes place.
• Institute paid on-street parking with a free parking pass for local full-time residents with a fee for visitors: When the Council last considered instituting paid parking for the downtown area, one of the main drawbacks was the cost of implementing the new system. Considering the advances in paid parking systems, we support investigating if paid parking could create another reliable revenue source designated for deed-restricted housing and/or public transportation.

THE 2 FOR 1 TOOL

Over time, it has become clear that the 2 for 1 tool provides more value for developers than for the community via the current housing requirement. We are glad that Town planning staff is exploring ways to update the exchange ratio to ensure that the tool provides a proportional benefit to both the developer and community. In the interim, we suggest suspending the tool altogether until planning staff is confident that the exchange is mutually beneficial.

• We suggest exploring changing the ratio to 1:1 and altering the requirement from Workforce to Affordable housing, preferably for 120% MFI and below

SHORT-TERM RENTALS

Short-term rentals continue to threaten our local housing stock. We ask that planning staff continue to evaluate the efficacy of the new regulation that went into effect this year and remain open to strengthening and otherwise adjusting this new ordinance as necessary, including but not limited to:

• Changing the definition of “short-term” from 30 to 90 days with exceptions for locals in need of short-term housing between long-term rentals and potentially offering the opportunity to short-term rent for owner-occupied homes for a limited time per year
• Impose a cap-or-trade system for current holders of short-term renting permits so those who are currently short-term renting can do so in perpetuity while limiting future growth of short-term rental opportunities outside of the lodging overlay

ZONING

We want to see zoning regulations that enable deed-restricted homes to be built in appropriate areas as soon as possible while limiting the onslaught of commercial growth that digs our housing deficit deeper and respecting private property rights. Below are some suggestions that have become best practice in other communities struggling with a housing crisis.

• Eliminate single-family zoning and upzone all residential areas for deed-restricted housing only
• Impose a maximum commercial/non-deed-restricted residential building size in downtown zones
• Limit amount of lots developers can combine for a single commercial project
• Allow 4th floor workforce bonus on smaller lots
• Eliminate lot subdivision size minimums for deed-restricted projects
• Create an ARU handbook with pre-approved designs and ensure they are deed-restricted in perpetuity (when only allowed with a density bonus) with exceptions for family members of the main property owner

HOUSING MITIGATION

We support requiring residential and commercial developers to provide homes for the employees their developments create. We also recognize that our current mitigation system has put an insurmountable burden on certain small business owners in our community and necessitates more review to address local and statewide concerns. We ask that planning staff review the following suggestions:

Once again, we are grateful to all of you for taking the time to ensure that local regulations incentivize the kind of development our community needs while disincentivizing development that makes our housing crisis worse. We look forward to working with local leaders and organizations to make sure these changes protect the best interests of our entire community.

Best,
Clare Stumpf
On behalf of ShelterJH board members and membership