WHY SHOULD WE CARE?

Housing mitigation is a policy adopted in Teton County in 1995 that requires new development to help address the housing demand it creates. When a new development is constructed in the valley, it also brings new housing demand. Our mitigation program helps address housing insecurity in the following ways:

• Builds community: By supporting the construction of new deed-restricted homes, mitigation helps make sure the people who keep this place running—teachers, service workers, first responders—can actually live here. 
• Supports hardworking locals: The hardworking individuals who support this community deserve opportunities to live locally. Mitigation ensures that growth contributes to housing for the workforce.
• Addresses the impact of development: We have to be honest about the impact of high-end and commercial development—it drives demand and raises prices. Mitigation acknowledges that reality and requires projects to be part of the solution.
• Provides housing options: Without tools like mitigation, locals lose the freedom to live in the community where they work. This policy helps preserve that opportunity and keeps Jackson from becoming a place only the wealthy can access.
• It’s legally tested and still standing: Housing mitigation has been challenged in the Supreme Court and continues to hold up. It remains one of the few proven, locally controlled tools we have to address workforce housing. Moreover, local voters in our community have repeatedly supported housing mitigation.

OUR POSITION

We support the mitigation program. Developers need to participate meaningfully in providing homes for the workers their projects necessitate. One of the main reasons we have a sizable stock of affordable/workforce housing is that developers have provided homes as part of their developments. Lacking this tool, we has fewer opportunities for locals to live locally. Many businesses and individuals benefit from publicly-funded housing (see the list of businesses starting on page 34 here).

We have been working on this issue since 2018 when we penned our first comment letter to the Town and County. We want to see updates to our mitigation rates to address our deepening housing crisis while protecting the economy. We also understand that mounting fees stifle economic growth, so we support a balanced approach to levying fees.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Town Council and County Commission have held several joint meetings to discuss potential changes to the mitigation program based on the latest Housing Nexus Study. We can expect these discussions to continue before they culminate in a potential recommendation to alter the current housing mitigation program. There will also be a public review process as meetings unfold.

As House Bill 141, the anti-mitigation bill failed once again in the Senate during the 2026 legislative session, we want to collaborate with local elected officials to figure out reasonable policy updates to protect the tool when a similar bill inevitably surfaces in 2027. Possible changes include raising the ceiling for residential exemptions from 2,500 square feet to 3,500 square feet. Send us your suggestions!

HISTORY

See the timeline below for an in-depth look at housing mitigation changes over the last three decades. This article also shares a succinct review of housing mitigation in our community.

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

Make sure your Town Councilors and County Commissioners (council@jacksonwy.gov, commissioners@tetoncountywy.gov) know that you support our local mitigation program.

Although approaching representatives can be intimidating, remember their job is to listen to you!

FAQS

What is the Housing Nexus Study?

The Town Council and County Commission hire consultants to conduct a Housing Nexus Study. This research determines the number of employees generated by different kinds of development and the necessary subsidy to house them. Electeds use these studies along with consultant recommendations to rationalize and inform housing mitigation policy.

Why did electeds choose to reduce mitigation rates in 2020?

Unfortunately, local interest groups have traveled to Cheyenne in an attempt to circumnavigate our local decision-making processes and make housing mitigation illegal throughout the state. JH Working associates made this move in 2019, which prompted the mitigation rate reduction in 2020. As we consider increasing rates, we need to be mindful of potential statewide action that could undermine these choices; however, we still think it is essential to figure out a way to raise rates to support the employees that enable our community to survive.

Can you share more about the importance of local control?

The Editorial Board at the JH News & Guide published a piece on local control amidst the Regulatory Reduction Taskforce meetings here.

GENERAL TIMELINE

1994: New regulation that requires developers are to offset the jobs created by their projects

2018

• 7/16/18: Town and County decide to raise housing mitigation rates significantly based on 2013 Nexus Study

2019

• 9/16/19: JH Working meets with state delegation in unofficial convening about housing mitigation

2020

• 10/13/20: Town and County direct staff to reduce non-residential mitigation by 50%
• 10/21: Proposed mitigation updates in the LDRs presented to Town and County
• 11/23: County Planning Commission reviews updated mitigation rates
• 12/15: County Commission hearing on updated mitigation rates

2021

• 1/4/21: Updated housing mitigation requirements approved by County Commissioners

2023

• 6/29/23: JH Working holds a forum to discuss housing mitigation
• 7/12-13: Housing Mitigation Joint Information Meeting
• 9/21/23: Regulatory Reduction Taskforce meets in Lander to discuss topics for draft bills
• 10/11/23: Kelsey Yarzab, ShelterJH board member, pens a pro-mitigation Guest Shot
• 10/30/23: Regulatory Reduction Taskforce releases draft bills, including one limiting mitigation fees
• 11/9/23: Regulatory Reduction Taskforce virtual meeting

2025

• 3/7/25: The legislature considered a few bills that would have gutted our local housing mitigation program; fortunately, the tool is safe for now.
• 7/30/25: A local family is suing Teton County over the mitigation program; County Commissioners filed a motion to dismiss the case.
• 9/11/25: County’s motion to dismiss is denied.

2026

•  2/9/26: Anti-mitigation activist hands out checks to legislators during the session on the House floor; scandal earns the name “Checkgate”
• 3/4/26: House Bill 141, an anti-mitigation bill, fails in the legislature after the Checkgate controversy unfolds.
• 3/14/26: Lawsuit led by Hoback residents is settled for a refund of mitigation fees based on an accounting error

Last updated 3/31/26