WHAT IS GOING WITH LEGACY LODGE?

Legacy Lodge is a large building located in the Rafter J subdivision. Legacy Lodge has 57 studio, one-, and two-bedroom units, as well as a large communal space and commercial kitchen. It operated as an assisted living center for seniors until it went out of business in March 2021. Legacy Lodge was purchased in April 2021 by Stage Stop Inc., which is a local hotelier that operates Hotel Jackson.

In fall 2021, the owners of Stage Stop applied to rezone the building from commercial to residential in an effort to occupy the building with local workers. Since then, there have been multiple lawsuits filed by a small group of neighbors in Rafter J regarding the initial approval to have locals living in Legacy Lodge.

WHY SHOULD WE CARE?

Legacy Lodge represents an opportunity to provide 57 deed-restricted units for local workers. Legacy Lodge is unique because it will require zero public subsidy (as opposed to projects like Jackson Street Apartments) and it can be occupied as soon as the permits allow (as opposed to projects that require construction). 

OUR POSITION

While we recognize that Legacy Lodge will not be the perfect housing opportunity for everyone, we are glad to see a deed-restricted Workforce housing initiative moving forward. The County Commissioners who supported this permit deserve recognition for going above and beyond to include conditions to make the application as good as it is. We hope the owners will rent to workers at affordable rates even though it’s not required as of now. 

HISTORY

As a precursor to the CUP application, Stage Stop applied for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) to allow a residential use of Legacy Lodge. The PUD and the CUP were approved by the Planning Commission on March 14, 2022. The PUD was approved by the County Commission (BCC) on May 3. Subsequently, twelve Rafter J residents sued Teton County over their approval of the PUD. 

In 2023, more litigation has taken place, and one case is pending in the Wyoming Supreme Court. See a detailed timeline at the end of this page.

WHAT’S NEXT?

On April 14 2023, the lawsuit regarding the PUD approval was found in favor of the Darwiche family. It is unclear whether or not this decision will be appealed. The HOA has also filed a lawsuit regarding the definition of “commercial” as it relates to this property.

Eventually, the Darwiches will need to seek approval from 65% of Rafter J homeowners to move forward. The Darwiche family is also exploring office permitting in case the lodging use is halted with litigation.

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

Tell your commissioners today that you support allowing local workers to live in Legacy Lodge! Email them at commissioners@tetoncountywy.gov⁠.

FAQS

How do the Rafter J CC&Rs affect the County approval process?

Rafter J operates as its own entity and the process of amending County regulations and Rafter J Covenants, Conditions, & Restrictions (CCRs) are completely separate. If Stage Stop secures a PUD and CUP from the County, it does not negate the need for them to comply with Rafter J requirements. The County Commission has no jurisdiction regarding Rafter J CCRs. Amending Rafter J requirements starts with 50 signatures and then 65% of homeowners approving said changes (there are about 500 homeowners in Rafter J).

Why are some Rafter J residents opposed to occupying Legacy Lodge with local workers?

Over the course of this process, a subset of local neighbors has expressed concerns including the following below. Some of these concerns are directly addressed in the latest set of conditions set forth by the CUP.

  • Traffic/pathways congestion and parking
  • Water and sewer issues and other environmental impacts
  • Affordability
  • Desire to see assisted living restored in Legacy Lodge
  • Circumvention of HOA rules
  • Crime/drug use: This is a complaint referenced by some neighbors. Shelter JH does not agree with the idea that allowing deed-restricted housing in Legacy Lodge (or anywhere) will cause an increase in crime/drug use.
Does ShelterJH support having your home tied to your employment, as it will be for Legacy Lodge residents if these permits are finalized?

While we believe that it is not ideal to have your job tied to your housing for a plethora of reasons, employee housing is one part of the solution to housing insecurity in Teton County. As it stands, Legacy Lodge owners would master lease units to businesses, who would then lease units to their employees who qualify for Workforce housing. Identifying qualified individuals and enforcing the deed restrictions would be the responsibility of the Jackson/Teton County Affordable Housing Department. Employee housing is not a perfect solution for everyone and we don’t expect Legacy Lodge to be a panacea, but we need to access all deed-restricted housing we can, especially those opportunities that do not require an additional public subsidy.

Assisted living is a critical need in our community. Can Legacy Lodge be restored to its original assisted living use?

Seniors are part of the housing insecure population, and we fully support seeking out and advocating for solutions for our elderly neighbors. At this time, Legacy Lodge is private property and the owners’ desire to fill the building with workers is their decision. Fortunately, voters just approved almost $2 million of public SPET funding to develop a plan for assisted living. We look forward to supporting efforts to house seniors.

With no Affordable restrictions, Legacy Lodge units could be expensive. Why does ShelterJH support this application with no affordability?

Keith Gingery (County attorney) recommended that the Commissioners not mandate that a portion of units be Affordable (income-restricted) because there is no legal nexus to do so. His recommendation is based on the idea that filling Legacy Lodge is not creating new jobs, so according to the County attorney, requiring Affordability is not legally founded. If the Commission adds an Affordability requirement, they could open themselves up to a lawsuit.

I am concerned about livability standards in Legacy Lodge. What kinds of amenities will be provided for occupants?

According to the conditions attached to the CUP, all units will be required to have full kitchens before occupancy, minimum lease terms will be six months, a fire inspection is required, 99-person occupancy limit, etc. See a full list of conditions regarding livability and accessibility below.

GENERAL TIMELINE

See a detailed timeline of Rafter J/Stage Stop interactions here.

2021

  • 3/31/2021: Legacy Lodge closed by parent company Nye Health Services due to financial infeasibility (35 of 57 apartments occupied)
  • 4/30: Legacy Lodge purchased
  • 7/19: Stage Stop hosts a meeting at Legacy Lodge
  • 10/5: Stage Stop submits PUD and CUP applications to occupy Legacy Lodge with local workers
  • 12/22: Neighborhood meeting at Legacy Lodge

2022

  • 1/5/2022: Neighborhood meeting at Legacy Lodge
  • 3/14: Planning Commission recommends approval of PUD and CUP
    • PUD vote: 3-2, Kasey Mateosky, Devon Viehman and Alex Muromcew in support; Sue Lurie and Karen Rockey against
    • CUP vote: 3-2, Kasey Mateosky, Devon Viehman and Karen Rockey in support; Sue Lurie and Alex Muromcew against
  • 5/3: PUD approved unanimously by County Commission
  • 5/17: CUP fails 2-2 (Commissioners Barron/Epstein in support; Commissioners Newcomb/Propst against, Commissioner Macker absent)
  • 5/30: Commissioner Propst reconsiders vote, CUP comes back into discussion, vote punted until 9/20
  • 6/2: Twelve people sue Teton County for PUD approval
  • 8/26: Stage Stop files “backup” Basic Use Permit (BUP) application to turn half of Legacy Lodge into offices
  • 11/1: CUP approved with 15 conditions—see meeting minutes here; neighbors sue the County for this decision

2023

2024

Last updated 2/8/24