Jackson planners to weigh tiered natural-resource overlay, new habitat rules

The Town of Jackson Planning & Zoning Commission is scheduled to review a bundled set of staff-proposed Land Development Regulation changes on April 15 that would replace the town’s current “in-or-out” Natural Resource Overlay (NRO) with a tiered system and add new/updated development standards tied to wildlife habitat and waterways. The packet describes five related items (PM26-0005 through PM26-0009) that ultimately require Town Council approval after the commission’s recommendation. See the Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting Agenda Packet.

The biggest change is the proposed tiered NRO map (Base, Mid and High), intended to fill gaps in the current overlay and apply habitat-value mapping across all town lands. Under the proposal, Base-tier projects would generally have no additional NRO process; Mid-tier projects would submit a checklist reviewed by planning staff; and High-tier projects would require an environmental analysis by a qualified professional. Staff note they modeled the approach on the county’s tiered NRO adopted in 2024, but adjusted standards for the town’s smaller lots and more urban development patterns.

The package also proposes: increasing the standard wetland buffer from 30 feet to 50 feet; adding Spring Creek to protected streams with a 50-foot buffer; regulating Cache Creek north of Cache Creek Drive as a creek (15-foot buffer) rather than a “ditch”; and expanding prohibited uses in buffer areas to include dumpsters/recycling receptacles, snow storage and fertilizer use. Wildlife-friendly fencing standards are tied to the new tiered map (staff note the fencing amendment can’t be approved if the tiered NRO map/text aren’t adopted). A new retaining-wall section would add standards for walls on steep slopes.

Staff’s recommendation in the packet is approval of each item (PM26-0005 through PM26-0009), with a series of policy questions flagged for commissioners — including whether mitigation should be required only for High-tier parcels larger than one acre, given that few town properties fall in the High tier. Public comment is listed for the April 15 hearing, and any ordinance-level adoption would move next to the Jackson Town Council after a commission recommendation.