Development will connect to town sewer plant, increase
traffic in South
Park.
By Cara Froedge - Jackson
Teton Meadows Ranch will offer about
140 acres of open
space, build a series
of pathways,
contribute to road enhancements and connect to the town
sewer system. Those are just some of the
details in the more than 200-page
application that developer James Reinert and his team
submitted to county planners in late August.
Reinert has applied to
build a 500-home neighborhood south
of town. The development
proposal for Teton Meadows Ranch features a new type of deed-restricted
affordable housing, called Homestead Ownership. The project is slated
for 288
acres of the 336-acre Roger Seherr-Thoss property adjacent to Rafter J
and
Melody Ranch. The application proposes to rezone the property from
rural to Neighborhood
Conservation 2 to construct 125 traditional affordable homes, with the
remaining 375 Homestead units for those who work 1,500 hours a year in
Teton
County and agree to own only one residential
property. Here's a
look at other aspects
of the application, which can be found at www.tmr-jh.com.
Open space
Fifty percent of the property, or 144
acres, will be
retained as open space in neighborhood parks or natural areas with
development concentrated
on the inner portions of the property. While the property is
now
agricultural meadow marked by irrigation ditches, fuel storage and
maintenance
sheds, developers propose to plant open space with native plants and
enhanced
areas near Flat Creek with wetlands. According to the application, this
will
allow for "extensive" buffer areas of natural open space around the
perimeter, which will help retain the scenic hay meadow character of
the South Park
area. Natural open
space will comprise one-third of
the project. The "active" open space will serve as parks to provide
recreation and interaction areas for the community and Teton Meadows
residents.
There will be
playing fields adjacent to
a new elementary school site with a "centrally located community
area" to serve as another activity node for residents.
Each neighborhood will have a midsize
park with "open, grassy
lawns" and shaded seating areas. Each park will have its own theme,
such
as one designated as a playground area, another for an art or sculpture
garden
or another with covered picnic areas. These ideas will be further
defined
during final development plan submittal, the application states. Along
with its
open space, the development proposes to enhance the disturbed lands
wherever
possible. The Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance's Kristy Bruner said
her group,
which aims to protect the valley's natural resources, has no formal
position on
the development yet. "It
is a large
development and we are in the preliminary stages of looking at it," she
said.
Wastewater
and water
supply
Because there is no water or sewer
service on the property,
wells will supply water to the development. Teton Meadows will hook up
to the town sewer
main to collect and treat
wastewater. The projected average daily
water demand is estimated at 265,000 gallons, with peak water demands of about 790,000
gallons per day. An
above-grade water storage tank
will be
used and will be large enough to supply fire hydrant flows
as well as average daily water demands.
High season groundwater conditions
prohibit a below-grade storage tank, the application states.
While steel and reinforced concrete
tank designs will be considered,
selection also will be based upon aesthetic considerations,
construction and maintenance
costs. "Landscaping
would be provided
to help screen the water tank," the application states. The water
supply
system will include chlorine treatment for disinfecting and preventing
algae
growth. Developers also will explore connecting to water systems in
Rafter J and
Melody Ranch, though at this time it's not clear whether either
neighborhood
will allow connection to its private water systems, the application
states. To
collect and treat wastewater, the development proposes a sewer
collection
system that will take water to a station at the property's south end. That lift station will pump
the sewage to the
Town of Jackson
sewer main east of
Flat Creek.
Such a system will require another
main to be installed in
the South Park Loop right of way. The town engineer "has verified that
the
Jackson
sewage treatment plant has
ample capacity to serve the proposed development," the application
states.
Mayor Mark Barron said he hadn't looked at the application but, in
general, the
town council supports broadening sewer service throughout the valley.
"We're
well within the limits of our existing physical plant," he said, adding
that at some point the town will have to put in more mechanical
equipment. Barron
said he had no idea how 265,000 additional gallons a day could affect
the
system. That generally wouldn't all come on at once, he said. For storm
water,
Teton Meadows will use surface drainage to move rainwater and snowmelt.
Streets
and alleys will drain to the open space on the perimeter, allowing
runoff and
sediment to be naturally filtered by grass and infiltration. Irrigation
ditches
will be maintained and relocated for storm water transport and to
resemble live
streams. Detention ponds will be built to store runoff and allow
sediment and
debris to settle before discharge.
A new
traffic light
needed
According to an engineer's report
submitted with the
application, Teton Meadows Ranch will be 80 percent built by 2013 and
100
percent built by
2018. Analysis of
traffic found the development will generate about
4,600 per-day trips at build-out, with
360 trips during the morning
peak hour
and 455 during the afternoon peak hour. Of those trips, 90 percent will
travel
north toward Jackson.
The remaining
10 percent will go south toward Hoback Junction. Eighty percent of cars
traveling out of Teton Meadows will head north on Highway 89, while
another 10
percent will take South Park Loop
Road,
the application states. The analysis also found from 2007 summer
traffic
volumes there's already a need for a traffic signal at Highway 89 and South
Park Loop Road. That signal
would accommodate
eastbound left-turn movements, as all other travel and turn lanes have
acceptable levels of service, the
application states. By
2010, without
Teton Meadows, people turning left onto the highway will cause traffic
to
operate at an "F" level of service, or the lowest grade given, during
the morning and afternoon, according to the traffic analysis. By 2013 there will be 10
eastbound cars
"regularly backed up" trying to turn left during peak hours without
Teton Meadows. "Thus, by 2013 a traffic signal will be needed for the
[Highway 89] and South Park Loop intersection just to accommodate
normal
traffic growth from current conditions," it states. The
traffic analysis suggests that by 2013 the
county install a traffic signal at the intersection and build turn
lands
southbound and eastbound. Teton Meadows will participate with pro rata
funding
for the intersection improvements based on its portion of the total
traffic volume,
the application states Additionally, to promote mass transit, Teton
Meadows
will build bus stop shelters in central locations so that resident can
walk to
the bus and leave cars at home. The development also will build a trail
system
to encourage pedestrian and bicycle travel but has not explicitly said
it will build
a trail connection to the Rafter J subdivision despite recommendations
from a
traffic analysis. Tim
Young, executive
director of Friends of Pathways, said he had not seen the application
but was
encouraged by the possibility of a connector to Rafter J. Now,
developments in
that location are more "individual cul de sacs" rather than being
connected, he said.
Places to
ride bikes,
walk
In addition, Teton Meadows has
several types of pedestrian
sidewalks and pathways proposed. First, there will be a regional bike
path
along South Park Loop Road, north
of the existing mature cottonwood trees, that will connect to the site
near the
elementary school land. That paved
bike
path will then travel in a greenway along a north-south corridor
through the site. Secondarily, there will be a
series of neighborhood sidewalks along the internal streets with alleys
that
also will function as pedestrian walkways. Both will connect to the
parks and
open space. A third level of trails will be built throughout the
natural open space
areas. These trails will be naturally surfaced with seating spread
throughout.
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