At a time when the nation’s electorate has turned
decidedly anti-government, Jackson, Wyo., voters said yes to an
extensive set of new zoning and land-use regulations. The new laws,
which curb commercial, lodging and residential growth in town, won
with 55 percent of the ballots in a Jan. 31 special election. Eight
hundred and fifty votes were cast in favor of the regulations, 696
against. The election was a coup for Jackson town officials, who
had spent three years and more than $1 million writing the new
zoning plan. The plan was suspended in November, by public petition
(HCN, 1/23/95). “It’s good to get some reaffirmation on the
direction we should be going in the town,” says town councilman
Scott Anderson. But Jackson developer Jere Bishop, who organized
the petition drive for a special election, paid more attention to
the wealth of “no” votes. “I don’t think the town can discount the
fact that 700 people voted against this,” Bishop says. On this
point, the town may agree. “I’m not sure we’ll ever know why so
many people voted against it,” says town planning administrator Bob
Horne. “But this is definitely something I want to talk about. If
I’ve got 700 pissed-off people out there, I’d like to know why.”
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Jackson voters say yes to planning.
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