In one of the more important local races facing Teton County voters, six candidates for county commission on Thursday offered views that fell across the spectrum regarding growth and development.

During a forum sponsored by the Wyoming Conservation Voters Education Fund, six of the eight candidates took questions about some of the more important issues facing the valley today. Republicans Kim Sturlin and Bob Morris were absent.

Affordable housing was one of the dominant issues for candidates. They all agreed such housing is needed but differed on how they would solve the problem.

Incumbent Andy Schwartz said the community needs to house 65 percent of the work force to keep fire and emergency medical services workers and other vital volunteers and employees here. But he said the valley will not get enough housing from density upzones related to free-market units. Rather, he said it needs to have an affordable-housing zoning that requires 100 percent of homes to be deed restricted and those need to be limited to small parcels such as 5 acres.

Incumbent Leland Christensen said the county also needs to develop a work-force housing zoning, which he envisions would encourage rental units for temporary workers. Such rentals could give workers the opportunity to decide if they want to stay in the valley permanently, he said.

Democrat Brian Grubb said he thinks every business, even county government, needs to be responsible for its own employees.

Republican Dennis Triano said the county has had an affordable-housing problem for years.

“What we’re doing with affordable housing isn’t working,” he said.

The valley needs more short-term, deed-restricted rental units, he said. Another solution is to provide more bus service to Teton Valley, Idaho, and Star Valley. That would take cars off the road and help those people find homes they can afford — outside Teton County.

Democrat Claire Fuller said the county has the ability to say no to developments that aren’t going to help the deficit. For example, Fuller said she would have voted against Snake River Associates’ expansion of Teton Village. While SRA is providing hundreds of employee and affordable homes, it’s only offsetting its own impact, she said.

“[We need to] aim high and ask for a lot,” Fuller said. “We can get it.”

Regarding managing growth, Fuller also said the county needs to determine if it wants a growth rate cap and what that would be.

Republican Rick Roth had a stronger stance, saying the county needs “to put the breaks on” commercial and residential development.

But Schwartz said the county doesn’t have many options for new commercial development. If any future commercial projects are approved, they should go in nodes and have the appropriate housing to go along with it, he said.

Grubb said the best way to manage growth is to remove flexible zoning from the Jackson/Teton County Comprehensive Plan. It’s too uncertain, he said.

Regarding the comprehensive plan, both Schwartz and Christensen took the opportunity to respond to criticism about the process to revise it. The two commissioners said it’s not the comprehensive plan that is going to answer many of the development questions.

Rather, it’s the land-development regulations that will come after that plan that will outline details about how to achieve development and protection goals.

The comprehensive plan is more of a visionary, guiding document, they said.

In terms of wildlife, all candidates agreed protection is a top priority.

Roth said wildlife trumps everything.

“I don’t support paving large tracts of land so we can accommodate clusters of homes,” he said.

Voters on Aug. 19 will choose two Democrats and two Republicans to send to the November general election. Those four people will fight for two  board seats, held now by Schwartz and Christensen.