Former Town Councilor Mike Lance decided to accept a write-in nomination for mayor because he wants his grandson to live in the valley and because of the general unrest he senses over Jackson development trends.

Lance, who works for the Wyoming Department of Transportation, said if elected he will focus on creating a place in the valley for people such as his daughter and son-in-law and their child. The 45-year valley resident, who served on the Jackson Town Council from 1987-90, also said some community members do not like the dense, tall building projects that have been approved in the last six years Mark Barron has held the mayor’s chair.

“I’ve got a grandson that’s living here,” Lance said on Tuesday, a day after filing election papers. Lance will square off against Barron on Nov. 4. “I want changes to give my daughter and son-in-law some opportunity to live here.”

Some community members are not happy with the projects being approved under the town’s planned-mixed use development regulations that allow four-story buildings up to 46-feet tall. Commercial growth that creates more jobs and further strains the housing market does not sit well with some town residents, he said.

“The people I’m around aren’t real happy with the commercial growth – denser, more on less,” Lance said. “This [planned mixed-use development] process is leaving a bad taste in peoples’ mouths.”

“If there is actually that much dissatisfaction going on, somebody ought to run,” he said, before referencing the Pine Glades development on Snow King Mountain, being accessed by a tunnel. “That scar on the hill is a reminder to a lot of people what’s going on.”

On Tuesday, Barron, who hasn’t faced a challenger since he took office in 2002, defended his record and said the council has tried to preserve character while encouraging a “vibrant” town. So far, three planned-mixed use developments have been built, and more are in the works “I think the town council has been very responsible,” Barron said Tuesday. “We’ve turned down PMUDs that we did not feel were appropriate.”

Projects such as McCabe Corner, approved under the planned-mixed use regulations, will add needed homes to the downtown core, he said. Barron admires European-style buildings that feature residences over first-floor shops.

The projects the council has approved has Jackson headed in the correct direction, he said. The mayor looks at what Lance refers to as the “scar” on Snow King and sees the tunnel project as a innovative traffic flow solution.

“I think that is a great example of the public process working,” Barron said.

Lance, 54, garnered six write-in votes in the Aug. 19 primary, three more than the amount required by law for him to stand for election. Former council candidate E.J. Hirschfield, boatman and former News&Guide reporter Jim Stanford and former Mayor Ralph Gill received more votes but they did not file to run, leaving the opportunity to Lance. Teton Village resident Capt. Bob Morris also received votes, but he cannot run because he does not live in town.

A group of valley residents, including Patty Ewing, met to discuss who among the write-ins would be the most electable, Lance said. Lance, with his long tenure in the valley and large network of friends, was their choice.He talked about the opportunity with his wife, Jackie, who ran a Jackson daycare for years. The couple thought about the candidacy during the weekend, got support at church, and Sunday evening Lance told Ewing he would run.

“The more Jackie and I talked about it – we prayed about it – we said maybe this is what we should be doing at this time,” Lance said.

Ewing said that, like many people, she’s concerned about four-story buildings and the impacts of recent development trends.

The highlight of Lance’s tenure on the council include the purchase of 11-acre May Park, development of Yokel Park, Home Ranch Parking lot, town shops and the ski shelter at Snow King. He moved to the valley in 1963 from California.

Barron, 53, who owns High Country Linens and Blue Spruce Cleaners, moved to the valley in the mid-1970s. He points to projects such as the controversial 810 West development near the library when talking about his record.

The valley needed affordable housing and the town partnered with a developer to create a project that protected some open space, created 22 deed-restricted homes and 14 market units. The town paid $1.2 million for the property and got almost $1 million back, Barron said.

Barron said he is willing to withstand community ire to get such projects completed.

“During that construction, we took a lot of grief,” he said.

Lance was one of the critics. He alleged the town didn’t live up to its commitment to require that the sides of the metal buildings at 810 West be treated so reflected sunlight didn’t glare off the building.

Barron said he supports affordable housing and said during his tenure the town has created homes for valley workers and town employees. He would like to see developers be required to build 25 percent affordable housing, up from the current 15 percent requirement.

Lance backed creating more affordable rental units. He supports increasing the affordable housing requirement.

He returned, however, to a familiar theme – the continued creation of commercial space.

Since 2000, the town councilors have approved more than 752,000 square feet of commercial development, according to an analysis of planning documents done in 2007 by the News&Guide. That’s the equivalent area of more than 15 Albertsons-size buildings in eight years – divided among a variety of commercial undertakings from retail to office to industrial.

“It seems the primary growth is commercial,” Lance said. “The more commercial we get, the more people we need. We’re having a hard time housing the ones we have. We’re exacerbating the problem.”

Barron countered that such analysis is not fair. When people look at new development they do not consider the fact that properties such as the Hitching Post in east Jackson have gone from hotels to residential units.

The council has pushed to make developers build the required number of affordable or employee homes, Barron said.

“I’m very proud of our current and past town councils that put affordable housing on the ground,” he said.



– Cara Froedge contributed

 to this story.