A potential owner of a Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis affordable home is looking for other applicants to speak out against a prohibition on dogs.

Karen Keckley, who’s lived in the valley for almost nine years, said she’s interested in forming a group with other lottery applicants to discuss the prohibition. She’s encouraging applicants to contact her at karenlou@hotmail.com.

The housing authority expects to notify lottery winners Monday.

“I intend to keep my name in the lottery in order to pursue this and would like to encourage others to do so as well,” Keckley said.

Applicants for the 22 affordable homes learned this week that they were misinformed during the lottery process to purchase one of the homes. During advertisements for the homes, applicants were told they could have a dog, which must be restrained at all times.

Neighbors protested that announcement, citing a 2002 amendment to the master plan that states dogs are forbidden on the affordable lot to protect wildlife habitat. Moose use that lot in winter. The property also was carved out of the natural resources overlay and abuts Grand Teton National Park.

“Moose and elk habitat was intentionally preserved,” wrote attorney Andy Salter on behalf of North of Town Neighbors, which have already banded together on the issue.

Salter’s letter also cited comments from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department that human presence, and dogs in particular, could be difficult to mitigate on that lot.

What followed was the prohibition, which commissioners approved unanimously. Another regulation from 1999 stating that “free-roaming, unrestricted domestic pets are prohibited” applied to all properties in the resort.

But when ads ran for these homes recently, the housing authority was told — incorrectly — that dogs are allowed.

On Monday, Deputy County Attorney Jim Radda told county commissioners the master plan prohibits owners of the affordable units from having dogs. Owners of the market homes at Golf & Tennis are able to have a canine, but it must be restrained at all times.

Although the condition was approved seven years ago, Keckley sees it as unfair. The market cabins sit on a greater acreage of what was prime moose habitat, she said.

“It’s clearly a case of the haves versus the have-nots,” she said. “I’ve been a contributing member of this community for 8.5 years, and I deserve to be permitted to have a dog in my house just as much as they deserve to have a dog in their house.”

To change the master plan, Golf & Tennis’ developer, Vail Resorts, or another Golf & Tennis homeowner must apply to the county planning department for an amendment to remove that condition from the master plan.

There’s also another option for lottery applicants. They could purchase an affordable unit, bring their pets along and, because they will then own property in the development, petition for a change to the master plan. If they lose that request and keep their dog, they would be in violation of the master plan and the deed restriction.

The housing authority received 130 applications for the homes. Some people submitted applications multiple times because they qualified for several of the units. That means about 25 percent of the applicants will have to decide whether to withdraw their request or get rid of their pet.