Building In Jackson Hole
Jackson Hole is one of the most desired real estate locations in the country. It is also a unique place to build or remodel your home. Unlike many major metropolitan areas, nearly every home in Teton County is built to suit. There are very few opportunities to use modular or prefab designs and many HOAs require the services of an Architect for residential projects. All commercial projects require an Architect.
Because of the process for approving new construction and remodels in Teton County, many homeowners that are new to the area are often surprised that it can take 1 to 3 years to design and build a home. To help homeowners understand the process, A43 created this introductory guide to building and remodeling your home in Teton County.
Do I need a Building Permit?
First things first, anyone starting new construction or remodeling a property in Teton County or the Town of Jackson is required to have a building permit. Today, we are going to focus on residential construction. From both the County and the Town, a Residential Building permit is required for:
Basically, if you are building or remodeling you should submit a building permit application. The application for the County is 8 pages. The Town of Jackson application is 9 pages. There are several elements of a successful application and we are going to detail those below.
Pre-Application Conference
The Pre-Application Conference: Both the County and the Town of Jackson require applicants to go through this process for the majority of projects. From the Town of Jackson, “ The purpose of the pre-application conference is to identify the standards and procedures of the Land Development Regulations (LDRs) and to identify the submittal requirements for the application.” This is an excellent opportunity to ask questions and learn how best to plan your construction.
Please submit an application packet via email to the Planning Department that includes the following (paper applications are not accepted):
It takes about 60 days from the time the application is received to complete the meeting. The Planning Department will provide you with written correspondence within about 14 days of the pre-application conference. For Teton County, please see the most recent pre-application conference request.
Submitting a Building Permit
As we shared with the image above a proper Build Permit application requires a number of pieces of information to be considered complete and ready for review.
Because of the level of detail and expertise required to meet the applications’ standards, the set of drawings and specifications submitted along with a building permit application can be well over 50 pages. Therefore, most projects require an architect along with several engineers. Once the application is submitted, the review process for the Town of Jackson is approximately 3 weeks and the process for the County is approximately 10 to 14 weeks.
Once you are ready to start construction, there are several intermediate inspections coordinated by your construction contractor (foundation, framing, electrical, plumbing, drywall, etc.). When all your inspections are completed and passed, you are issued a certificate of occupancy.
If you are looking through the items we just noted and are feeling overwhelmed, you are not alone. There are a number of regulations in place to protect homeowners, wildlife, water sources, and the general environment. Many homeowners that are new to the community often wonder why the building process takes time. Depending on the lot, the complexity of the design, and your individual decision-making process, it can take 1 to 3 years to build or remodel your residence. To expedite the design and construction process it is critical to work with skilled, experienced architects, engineers, and construction professionals.