Hospitality brand Tammah has been offering stays in 11 white luxury glamping domes on state land at the base of the Tetons since last year, and despite controversy, plans to keep doing so.
Rani Carr, the resort’s general manager, said the company sees a future in Jackson Hole.
“Tammah was created with the belief that people benefit from meaningful experiences in nature, and Teton County is an incredible place to offer that,” she wrote in an email. (Carr serves on the board of KHOL, but the newsroom covers Tammah as we would any other company).
She said Tammah plans to reapply for another five-year permit when their current one is up.
That future became more likely after the Wyoming Supreme Court sided with the state on April 26, saying Teton County can not regulate development on state land with a “temporary use permit.”
It’s up to the State Board of Land Commissioners, made up of the top five elected officials in Wyoming, to reissue the permit.
The development on about four acres near Jackson Hole Mountain Resort has irked area residents and environmental advocates in addition to Teton County Commissioners, leading to another lawsuit involving water quality.
Tammah’s plan doesn’t sit well with Keith Gingery, the Teton County civil attorney who represented the county in the lawsuit with the state. The county tried to stall the development by enforcing county regulations.
“That’s our worry,” Gingery said, “[that] when that five years is up, they’ll just ask for another five-year permit and then another five-year permit.”
While that’s “perfectly allowable,” under the rules of the permit, he argues a lease would have given the county more oversight for safety in the coveted area. Under county zoning, the development likely would have never happened.
“This clearly wasn’t zoned for that area,” Gingery said.
Gingery says the state rarely issues the temporary permits for developments like Tammahs, which put in infrastructure like gas, electric and septic.
Now, Gingery says the state legislature would have to pass a law specific to the temporary permit for counties to regulate development on the state’s permittees.
“So with the silence of the legislature, the state wins,” Gingery said.
But Teton County came away with one “big win,” he said. The court ruled that state law does not broadly take priority over the county’s laws. In legal terms, it does not have sovereign immunity.
“Sovereign immunity is where you say, I am the king and the laws do not apply to me,” Gingery said.
Carr said keeping buildings safe is a priority. The domes were constructed by certified professionals and they perform regular maintenance.
