County commissioners will hold a workshop to discuss whether dogs will be allowed at the new affordable homes in the Jackson Hole Golf & Tennis Club development.

According to a story by reporter Cara Rank in the Jackson Hole Daily, due to a question about the ability of affordable home buyers to own pets in the development, lottery selections for the new homes have been delayed.

Christine Walker, executive director of the Teton County Housing Authority, said commissioners scheduled the workshop because there is some confusion about whether dogs can be permitted in the 22 new units.

When the housing authority advertised for applicants for the homes, potential homeowners were told they could have one dog, but it had to be restrained at all times.??According to today’s meeting notice, a condition in Golf & Tennis’ master plan states that free-roaming, unrestrained domestic pets are prohibited. After applications had been accepted, some residents said the master plan prohibits dogs in the affordable part of the resort.

“The record isn’t clear,” Walker said. That puts “the housing authority … in a little bit of an awkward spot.”

The housing authority received 130 applications for all the homes. ??Though lottery winners were scheduled to be announced Jan. 4, that will be postponed, Walker said. Commissioners will hold a hearing on the matter Jan. 5, and owners will be selected after the board makes a determination about whether the master plan allows dogs, Walker said.

Josh Lautenberg and Tyra Rudrud are the new owners of Sonnenalp Real Estate in Vail.
After nearly 30 years in the real estate business, Joni White Taylor has passed along the ownership of Sonnenalp real estate, but will remain a broker in the office.
Sonnenalp Real Estate has enjoyed a decade-plus partnership with Johannes Faessler and the Sonnenalp Hotel and Spa. That partnership will continue.
Sonnenalp real estate has 14 brokers on its roster.

Meg Firestone, a 15-year Steamboat local, has joined Prudential Steamboat Realty as a full-time Broker Associate. The announcement was made last week by Broker/Co-Owners, Cam Boyd & Pam Vanatta.

Prior to her real estate career, Firestone was a commodity broker and partner at Telluride Group, an independent brokerage firm on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Firestone is actively involved in the Steamboat Springs community as a member of the Board of Trustees at Yampa Valley Medical Center, treasurer and board member of the Steamboat Youth Hockey Association, eighth-grade girls volleyball coach, and former president of the PIC at Soda Creek Elementary.

“I chose Prudential Steamboat Realty because of their superior client customer service and dedication to being the top real estate office in Steamboat,” Firestone said. “The opportunity to work with the top brokers in the Yampa Valley played a large role in my decision.”

The Jackson Hole News and Guide recently reported that the division of a 900-acre cattle ranch adjacent to Jackson, Wyo., could have implications for future development in the valley south of the city.

Reporter Cara Rank writes that the heirs of Robert Bruce Porter are dividing the Jackson Hole Hereford Ranch. The ranch has roots stretching back to the late 1800s that involve several pioneer families.

Rank writes: Ranch land in the Porter Trust is being divided between the families of Porter’s grandson, Robert Gill, and granddaughter, Elizabeth Lockhart, said Gill’s attorney, Bill Schwartz. Gill plans to continue ranching the property, Schwartz said, which may impact how planners and valley residents think about those lands during review of the Jackson/Teton County Comprehensive Plan.

The Porter Trust holds 900 acres in South Park and is the largest single tract adjacent to the Town of Jackson. Its red barn headquarters marked with the OVO brand that sits near the corner of High School Road and U.S. 191, plus beaver slide hay stackers, open pastures, cattle and hay ricks, have been part of the charm and character of Jackson Hole for 111 years.

In recent decades, the property has been eyed as a place for development, including affordable housing. Jackson voters, in a referendum, defeated an effort to annex a large portion of the ranch to the town of Jackson in 2002. The annexation plan called for 1,850 homes and 475,000 square feet of commercial space.

“The pending conveyance of ownership of the Porter Trust ranch lands to two separate families represents a changed reality that should be taken into account as the planning process moves forward,” an attorney speaking for the familis wrote. “Among other things, the separate ownership could have important implications on planning for interconnectivity between the ranch parcels, other parcels and public roadways, as well as the future location of density, open space and public facilities.”

The recession has put the redevelopment of the ski village at Aspen’s Snowmass on ice. But the recent opening of a new luxury hotel is spreading some holiday cheer, according to a report in the Aspen Times.

The 173-room Viceroy’s Thanksgiving Day debut makes it the first hotel to open in decades at the Roaring Fork Valley’s biggest ski resort, reporter Carolyn Sackariason writes, and has added sophistication at the same time.

Sackariason writes: The large, contemporary hotel may well change the perception of Snowmass as an aging, family-oriented resort full of shag-carpeted condos and outdated amenities.

The Viceroy is part of a multi-year building effort by Related WestPac, the real estate development firm behind Snowmass Base Village. The commercial and residential center has yet to be completed due to Related WestPac’s financial woes, leaving the centerpieces — a Little Nell hotel and arrival center — nothing more than concrete slabs at the base of the ski area.

Just down the road to the east, however, the Viceroy stands tall along Assay Hill, serving as a symbol that times are changing for Snowmass.

“We are a springboard for what’s to come,” said Viceroy General Manager Jeff David. “We hope to be the anchor for the renaissance of Snowmass.”

November saw a half dozen sales in November for a combined $27.3 million. But numbers can be deceiving.
Of the total, $26.7 million was attributed to a single transaction involving rights to a coal seam.
Still, Hayden and the surrounding area have now reached 49 real estate transactions through Nov. 30.

Real estate sales have been particularly slow in South Routt in 2009, but they haven’t gone away altogether.

Oak Creek and Phippsburg combined saw four transactions totaling $1.07 million in November and Stagecoach recorded four more with an aggregate value of $1.2 million, according to research by Bruce Carta of Land Title Guarantee Company.

Elsewhere in South Routt, there were four sales totaling $2.1 million.