Who goes to the trouble of filing a Dakota Pacific lawsuit, wins, and then says, “Oops! Put that on pause. We didn’t mean it!”
Only the Summit County Council. Crazy, huh? (Unless there’s some sort of payoff involved.)
And all at the request of state Rep. Casey Snider who lives four counties away? Why does he have a role in our county’s sovereignty? What right does he have to overrule the wishes of over 90% of Park City residents? (I know Dakota Pacific donated $4,000 to his campaign last year. Have they upped the ante?)
Or is this some new version of “disagree better?” Because it’s legally stupid.
We have a view of Park City as an old silver mining town that people (who pay a lot of money) can ski right down into. It is a unique skiing experience the city’s architectural board works hard to maintain. “It is our brand,” to quote Summt County Councilor Chris Robinson just last year.
Now there’s a new image of our town with 12 lanes of traffic coming in off I-80 onto S.R. 224. Last I saw, it included 727 new units on 58 acres with over 200,000 square feet of commercial and retail space right under our nationally historic Utah Olympic Park. This involves about 3,000 new residents and their cars. And only 150 “affordable homes.”
How about mitigating the traffic first? The County Council must believe that if they build it, UDOT will come. Dakota Pacific has no plans to do anything about traffic and it is six years after their completion date that we come to the top of the UDOT list of projects.
So, Summit County, they are trying to wear you down. This is the third year they’ve asked for public comment. And every year less and less people come. Feb. 15 is our last chance to be heard.
The council appears ready to vote “yes” on Feb. 20 despite what we’ve spent on legal fees. Do you have what it takes to overwhelm them at Ecker Hill Middle School at 6 p.m. on Feb. 15?
Remember, Park City and Summit County, once this is built, it can never be unbuilt back better. Show up and give the County Council a piece of your mind.
Karen Ballash
Lower Pinebrook