Dakota Pacific Real Estate and its supporters are going door to door urging voters not to sign a referendum that seeks to overturn a Summit County Council decision allowing the development firm to build a mixed-use project in Kimball Junction with just under a month to go before the signatures are due.
Fliers and emails from an organization called Wasatch Back Future — created and funded by Dakota Pacific — have been distributed to Summit County residents encouraging them not to sign the petition.
While several community members have criticized Wasatch Back Future as trying to suppress the ballot initiative, the organization’s updated website said it was created by the developer “to provide a source of important information to the public regarding this critical community issue.”
Dakota Pacific CEO Marc Stanworth told The Park Record the development firm filed the necessary disclosures to actively promote support for the project in opposition to the referendum effort. Wasatch Back Future filed as a political issues committee, meaning it must adhere to state law related to ballot measure campaigns.
“It should come as no surprise that we disagree with the petition efforts, having spent countless hours, significant resources and tremendous efforts alongside the county officials and staff in arriving at a 4 to 1 [County] Council vote in favor of the project,” he said in a statement. “To hold this view and not take action to inform county residents of facts and truth amidst many false narratives and misinformation would be disingenuous. These are complicated issues that require more than superficial inquiry in order to arrive at an informed decision, so we encourage residents to take the time and consult with informed county leaders when formulating their opinions.”
The referendum effort seeks to repeal Ordinance No. 987, which the County Council adopted on Dec. 18. The decision approved an amended development agreement permitting Dakota Pacific to build 725 units near the Park City Tech Center and will facilitate the development of 165 units of county-owned affordable housing through a public-private partnership.
“We encourage you to weigh all factors and seek many reliable sources on both sides of the argument in determining whether to support or oppose the petition initiative,” the Wasatch Back Future website states.
The seven Summit County residents sponsoring the referendum, Scott Greenberg, Joe Urankar, Ruby Diaz, Robert Lattanzi, Shawn Stinson, Brendan Weinstein and Jennifer Sexsmith, have until March 3 to collect 4,554 valid and verified signatures for the decision to be up to registered voters in November.
The sponsors launched their own campaign, Protect Summit County, in mid-January. However, no business entities or nonprofits are registered under the name because it’s considered a “civic group.” The website likewise does not identify itself as created by the petition sponsors.
Petition circulators can be paid, but the referendum sponsors would have been required to declare whether they intended to hire a service for help. They declined to do so, instead focusing on a volunteer-run initiative without raising money.
The referendum would only become a ballot issue if the sponsors collect enough signatures by the deadline. They need support from 16% of voters countywide plus 16% from three of the four voter precincts.
Emails from Wasatch Back Future were distributed to Summit County residents, who said they did not sign up for the correspondences. The subject line read, “Don’t Sign — Get the Full Story on Kimball Junction.” The message stated there’s been a lot of “misinformation” about the Kimball Junction project and said many people who signed “weren’t aware of the full details.” There’s also information on how to remove a signature from the referendum petition.
Homeowners in Kamas, Francis and Oakley also said people representing the organization knocked on their doors over the weekend. The pamphlets addressed the housing crisis in the community and advocated for workforce housing as a way to create a fair and balanced future for all.
Wasatch Back Future also compiled publicly disseminated quotes from several local officials about what the Dakota Pacific project means to the community. Former county councilors Glenn Wright and Malena Stevens, sitting members Megan McKenna, Canice Harte, Tonja Hanson and Roger Armstrong as well as Park City Councilor Bill Ciraco and High Valley Transit Executive Director Caroline Rodriguez were cited — though several of the names were spelled incorrectly.
Members of the County Council cited an obligation to address longstanding issues in Kimball Junction, such as traffic congestion and the need for affordable housing, while also balancing community concerns and the pressure of state interference when debating whether to approve the mixed-use development.
The County Council ultimately voted 4 to 1 in favor of rezoning the land with County Councilor Roger Armstrong as the dissenting vote.
The referendum petition was submitted to the Summit County Clerk’s Office on Dec. 23. About two weeks later, Dakota Pacific filed to incorporate a new town — Park City Tech — on the 50 acres it owns in Kimball Junction.
Stanworth affirmed the goal remains to develop the property under the approved County Council plan “not because that is the most profitable path possible, but because that is what we believe strikes the best balance of private and public interests and delivers the maximum community benefit while maintaining economic viability.”
He said any efforts to explore alternative development paths if the County Council is unable to execute the proposed development agreement, such as if the referendum succeeds, are not a priority compared to the original intent.