The referendum petition to overturn Ordinance No. 987, the approval of an amended development agreement with Dakota Pacific Real Estate at the Park City Tech Center, is nearing the halfway point of the required signature threshold.
As of Friday morning, 2,234 verified signatures had been counted.
Referendum sponsors still need an additional 2,320 voters to have signed on for the referendum to appear on the general election ballot. They also need to collect signatures from 16% of voters countywide plus 16% from three of the four voter precincts.
The effort led by Summit County residents Scott Greenberg, Joe Urankar, Ruby Diaz, Robert Lattanzi, Shawn Stinson, Brendan Weinstein and Jennifer Sexsmith had until 5 p.m. on Monday to submit 4,554 verified signatures.
Protect Summit County, the sponsors’ name for the referendum movement, estimated they submitted 77 packets containing more than 6,000 signatures collected during the 45-day effort. The verified total on Wednesday morning was 1,464 signatures, and the list continues to increase as Summit County Clerk’s Office staff review the names.
Clerk Eve Furse said it’s not informative to provide specific numbers on how many packets have been counted because the number of signatures can vary from a dozen to 100. As a result, she wasn’t able to provide a definitive timeline for when the count might be finalized.
“We have until Monday, June 23, 2025, to declare whether the referendum petition is sufficient or insufficient, and we are focusing on that determination at this point,” Furse said. “We will take the time necessary to ensure the accuracy of the process and to protect the processes by which Summit County residents express their political will with guidance from the Lieutenant Governor’s Office and the Summit County Attorney’s Office.”
Protect Summit County has asserted that “the only way Ordinance 987 doesn’t end up on November ballots is if election interference succeeds.”
Sponsors have raised concerns about Wasatch Back Future, a countermovement funded by Dakota Pacific executives, interfering with signature-gathering efforts and with the Clerk’s Office for rejecting more than a dozen petition packets for “improper circulation.” Protect Summit County said all packets adhere to state code and all signatures are valid.
Furse maintains the packets were rejected because of three-hole punches, indicating they could have been improperly bound and the signature sheets may have been separate from the voter information pamphlet.
Utah Code states the county clerk may not count a signature on a packet that is not verified or does not have a date next to it. A packet cannot be verified if it was not signed in the presence of someone at least 18 years old, if the verification on the last page of the packet isn’t completed, or if each signer didn’t read or understand the law the referendum seeks to overturn.
Summit County officials say the Clerk’s Office is neutral in the process and is following state law like it would in any election.
Protect Summit County plans to pursue litigation if the Clerk’s Office determines the referendum petition does not meet the signature requirements. Sponsors have said they would seek an injunction, forcing a judge to decide which packets can be counted.
If the referendum petition does meet the threshold, voters will decide this fall whether Dakota Pacific’s development near the Park City Tech Center should be allowed. Furse expected there would be campaigning for, and against, the referendum leading up to November as is common with any ballot issue.
The Summit County Council voted 4 to 1 in December to approve the amended development agreement, granting the development firm permission to build its 725-unit mixed-use project on about 50 acres in Kimball Junction.
The agreement gives Dakota Pacific the ability to build 340 affordable housing units and 385 market-rate units over several years and phases tied to roadway improvements in the S.R. 224 corridor.
The development firm would also enter into a public-private partnership with Summit County to develop an additional 165 workforce units as well as a town center with a plaza, pedestrian bridge, amphitheater, subterranean parking structure, new transit facility and other civic amenities such as a library or common green.
If a voter has changed their mind about signing, the individual has 45 days to request their signatures be removed from the petition. Removal forms can be found on the Summit County website and must be returned in person or mailed to the Clerk’s Office.
The verified signature list is updated at 9 a.m. every weekday on the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office website.
However, the Dakota Pacific development could still move forward even if the referendum succeeds. The development firm filed to incorporate a preliminary municipality called Park City Tech near its Kimball Junction land in January. The proposed boundaries do not encompass the land included in the public-private partnership.
A 2024 state law would give Dakota Pacific “all the powers and duties” of a town, including zoning and land use decisions if Park City Tech is allowed to proceed through the incorporation process.
The state approved a feasibility for the new town last month to determine if the developer’s plans are economically viable.
