Ordinance No. 987 — the Summit County Council’s 4 to 1 approval of Dakota Pacific’s mixed-use project in Kimball Junction — has formally been repealed. The development will still be built, though, much to the ire of many residents.
Summit County residents launched a referendum effort to rescind the ordinance, but a Third District Court ruling effectively deemed the proposed ballot initiative moot. Judge Richard Mrazik last week determined that state law supersedes the county’s legislative authority regarding the Tech Center property, and that a referendum would not change “the practical reality” of what’s been approved under Senate Bill 26.
The law, passed by the Utah Legislature earlier this year, forced Summit County to approve the development as an administrative act rather than a legislative one, rendering Ordinance No. 987 ineffective.
S.B. 26 provided the same use and zoning changes as the amended development agreement adopting the mixed-use development. Summit County was also limited in its ability to stop Dakota Pacific’s approval under S.B. 26. Summit County Manager Shayne Scott approved an administrative development agreement with Dakota Pacific on July 28, which closely mirrors what the County Council approved in December.
The County Council was asked to repeal the ordinance on Aug. 20. However, councilors declined to do so because they wanted to wait until the Third District Court ruling.
County Councilors Roger Armstrong and Canice Harte explained on Wednesday that they had hoped to receive clarity on the rules of the referendum process, which was called into question by a group of residents who sued the Summit County Clerk’s Office for rejecting dozens of signature packets.
County Councilor Megan McKenna was the lone vote in favor of the repeal then, saying she hoped to save taxpayers money from drawing out legal proceedings.
Mrazik’s ruling did not address the signature collection issue.
“I think we were hoping that maybe the court would sidestep mootness and maybe make a determination as to what’s required under the current law as it relates to referendum. That did not happen,” Armstrong said.
Summit County Clerk Eve Furse invalidated 30 packets for “improper circulation” and declared the referendum insufficient earlier this year after sponsors did not meet the minimum signature count.
Protect Summit County, the group organizing the referendum, argued Furse overstepped her duties. If she had counted and verified the signatures in the rejected packets, the referendum would have met the requirements to put it up for a vote in the general election.
The mootness ruling, as well as repealing the ordinance, means there’s nothing for voters to decide on, so it will not appear on the ballot.
The group said it planned on appealing the mootness ruling to “fight to get Ordinance 987 on the ballot as quickly as possible” if the County Council did not repeal the ordinance.
“Summit County could have resolved this matter weeks ago when we asked them to stipulate Ordinance 987 has no force and effect. This would’ve saved both sides over $150K,” the group previously said in a statement.
While Dakota Pacific withdrew its application under Ordinance No. 987 and requested the County Council repeal it because of the new administrative development agreement, the development firm could have technically come back and submitted an application again if it still existed.
The County Council unanimously voted to repeal the ordinance, saying it is obsolete since it’s no longer tied to an active application.
Harte was also critical of community members who used the disagreement about the rules of the referendum process as an opportunity to make “personal attacks” against Furse. County Councilor Chair Tonja Hanson agreed.
“I think we as a people in the county value the right to a referendum. (The state doesn’t) make it easy on us, that’s for sure. It certainly would have been nice to get some clarity on that, but that doesn’t mean it’s OK to malign a person, and so I’m sorry that that happened to you, Eve,” Harte said.
Attorneys representing the Clerk’s Office asked Mrazik to dismiss the case on Aug. 29 because of the mootness ruling. A decision had not been made as of Friday morning.
Under S.B. 26, Dakota Pacific is approved to build a 725-unit development on nearly 50 acres in Kimball Junction as well as 160 county-owned affordable housing units — for a total of 885 units. There would also be a senior living facility, public plaza, new transit center, structured parking and a pedestrian bridge developed through a public-private partnership.