Park City Planning Director Rebecca Ward signed off on a Historic District Design Review Thursday for the proposed home, which has faced significant opposition from some Old Town neighbors.
Outside of a building permit, the project now has all necessary approvals from Park City government for construction.
During the public hearing Thursday, Park City area resident Nic Norsk said the home’s design approval sets a dangerous precedent for future development.
“All of us suffer, greatly or not greatly, depending on those precedents that you set in Park City,” Norsk said.
Ward, the planning director, directly addressed that question by adding a condition of approval for future building in the Old Town area.
“This shall not create precedent nor interpretation of general applicability,” she said.
It follows a nearly two year saga that began when billionaire Matthew Prince tried, unsuccessfully, to use the Utah Legislature to slip special language into a bill that would have allowed him to divert Park City building regulations.
Originally from Utah, Prince is the founder and CEO of the cybersecurity company Cloudflare, and has a net worth of nearly $3 billion. He and his wife Tatiana purchased the longtime local newspaper The Park Record months after the lobbying attempt, which drew criticism from Park City Mayor Nann Worel.
For months the Princes have gone through the city’s approval process, which involved securing three permits from the planning commission.
The home’s modern industrial architectural style is modeled after historic mining structures, and has the endorsement of the Park City Museum. Some have claimed the support is because of donations from the Princes, which both the couple and the museum deny.
Nearby property owners have praised the home’s beauty, while others have been staunchly opposed, and claim they’re being harassed for their disapproval.
The Prince’s next door neighbors, Eric Hermann and Susan-Fredston Hermann, appealed the planning commission’s decision unsuccessfully, but could take further action in Third District Court.
The Princes are suing the Hermann’s over the alleged mismanagement of their two Bernese Mountain Dogs. The Hermanns claim they have never received a complaint about their dogs prior to the lawsuit, which calls the pets “menacing.”
The fight between the neighbors drew widespread coverage at media outlets including Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.
At public hearings, Eric Hermann has spoken about the risk of landslides, due to the significant excavation the home will require on Treasure Hill.
The Prince’s lawyer Bruce Baird says they have geotechnical reports that support the project’s safety and they plan to monitor their contractor on site during construction.
Baird says they plan to break ground on the home next year, with the goal of finishing by the end of 2026.
