The Park City Council will consider a consent agreement regarding Matthew Prince’s Treasure Hill home plans during its Thursday meeting.
The agreement would resolve ongoing disputes over land-use decisions and award Prince the building permit he needs to finally build an 11,000-square-foot mansion above historic Main Street.
The consent agreement is allowed under a bill lawmakers passed late in the 2025 General Session. SB262 allows city councils to bypass planning commissions to settle litigation with property owners regarding land use decisions.
Mayor Ryan Dickey said the legislation and the Prince home dispute are related to Park City’s efforts to maintain control of its historic district.
“We've been in this three-year defense of our historic district, and you've seen us at the legislature fighting back on attempts to take away any sort of local control around the historic district,” he said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Monday. “That defense has been successful and really hard.”
Prince is a local technology giant with a net worth of about $5.8 billion, according to Forbes. He’s the CEO of the cybersecurity company Cloudflare and, with his wife Tatiana, also owns The Park Record.
Prince first submitted applications for permits to build a single-family home, outdoor pool and terrace on the King Road property in 2022. The plans include 7,000 square feet of finished living space, 6,000 feet of unfinished space and a 4,000-square-foot underground parking area.
What followed was a spate of city department-level appeals and lawsuits that have challenged the planned home’s height, floor area, roof design and slope, parking area and whether its design meets Park City’s historic standards.
Litigation against the home plans was first initiated in 3rd District Court in August 2024 by Prince’s downhill neighbors, Eric Hermann and Susan Fredston-Hermann.
In the lawsuit, the Hermanns challenged the Park City Planning Commission’s decision allowing Prince to build what’s been described as a modern industrial-style home meant to echo the area’s historic mining structures.
A second lawsuit filed by attorneys for Prince’s limited liability company, Pesky Porcupine, challenged a board of adjustment decision reversing some aspects of Park City Planning Director Rebecca Ward’s approval of the home’s Historic District Design Review application.
The third lawsuit, brought by the Hermanns, also relates to the board’s decision. The couple won portions of a BOA appeal, but said in court filings the ruling didn’t go far enough. The second and third lawsuits have been combined into one.
If the council adopts the agreement, Prince and the city would agree to ask the court to dismiss the pending case. A copy of a proposed order to dismiss is included in the consent agreement.
The Hermmans, however, dispute whether the lawsuits could be resolved under the consent agreement. Eric Hermann said that’s because the agreement only includes two of the three parties involved; it excludes the Hermmans.
“The proposed consent agreement between the city and Prince would deny us our right to have our concerns heard in court,” he said. “A consent agreement won't stop the court hearing unless all parties agree to stop the court hearing.”
The Hermmans said they want their day in court, which is scheduled for Jan. 29.
A memorandum from the city’s outside attorney said the agreement will not create new precedent as final approval by the city council is site-specific.
The Hermanns said that isn’t enough.
“Approving this will open the doors to any moneyed interest that is willing to threaten the city with legislation,” Eric Hermann told KPCW Tuesday.
“It’s called bullying,” added Susan Fredston-Hermann.
If the council fails to adopt the agreement, the lawsuits would move forward, the memo from the city’s attorney said.
Prince did not respond to KPCW’s request for comment Tuesday.
Under the agreement, Prince agrees to accept the 24 conditions in the Historic District Design Review, add landscaping to minimize the home’s visual impact, make road safety improvements and cover the cost of future legal challenges related to the three lawsuits.
On Wednesday, the planning commission will consider an appeal of an extension to Prince’s conditional use permit for the property. However, if the council adopts the consent agreement Thursday, the issue may be moot.
The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall Thursday. Locals can attend in person or watch online.
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