The application, if approved, would let the developer build a mixed-use commercial and residential community in a zone currently set aside to be developed into a tech park. But there’s been loud opposition from Summit County residents.
There were at least 150 people attending Wednesday’s hearing in person and 200 on Zoom. All told, 51 people got up to speak to the council. Unlike last week, the council kept comments to a strict three minutes each this week, which allowed for more comments despite the hearing being half an hour shorter.
Dakota Pacific’s CEO Marc Stanworth gave comments at the beginning of the session. He tried to address trends from the last hearing which he thought were unfair. Among other things, Stanworth talked about the existing entitlement which already allows for development, not open space.
“This project has become a scapegoat for a regional traffic problem and the rallying cry for sentimentalists convinced that somehow the engine of change is going to go into reverse,” Stanworth said. “Growth is happening, and this property will be developed.”
And traffic was the most common concern raised over the course of the hearing. Many residents said they worry about overloading an already congested state Route 224.
Coincidentally, some who speak favorably about the development cite traffic too. The idea is that housing will allow people to live closer to work, reducing the several thousands of commuters coming into Park City and Summit County daily.
Council Chair Roger Armstrong asked the audience last night to raise their hands if they supported the rezoning proposal. Just two people did so. Armstrong invited those two to speak first, to hear a diversity of views.
Just one spoke up: Jeff Lamb, who has managed Liberty Peak Apartments for over a decade, who said he has 1,000 people on his waitlist for a unit and he usually wouldn’t support competition moving in next door if the need weren’t so great.
“I shouldn't be in favor of a project coming in right next door to me as affordable housing,” Lamb said. “The number one reason that people moved out of Liberty Peak last year was to move into deed-restricted housing like is going to be built here.”
As he sat down, one person started to clap, Luisa Diaz-Hill, a local elementary schooler wearing red. But she stopped quickly—no one else was clapping. Diaz-Hill was there with her mom, Ruby Diaz, who spoke about potential community action if the development moves forward.
“If necessary, the community is ready to file a class action lawsuit,” Diaz said, “and take it as high as needed to expose any irregularities between Dakota Pacific and the legislators catering to the developer.”
Representatives from Mountainlands were back in the mix, stressing the need for more housing but not supporting Dakota Pacific’s application per se.
One was Mountainlands board member Bob Richer, who fact-checked a claim Stanworth had made earlier in the evening, that Mountainlands Housing Advocate Megan McKenna supports the rezoning application—Richer said that’s not her position.
When Richer began to mention Dakota Pacific by name, the crowd booed him. Said someone in the crowd, “These people don’t know who Bob Richer is.”
By the end of his comments people were applauding, as he recommended the council take measures to address traffic before allowing the development. Richer was on the county council that approved the original tech park deal with The Boyer Company, and he helped create the affordable housing project that bears his name: Richer Place.
Wednesday night, only four people total took the position that the council should OK Dakota Pacific’s application, more on Zoom than in person. Armstrong and McKenna both have said that they received feedback from supporters intimidated by the prospect of being shouted down at the public hearing.
But the fact remains that opposition seems louder than support. Besides traffic, people cited water and the developer’s lobbying at the state level as reasons for the council to vote “no.”
Senate Bill 84, which if it becomes law could allow Dakota Pacific to proceed with development anyway, may be headed toward a legal battle. Councilmember Canice Harte said the county is weighing its options.
“There are things in play, and I just can't really speak to the details of it,” Harte said. “But we will explore all avenues and all options before us.”
The council still plans to consider Dakota Pacific’s application for approval next Wednesday, March 15. The meeting is scheduled to be held at the Ledges Event Center in Coalville.
The council received an email from Dakota Pacific saying Stanworth and Dakota Pacific Chairman John Miller will not be in the country that day and asking for the vote to be delayed a week. There is no meeting set for March 22 right now, and Harte said the council has elected not to change the schedule.
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