County Council Chair Roger Armstrong says a member of the state legislature reached out to the county and the developer separately to see if they could negotiate outside of court.
Armstrong declined to say which member of the legislature made the request.
Both parties agreed, and their lawyers jointly motioned to stay the lawsuit Dec. 8. Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik approved their motion Dec. 11.
The lawsuit is on pause until June 8, 2024.
The county sued Dakota Pacific in the wake of a state bill intended to allow the company to develop roughly 50 acres it holds in Kimball Junction, even though the developer hadn’t come to an agreement with the county council yet.
The developer wanted to put residential and commercial buildings on land zoned for tech offices.
Mrazik previously ruled the law didn’t apply to Kimball Junction because of how it was worded, so Dakota Pacific can’t build right now. It was still up to the court to determine if either side failed to negotiate in good faith.
Per Armstrong’s announcement at the Dec. 13 council meeting, councilmembers will initially meet with Dakota Pacific behind closed doors.
He says the county and developer will look at the issues and may decide on a path forward. If they can agree on a process, then meetings would resume in public.
Dakota Pacific CEO Marc Stanworth declined to comment, telling KPCW Armstrong "adequately described the current situation."
This is a developing story and will be updated as KPCW learns more.
