Dear Summit County Friends,

Dakota Pacific Real Estate is back yet again trying to force their unwanted, high density residential project in Kimball Junction on our community. While utilizing a different dirty play out of the same corrupt playbook, they are once again conspiring with their friends in the State legislature to force Summit County Council’s hand to approve the rezoning application for the Tech Center property at Kimball Junction, despite its assuredly devastating impact on the area’s already horrific traffic and strained infrastructure. 

New Dakota Pacific Shenanigans

Instead of relying on 11th hour legislation that their friends sneak into bills under the cover of darkness (as they have done the last two legislative sessions), Dakota Pacific is now trying to push Summit County Council to approve the exact same project that the County turned down before, in return for a corrupt “promise” of “Dakota Pacific’s friends at the State legislature” “potentially funding” some “to-be-determined solution” for the I-80/SR 224 interexchange at some “to-be-determined” future date.

This is obviously not OK! 

1. This is corruption and bare-knuckle politics in its purest form. As moral human beings we must stand up to this nonsense!
2. This is a false “promise”. The “promise” of State money to fix the traffic situation at Kimball Junction is not guaranteed or dependent on the County approving Dakota Pacific’s bad project. With the Olympics potentially coming to town in 2034, the State and the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games will want to make the best possible impression, and in this context, it is very likely that it will be possible to find the money to solve the obvious traffic problems at Kimball Junction, irrespective of what happens to Dakota Pacific’s proposal to add 727 residential units and 2,500+ full time, 24x7 residents to the area.
3. Even if Dakota Pacific could somehow guarantee that they could get their corrupt state politicians to give us the money to fix the Kimball Junction traffic nightmare, it would take years to execute. Based on the Council’s two most recent hearings with the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) it is clear that UDOT officials are not even close to choosing the best solution for addressing the traffic quagmire at Kimball Junction. In fact, the earliest they could make a decision will be by year-end, but likely it would be next year. Then once an option is selected they would have to do detailed design work, conduct environmental impact studies, and seek more public input. So why would it make sense for the County Council to approve this bad project now, when the only thing that is certain is that adding 727 new condos to Kimball Junction is not going to make the current traffic situation better?
4. It just doesn’t make sense to reconsider Dakota Pacific’s exact same project after the community and County Council so strongly said NO and won the initial lawsuit. The community and County Council has already said NO to this project and nothing has changed since then except that the County won its initial lawsuit against Dakota Pacific and the State, where Utah 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik ruled the current Development Agreement for the Tech Center is valid and governing, and is not subject to Senate Bill 84 (and by extension any future State legislation). Why would we give Dakota Pacific what we already said NO to when we are in a position of strength?
5. The proposed public hearing process is way too short and gives too little opportunity for the community to voice its concerns. Council’s very truncated schedule for review of Dakota Pacific’s application culminates with only one public hearing on Thursday, February 15th at Ecker Hill Middle School and with a vote scheduled for the following Tuesday the 20th. Why the hurry?

So what should the County Council do now?

Without clarity on the details, funding, and timing of the State’s chosen solution to fix Kimball Junction’s horrific traffic situation, we believe Council should just say NO to Dakota Pacific’s project once more.

As the County Council and the broader community already concluded a long time ago, the negative consequences of starting construction on Dakota Pacific’s massive residential project will cause a dramatic increase in traffic both during and post construction and this downside alone will far outweigh any small long-term public benefits the community will gain from the proposed project. The community would be much better served if Summit County Council simply waits to re-evaluate Dakota Pacific’s project until a traffic solution is implemented or at least designed and irrevocably funded with a binding construction schedule.

Thus we believe the community’s message to County Council should simply be:

“Say NO to Dakota Pacific (Again) and Fix Traffic Before Considering Adding More Density to Kimball Junction”

If you agree:

1. Please sign this new petition
2. Share this petition with your Summit County friends and neighbors via social media, email and text and encourage them to sign it as well. The direct link is: https://www.change.org/SayNoToDakotaPacificAgain
3. Voice your opinion by sending an email to our County Councilors. It is easy! Their group email address is: countycouncil@summitcounty.org
4. Write an op-ed letter to the editor of the Park Record - his name is Don Rogers and his email address is: editor@parkrecord.com
5. Plan to attend and make a comment at the public hearing at Ecker Hill Middle School Auditorium on February 15th at 6PM - 9PM. Please wear RED clothing! If you can’t be there in person, you can still attend and make a comment via Zoom on https://zoom.us/j/772302472