Concerns about transparency and community benefit raised ahead of Dakota Pacific public hearing

Land west of the Skullcandy building in Kimball Junction that is being eyed for a 750 unit housing and mixed use development by Summit County and Dakota Pacific Real Estate. Photo: TownLift // Marina Knight

SNYDERVILLE, Utah—Members of the community and Summit County’s Council and staff are preparing for a public meeting to discuss the latest iteration of the housing and mixed-use development being proposed by Dakota Pacific Real Estate on Thursday. A citizen volunteer group is raising concerns about the county’s rushed process and transparency. The group also questions the project’s community benefit, citing a recent survey conducted alongside a political canvassing campaign showing 95% opposition to the project among residents of Summit County.

“What we are trying to do is amplify the voice of the community. The community’s stance on Dakota Pacific Real Estate’s (DPRE) proposed high-density development has been consistently unified and people have voiced overwhelming opposition to it,” Jeff Revoy, a spokesperson for Friends for Responsible Development (FRD) said.

On Friday evening, county officials released the most recent proposal for the Kimball Junction development. This, Revoy said, did not give the community much time to digest it, especially considering a major national election took place this week.

“We can only caution that a rushed or obfuscated process will erode trust and likely not be well received by the community,” FRD wrote in an email sent to County Council on Oct. 30.

Public updates on the project’s status have been limited since the spring of 2024 when the county presented DPRE with a counterproposal that included a public-private partnership. Negotiations between the County and DPRE went behind closed doors “because the county needed to determine feasibility of the concept,” Malena Stevens said in an email to FRD.

Council conducted its first public work session with DPRE since private discussions began on October 23, giving news outlets the chance to report on the meeting and public hearing announcement the following day. Council did not make the latest project plans available until Friday, Nov. 1 at 9:30 p.m.

FRD also takes issue with the fact that County Council has not provided the community with a detailed summary of the project’s community benefits. However, they plan to make a 15-minute presentation before the start of the public comment period at the Nov. 7 meeting.

“Respectfully, we believe presenting such benefits 15 minutes before a public hearing is not adequate or appropriate, especially in this situation,” FRD said.

The most recent plans propose 750 housing units, comprised of 500 market-rate units and 250 affordable units. The number of housing units has fluctuated greatly as DRPE fights for higher numbers to increase the project’s financial solvency, while the county has counter-proposed lower numbers to leverage county benefits from DRPE’s proposed investment.

“In general, the each time the plan comes back, it seems to be the same kind of slight variation to the housing plan with some new quote-unquote community benefits. The last time I think it was a pickleball court, and this time it seems to be a parking garage and a pedestrian bridge.I think you have to squint really hard to say these are benefits,” Revoy said.

In assessing county benefits, Revoy said FRD challenges the idea that building a housing development is necessary to get the benefits being proposed through the public-private partnership. Although additional affordable housing is beneficial, the organization said, it does not balance the increased demand for infrastructure, schools, and public services driven by the market-rate units that FRD says will perpetuate a cycle of unmet affordable housing needs.

FRD wrote in a recently released statement that many of the touted “community benefits” appear negligible and seem to come at taxpayers’ expense.

The public hearing is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on November 7 at the Newpark Hotel conference room.