Summit County Council member Canice Harte speaks to a room of constituents during the meeting. Photo: TownLift

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — In a packed room filled with constituents opposing the Dakota Pacific Development project, the Summit County Council voted 4-1 to approve the 890-unit development, with 725 units allocated to the developer and 165 for the county as affordable housing. 340 of the 725 units approved for the developer Dakota Pacific will be designated as affordable or workforce housing.

The meeting was primarily a formality and the culmination of 22 public meetings as well as closed-door negotiation sessions that all started nearly 5 years ago. The council took great care to clarify that this decision was not about approving or rejecting the development outright. They stated that discussions and negotiations focused on maximizing community benefits from the development, as the project was deemed inevitable due to state legislative involvement and prior area planning. The decision Wednesday evening came despite 94% community opposition to the development.

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“Whether we vote yes or no this project is getting built, land use authority will get taken away in this next legislative session,” council member Canice Harte said.

The decision weighed heavily on the council, with many members calling it the hardest of their tenure. The council said fear of the state legislature taking away control of the project is real and if that happens there will be no public benefits for the community and significantly less affordable housing. The current project includes 57 percent affordable housing along with several community benefit initiatives. The council also expressed confidence that linking the six development tiers to UDOT’s design and funding of a traffic solution for SR 224 will effectively mitigate the development’s traffic impacts.

A room of red sits in on Summit County Council meeting with no public comment in protest of the Dakota Pacific Project.

Tonja Hanson expressed her feelings that “build what you bought” is a dated tag line.

“I do not believe building what you bought is the answer, Utah County owns the tech center development in Utah,” she said.

Roger Armstrong, who recorded the only dissenting vote, cited the timing of the project and the county’s desire to make a decision before the start of legislative session on Jan 21, 2025.

“I wish we had more time to get this right. Once we sign this our negotiation leverage is significantly diminished,” Armstrong said. “If there wasn’t someone with a club standing behind Dakota Pacific saying ‘Do it our else,’ we could get it right” in regard to the influence of the state legislature on this project.

Armstrong said his fellow council members, who voted to approve the project, are “taking a bullet for the community” and “looking out for your best interest.”

Summit County Council Chair Malena Stevens added, “I believe where we have landed is the best we can do with what we have to work with.”