Dakota Pacific executives behind anonymous group urging residents to reject referendum

Wasatch Back Future Mass email to Summit County voters Photo: Wasatch Back Future

Wasatch Back Future, formed on Jan. 27 by Marc Stanworth (CEO, Dakota Pacific Real Estate), Steve Borup (Director of Commercial Development, Dakota Pacific), and Scott Swallow (Director of Acquisitions & Development / General Counsel, Dakota Pacific), is anonymously urging residents not to sign or to remove their signatures from the referendum seeking to block their development agreement with the county.

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — On Saturday morning, residents across Summit County received an anonymous mass email from Wasatch Back Future urging them not to sign or to remove their signature from the Dakota Pacific Development referendum.

The newly formed Political Issues Committee (PIC), does not currently disclose on its website or email communications who is behind the group or how it obtained residents’ email addresses. However PIC’s are required by law to register with the state. The Wasatch Back Future group was formed on Jan 27 and list Marc Stanworth, CEO / Dakota Pacific Real Estate, Steve Borup, Director, Commercial Development for Dakota Pacific and Scott Swallow as Director, Acquisitions & Development / General Counsel for Dakota Pacific as the PIC’s organizing officers.

Representatives from Wasatch Back Future have not responded to TownLift’s request for comment about the Dakota Pacific Executives listed in the PIC’s organizing documents.

The email sent to residents who did not knowingly opt in for the email list states that “many people who signed the referendum weren’t aware of the full details” and includes information about the highly controversial project, along with quotes from leaders across Summit County supporting what they say is the best deal the county can secure for the development.

Newly elected Summit County Council Member Megan McKenna is prominently featured on the group’s website and Facebook page, stating, “I support the project [Dakota Pacific] because I think what the council was able to negotiate is a much better agreement. I think the community benefit is much greater than the original development agreement.”

Before her election, McKenna wrote an op-ed emphasizing her stance on development negotiations, stating, “I don’t advocate for developers and certainly don’t support Dakota Pacific and how they’ve conducted themselves. I advocate for the people and places that make up Summit County. I support negotiating with developers to maximize community benefit and minimize impact while addressing critical county needs.”

McKenna has also publicly criticized Protect Summit County, the group collecting signatures for the referendum, which also operates in a PIC-like manner. In a Park Record letter to the editor, she wrote, “An anonymous website spreading misinformation, while claiming to protect Summit County, certainly isn’t helping.”

Protect Summit County identifies the individuals behind the referendum effort as seven Summit County residents . The referendum information packet lists the residents as: Scott Greenberg, Joseph Urankar, Ruby Diaz, Robert Lattanzi, Stephen Stinson, Brendan Weinstein, and Jennifer Sexsmith. The group states that many others have since joined the signature-gathering effort to challenge Ordinance 987.

Wasatch Back Future says that public input has led to major changes in the project, including reduced housing density, increased affordable housing, a $4 million open space contribution, and expanded senior housing. Wasatch Back Future says the revisions reflect community feedback.

For more information about the Dakota Pacific project from Wasatch Back Future, visit their website or you can go to https://dakotapacific.com.