A steady stream of Summit County voters stopped into The Market at Park City Tuesday morning to sign the petition seeking to overturn the County Council’s decision allowing Dakota Pacific Real Estate to build a mixed-use development on nearly 50 acres in Kimball Junction.Former Park City Mayor Dana Williams, one of the volunteers collecting signatures for the referendum, expected to fill up the official petition packet with around 120 signatories — as he had done the day before — during the three hours he was there. Within a half hour, Williams spoke with dozens of people from the 84060 to the 84055 hoping to put the Dakota Pacific referendum on the ballot.Sponsors have just about 40 days to gather 4,554 valid signatures from registered voters in Summit County. Seven Summit County residents — Scott Greenberg, Joe Urankar, Ruby Diaz, Robert Lattanzi, Shawn Stinson, Brendan Weinstein, and Jennifer Sexsmith — submitted an application in December to reverse the County Council’s decision to adopt Ordinance No. 987, which approved an amended development agreement with Dakota Pacific. Williams explained the petition is an effort to reverse the County Council’s 4-1 vote allowing more than 800 units of market-rate and affordable housing to be built near the Park City Tech Center, and signing it would help return the decision to Summit County voters. A few hadn’t heard of the development proposal, but most were well aware of the plan.Former Park City Mayor Dana Williams collects signatures for a petition for a referendum to put the Dakota Pacific decision on the November ballot. Credit: Clayton Steward/Park RecordJohn Ziegler, a 25-year resident of Park Meadows, came to The Market at Park City with his wife to sign the petition. He’s been following the Dakota Pacific project since it was proposed about five years ago, and said he doesn’t support the development. Like most of the opposition, traffic on S.R. 224 was his top concern.“Community involvement is critical to the proper development of this entryway corridor,” Ziegler said.Dick Gary, also a longtime Park Meadows resident, was also worried about the influx of cars in an area already plagued by dense traffic. He described the land west of the Skullcandy building, where the development firm plans to build 725 units as a key location. Summit County also agreed to enter into a public-private partnership with Dakota Pacific as part of the amended development agreement, which would facilitate the construction of another 165 county-owned affordable units near the Richins Building.Residents have expressed fears that a high-density development would bring more cars to the S.R. 224 corridor. If the Dakota Pacific project was proposed somewhere else, Gary said he might be willing to consider it.The 10-year full-time resident was also critical of the political backing Dakota Pacific receives from the Utah Legislature. Pressure from the state was one of the main reasons county councilors said they would vote in favor of the project. Dakota Pacific also filed to incorporate a new town, Park City Tech, on its land in Kimball Junction after the referendum was announced. The development firm would have the same rights as a municipality to make land-use and zoning decisions if the town is deemed feasible, potentially allowing the project to go through regardless of the pending referendum. “They’re trying to take over this place,” Gary said. “This is our town.”He would “absolutely” vote to reverse Ordinance No. 987 if it appears on the November ballot. Those who signed the petition affirmed they read and understand that they are seeking to overturn the amended development agreement and restore the original. Williams advocated for the referendum saying it gives power to the voters, not the state Legislature.The sponsors of the Dakota Pacific referendum must collect signatures from 16% of voters countywide plus 16% from three of the four voter precincts. Credit: Clayton Steward/Park RecordOther residents from Silver Creek and Summit Park agreed. Most people said they learned about the signature-gathering effort from social media and the sponsors’ website: protectsummitcounty.org. Utah Code requires petition circulators to be residents of the state and at least 18 years old. If a circulator does not meet these requirements, the signatures the individual collects are not valid. The circulators must also complete and sign the verification sheet for each packet distributed.Circulators can be paid, but the sponsors would have been required to declare whether they intended to hire a service for help. They declined to do so, instead focusing on a volunteer-run initiative. Williams is one of many volunteers, according to the referendum sponsors. As a circulator, he is not allowed to coerce voters into signing the petition. But most people did not need convincing. Many were quick to give their signatures once they learned the effort was against the development.“There’s still hope,” Williams told one voter. Sponsors will need to collect signatures from 16% of countywide voters, as well as at least 16% in three of the four districts making up Summit County, for the issue to make it onto the general election ballot. Several people initially thought only Snyderville Basin residents could sign the petition, but it’s open to all registered voters in the county.There are four voter precincts in Summit County. There needs to be 16% support from voters in three of the four districts for the Dakota Pacific referendum to make it onto the November ballot. Credit: Map courtesy ofVoter precincts are made up of a mix of addresses in Coalville, Henefer, Hoytsville and Jeremy Ranch; Peoa, Oakley, Kamas and Francis; Deer Valley, Thaynes Canyon, Old Ranch and Silver Springs; and Old Town, Park West, Summit Park and Pinebrook.The Summit County Clerk’s Office will verify the signatures once the petition packet has been submitted and determine whether it meets the requirements. If a referendum petition is declared sufficient, the ordinance will not take effect until voters approve it during the November election. The referendum volunteers will host multiple signature-gathering events until the March deadline. Petition circulators will be at Petco in Kimball Junction from 10 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday and then at the U.S. Post Office on S.R. 224 near Smith’s from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Visit protectsummitcounty.org for information on future dates and meeting locations.The post ‘This is our town’: Residents rally against Dakota Pacific development appeared first on Park Record.