Protect Summit County has collected about 70% of the signatures referendum sponsors need to put Ordinance No. 987, a decision to repeal an amended development agreement with Dakota Pacific Real Estate, on the November ballot.The Summit County Clerk’s Office counted 3,174 verified signatures as of 9 a.m. on Friday, with 1,180 signatures, or about 30%, still needed to meet the minimum collection requirement. The total number of signers must also make up 16% of voters countywide plus 16% from three of the four voter precincts. County Clerk Eve Furse has until March 24 to finish verifying signatures. Utah Code states the Clerk’s Office must complete the verification of a packet within 21 days of receiving it. Staff then posts the name and voter identification number of each signer on the lieutenant governor’s website, which will remain online for 45 days. During that time, signers can also request their signatures be removed from the petition.Protect Summit County, the movement led by referendum sponsors Scott Greenberg, Joe Urankar, Ruby Diaz, Robert Lattanzi, Shawn Stinson, Brendan Weinstein and Jennifer Sexsmith, estimated around 77 packets were turned in on March 3 — not including numerous other packets turned in before the 5 p.m. deadline. The sponsors expected their actual total to be greater than 6,000 signatures. Furse said the signature count will continue to increase as the Clerk’s Office reviews names and verifies signatures. Clerk’s Office staff in February rejected several packets for “improper circulation,” meaning the signatures will not be counted. Furse said the packets were rejected because of three-hole punches, indicating they could have been improperly bound and the signature sheets may have been separated from the voter information pamphlet. Protect Summit County has asserted the signatures are valid. The sponsors plan to pursue a legal remedy if the referendum petition is declared insufficient.Protect Summit County, the group leading the referendum petition against the Dakota Pacific Real Estate development, estimates 77 packets containing more than 6,000 signatures were submitted to the Summit County Clerk’s Office. Credit: Park Record file photo by Clayton StewardState code dictates how petition packets must be printed, bound, circulated and numbered. Statutory requirements say the packets must contain a cover page, a copy of the law subject to the referendum, one to 50 signature sheets, and a circulator verification sheet. Packets must also be properly bound before they’re circulated, and cannot be taken apart or rearranged once bound. Otherwise, they will be rejected.After the signatures are verified by staff, the lieutenant governor will issue a declaration on whether the petition is sufficient or insufficient and will immediately notify the referendum sponsors. Furse said the decision might not come until June 23 because of the 45-day withdrawal period.If the state declares the petition sufficient, it will appear on the general election ballot. The ordinance approving the Dakota Pacific development, passed by the Summit County Council in a 4 to 1 vote on Dec. 18, would be “placed on hold” and not take effect until the voters approve — or reject — it. A ballot title would then be drafted, and the state would assign a proposition number to the referendum and prepare an impartial title not to exceed 25 words as well as an impartial summary no longer than 125 words.The Lieutenant Governor’s Office would also publish a voter information pamphlet, which would be distributed to voters. The pamphlet would contain information about the referendum including an impartial analysis prepared by the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, text of the law subject to the referendum and arguments for or against it.A vote for the proposition indicates the voter is in favor of the law subject to the referendum while a vote against indicates the voter is opposed to the law. If the majority of voters were against the proposition, the law would not go into effect.Groups raising or spending money related to the ballot proposition are required to register as a Political Issues Committee with the Lieutenant Governor’s Office and are required to disclose finances. Furse expected there would be campaigning for, and against, the referendum if it made it onto the November ballot.Dakota Pacific formed Wasatch Back Future as a PIC to counter the Protect Summit County movement. Protect Summit County doesn’t have such an affiliation because it is a volunteer-led effort, according to the sponsors.The verified signature list is updated at 9 a.m. every weekday on the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office website. Even if the referendum petition is declared sufficient, and Ordinance No. 987 is annulled by voters, Dakota Pacific could still move forward with its development. The passage of Senate Bill 26 during the 2025 general session amends elements of Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zones but also codified the amended development agreement near the Park City Tech Center. The Salt Lake City-based development firm has also filed to incorporate a preliminary municipality, Park City Tech, that would give Dakota Pacific “all the powers and duties” of a town including zoning and land use decisions if it’s allowed to proceed. Dakota Pacific has filed to incorporate a new town near the Park City Tech Center. Credit: Courtesy of the Utah Lieutenant Governor's OfficeThe state approved a feasibility study for the new town last month to determine if the developer’s plans are economically viable. The post Dakota Pacific referendum petition nears 70% of signature count requirement appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less