Every year in Summit County feels transformative in some way for the Wasatch Back community, and 2025 was no different. Growth and development remained a key theme, with officials starting to discuss preparations for the 2034 Winter Olympics and a series of transportation improvements in the Sny derville Basin. The community’s dislike for continued development played a substantial role in 2025, too, with many residents coming together to oppose proposals countywide, including two hotels in Francis and an expansion of Utah Olympic Park facilities. Summit County residents also felt the effects of moves made in Washington, D.C. The government shutdown delayed the county’s planned open space acquisitions while the Summit County Health Department faced frequent budgetary challenges as a result of federal funding changes. Here are The Park Record’s Top 5 news stories of 2025, listed chronologically, in Summit County: Dakota Pacific saga Former Park City Mayor Dana Williams collects signatures in January for a petition for a referendum to put the Dakota Pacific decision on the November ballot. He was one of five residents suing the Summit County Clerk over its decision to disqualify 30 signature packets. Credit: Park Record file photo by Clayton Steward Seven Summit County residents applied for a referendum to challenge the Dakota Pacific Real Estate development in January. The petition needed 4,554 valid signatures by March to overturn the ordinance approving the project. Shortly after referendum efforts were announced, Dakota Pacific filed a petition with the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office to incorporate the area as a preliminary municipality, dubbed Park City Tech. Summit County Clerk Eve Furse in February informed the petition’s sponsors that 27 of the 45 submitted signature packets did not meet the requirements outlined under state law. The signatures included in those specific packets were disqualified as a result. In late February, state lawmakers started to discuss Senate Bill 26, which amended provisions related to Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zones and, more importantly, codified the Dakota Pacific development at the state level. Petition sponsors estimated they gathered 77 packets containing more than 6,000 signatures by their deadline. State lawmakers passed S.B. 26 on the last day of the 2025 general session. The Clerk’s Office at the end of March announced that the referendum had failed by 1,340 signatures, and Summit County officials said the Park City Tech incorporation and S.B. 26 had already significantly reduced the practical effect of overturning the ordinance. The petition was formally declared insufficient in June. The following month, five residents sued the Summit County Clerk’s Office for rejecting the signature packets.  In August, the Summit County Council started discussing whether to repeal Ordinance No. 987 — the goal of the referendum movement — because the developers had submitted a new application under S.B. 26. Summit County Third District Judge Richard Mrazik then declared the referendum lawsuit moot, the final nail in the coffin for a potential ballot measure. He cited S.B. 26 as part of his reasoning, saying the referendum would have no “practical effect” on the development. The County Council repealed Ordinance No. 987 in September, and the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office reported the Park City Tech municipality met the financial thresholds for the incorporation process to proceed later the same month. West Hills The amended boundaries for the proposed town of West Hills, which was set to appear on the November 2025 ballot before the incorporation process was declared unconstitutional. Credit: Courtesy of Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office Summit County residents widely panned the proposed West Hills township during a public hearing in early January. It was the second public hearing on the prospective incorporation following town sponsor Derek Anderson’s decision to redraw town lines to meet state requirements. The Lieutenant Governor’s Office certified the incorporation petition in March, giving voters a chance to decide whether to create the township on November’s Election Day ballot. Only registered voters living within the proposed boundaries were eligible to participate. The Kamas City Council in April formally declared its opposition to West Hills by unanimously approving a resolution supporting the Kamas Valley Preservation Association. The nonprofit specifically told councilors its first goal as an organization was to push back against the proposed town. Ten Summit County property owners sued Anderson, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and the state Legislature the following month, claiming the West Hills incorporation violated property rights by offering only some landowners a chance to opt out of the town’s boundaries. The Legislature was ultimately dismissed from the case. West Hills supporters similarly threatened legal action in May, with Anderson claiming Summit County and Kamas City officials violated state law by publicly commenting on the proposed incorporation. The Nevada-based law firm Lex Tecnica was enlisted to represent a group of landowners in support of the West Hills incorporation and filed a lawsuit in federal court over the summer. The lawsuit named the City of Kamas and the Kamas Valley Preservation Association as defendants, alleging the two parties were attempting to interfere with the election. Litigation in the federal case is ongoing. Summit County Third District Judge Matthew Bates in September heard arguments relating to the property rights lawsuit and declared his intent to issue a ruling after the November election.  Attorneys representing the 10 Summit County residents in October requested that Bates rule on whether the incorporation process violated property rights before Election Day. Bates declared the West Hills incorporation unconstitutional three weeks before voters were set to decide the future of the proposed township. Anderson then appealed Bates’ decision to the Utah Supreme Court, which issued an order to temporarily suspend the case and allow the Summit County Clerk’s Office to count votes cast in the West Hills election. The Utah Supreme Court then reversed its decision less than a week before Election Day based on oral arguments in a last minute hearing. Anderson has stayed quiet on any further West Hills proposals since the ruling, but he told The Park Record in late October he’s still considering his options. Wohali development The developers behind the luxury real estate development near Coalville declared bankruptcy in 2025. Credit: Park Record file photo by David Jackson Wohali Land Estates, the real estate company spearheading the construction of a luxury housing development near Coalville, was sued in early 2025 by Thomas Cottone, a founding member of Wohali Builders and a key player in the development’s financing. Cottone alleged Wohali leadership led a “defamatory campaign” against him after he raised concerns about the company’s finances. Cottone detailed a months-long saga of in-fighting, including perceived attempts to oust him for recommending the developers instill further financial controls into its processes. By the summer, lawsuits naming Wohali as a defendant started piling up. Knight Trucking, a transportation services company, filed a lawsuit with claims that Wohali failed to pay its $119,255 bill. Eave Solar similarly sued Wohali in late July over $489,492 owed to the solar panel company for unpaid debts stemming from work done on the property. Sierra Pacific Windows also sued Wohali over $162,574 in materials delivered to the real estate company. In August, Wohali filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court. The business listed a reported debt totaling almost $13 million for its top 20 creditors alone, with an estimated 100 to 199 creditors owed between $100 million and $500 million. Wohali also recently avoided foreclosure as part of its bankruptcy proceedings after a federal judge authorized a $4 million loan in early December. The company had allegedly failed to pay a $3.3 million bill to Coalville on Dec. 1, which put the business at risk of foreclosure. However, Chief Judge Peggy Hunt allowed the multimillion loan to cover the bill in addition to funding other immediate expenses, such as employee salaries. The bankruptcy case is ongoing, but the next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22. County Council districting The Summit County Council unanimously approved the proposed districting map earlier this year. Credit: Courtesy of Summit County The Legislature started discussing House Bill 356 in late February. The legislation seemingly targeted Summit County and required the creation of five voting districts tied to County Council seats rather than continuing with five at-large councilors. The law spurred heated conversations among local politicians regarding representation, with many Republican leaders saying a districted County Council would ensure better representation for East Side residents. Summit County officials, meanwhile, decried the bill for overstepping and interfering in local governance. The bill was passed shortly before midnight on the last day of the general session, and Gov. Spencer Cox signed it into law in late March. Cox noted his disappointment with the final language of the bill, though, including “unintended consequences” for Wasatch County. He declared his intention to call a special session to revise the law later in 2025 to remove the districting requirement for the Wasatch County Council. East Side residents packed a Council of Governments meeting in April to voice their support for districting. Four East Side mayors — Mark Marsh of Coalville, Kay Richins of Henefer, Jeremie Forman of Francis and Matt McCormick of Kamas — then sent a letter to Cox and the Legislature’s leadership requesting a special election to wipe all Summit County Council seats in November so all councilors moving forward would be tied to a district. The Summit County Districting Commission met for the first time in June to begin dividing the county into five pieces to comply with the new law. Commissioners finished the process in September and forwarded it to the County Council for a public hearing and final approval. The County Council voted in favor of the map in October and assigned councilors to districts. Now, Tonja Hanson represents District 1, which is the North Summit district; Megan McKenna represents District 2, which is the South Summit district; Roger Armstrong represents District 3, which is the Park City area; Chris Robinson represents District 4, which encompasses the Snyderville Basin; and Canice Harte represents District 5, which includes the Jeremy Ranch and Pinebrook areas. The County Council race in 2026 will be the first to have seats tied to a district during an election. Reset for school district New Park City School District Superintendent Lyndsay Huntsman had an immediate effect in setting a fresh course for the district. Credit: David Jackson/Park Record The 2024 election ushered in an era of new leadership for the Park City Board of Education. Incumbent Meredith Reed took the reins as president of the board, with incumbent Nick Hill as vice president, along with three new board members. Both Reed and Hill have continuously expressed a desire to repair the district’s previously strained relationship with community members and local media outlets by increasing transparency and access to district officials. Lyndsay Huntsman was promoted to superintendent early this year, replacing former Superintendent Jill Gildea five months after her departure from the role she had since 2018. Much like Reed and Hill, Huntsman has voiced a commitment to transparency, often sharing detailed information on district decisions and attempting to proactively address community concerns. The district announced in April that it was parting ways with COO Mike Tanner, hired in 2018, indicating a transition from the old guard to today’s leadership. District officials said the COO position was eliminated due to a reduction of force “consistent with an overall trend of declining enrollment and planned school consolidation,” referring to the closure of Treasure Mountain Junior High School after the 2024-25 school year. Tanner was placed on administrative leave almost a month before his position was eliminated, and he received $161,000 in severance pay as part of a separation agreement, according to records obtained through a Government Records Access and Management Act request. A story looking into how much time he worked remotely from out of state eventually led to revelations that he had retired from military reserve service years before he said in a radio interview he was finishing up his service, and Gildea had documented continuing military service as a reason for working from out of state. An altercation with a whistleblower at a meeting attended by 15-20 others apparently led to the leave. The cost saving measure of eliminating the COO position, which did not exist before Gildea’s tenure, likely helped the district avoid a property tax rate increase in May. District officials announced they would pull $2.6 million from savings accounts to cover a budget shortfall. They also said the district had repurposed $4.7 million after cutting 32 staff positions. The school board over the summer adopted a nearly $248 million budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, around a 13% decrease from the previous year’s. 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