Not many in the community were witness to the desperate and pathetic play that was the working session with Dakota Pacific on Tuesday, Feb 13, in Coalville.
Dakota Pacific does not want to build to the entitlements they purchased with the Tech Park parcels. They have spent the last four years trying get an amendment to build a massive residential neighborhood development with 721 units (Plan C).
This proposal resulted in Summit County filing and winning a lawsuit which stopped Dakota Pacific dead in their tracks with nowhere to go except an appeal and pressuring their friends in the Legislature to pass legislation which would bypass or force the approval from the County Council. The also could just increase then number of affordable housing units and decrease the overall density. They didn’t and are not going to.
The Legislature (Casey Snider from Cashe Valley) convinced both sides to enter into discussions to settle their differences and perhaps get an agreement both sides could live with. Instead, Dakota Pacific has made no concessions, sticking with Plan C, which the county has signaled would be hard to vote for.
Dakota Pacific should be leading the conversation. They are the ones that want this development approved. What we have witnessed instead is a pathetic council practically begging them to make changes, perhaps any changes, so they can justify a vote to approve this project. It should have been Dakota Pacific working to convince the council with a new proposal.
The council clearly has never taken a single class in negotiation. They behaved like desperate used car salesmen. They have tried to cut up the pie with a blunt knife that has produced no movement in Dakota Pacific. They set the table last week, offering a counter proposal that was 500 units with 50% affordable units and a phased plan to align with a sluggish and delayed traffic mitigation plan from UDOT.
Never mind that they have not even selected an option. Never mind that no decision will come from UDOT until the end of the year at best. One of the council members pleaded with Dakota Pacific to meet them halfway just after they told them 500 units was what they wanted.
This is the theater of the absurd. The strongest negotiation strategy is to just walk away if you can’t get what you want. The council was determined to get his done by the end of the legislative session and now because they are getting no concessions from Dakota Pacific, they have extended the work sessions. These are facts.
It appears to me that the council wants to vote yes and they would like the cover to tell the community they got the best deal they could. Never mind that they could just say no, which is exactly what the community wants.
What should be done then? First, any council member who votes yes should be voted out with extreme prejudice. Second, they could save face by delaying any vote until a new council is voted in for January 2024, when potentially there could be three new members.
If they vote for Dakota Pacific, Roger Armstong and Tonja Hansen should be voted out. Roger Armstrong, who previously was Dakota Pacific strongest critic, is now trashing the Tech Park concept, claiming it is no longer relevant and will produce more traffic than the DP project.
Where is the proof of this? It’s the traffic study paid for by Dakota Pacific, what a surprise. Does anyone see a conflict of interest here? This study was discredited by an independent traffic expert. They took the data from a single day in April during the middle of the week! Clearly this was after the ski season. This was intentional. More theater of the absurd.
Lastly, come out to the public comment and tell the council what you think of Dakota Pacific and what you think of this process. It stinks to high heaven and you have to wonder why.
Gary Peacock
Snyderville Basin