The following is an open letter to Dakota Pacific Founder and Managing Director John Miller and CEO Mark Stanworth:

How is that you persist in your effort to force Plan C down the throats of the citizens in Summit County? John Miller told me that he had made promises to 15 investors and he wanted to keep that promise. I believe that. What don’t you understand about all the letters (opposing the project) to the County Council, to The Park Record, and the record-setting attendance at the public comment meetings dating back to 2021?

Thousands of citizens have repeatedly told you directly that we don’t want your monstrous, largely market-rate housing project community. When you purchased this property in 2018, you had the opportunity to build a partnership with the community. This a critical step in gaining the trust of the local residents. When you gain the confidence of the community through a true partnership, the profits will follow.  You did nothing to convince the us that your project would have ANY community benefit.

You instead invested in convincing the five people on the County Council and nothing in convincing the thousands of residents that would be impacted by your project. This includes the horrific traffic issues which you don’t even pretend anymore that you can solve. You have told us that the traffic was already here and you are not responsible for the problem. Really? You proposed building a new neighborhood with thousands of new residents and many thousands of cars, with commercial and retail space, pouring out onto S.R. 224 and you don’t feel any responsibility?

We all know the reason:  you cannot mitigate this traffic issue and you have admitted it but you still want your profit regardless.

You have miscalculated at every turn. You are a thoughtless entity, lacking self-awareness, and arrogant enough to think you don’t have to win over the community:

1.  You purchased this property with the specific intent to acquire approval of an amendment to radically change the entitlements of the parcel. This generally includes changing from the Tech Park with tech labs, office space, etc.  to a residential-based project. You got greedy and this proposal went down in flames, shot down by the public comment meeting in December 2021 and you retrenched, saying you would reconsider and redesign based on public comment.
2. What you did instead is you went to the Legislature and used your influence, money, and power to enact a corrupt and dangerous precedent-setting law in the form of H.B. 462. When it was pointed out that 462 might not be strong enough, you got another minion, Casey Snider, to write a new, more aggressive bill, S.B. 84, that punishes Summit County for not meeting the letter of the law in 462. This miscalculation enraged the County Council and the community, galvanizing opinion to not just oppose the merits of the development but oppose you as a company. You betrayed the trust of the council and the community and now many views you as corrupt, soulless, immoral, unethical, and greedy.
3. If the County Council approves any project from your company other than the Tech Park, we the community intend to act independently. We will raise a legal fund and we will eject you from our community through the courts. You cannot be successful when you try to build a project of this size and scope in a hostile community. You need to come to grips with how our community views you.

You are not welcome here. Your miscalculations have offended almost every citizen in Park City and Summit County. I would suggest you try to redeem yourselves, do something noble for the community, and sell the parcel back to Summit County so we can do something useful and good with the property.

I no longer want you to build what you bought. I want you to go away.

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