The controversial Kimball Junction development is at the forefront of a judicial dispute as sponsors of a referendum have submitted 5,668 verified signatures, exceeding the necessary threshold by approximately 1,000.
This referendum seeks to challenge the Dakota Pacific Real Estate development agreement that was approved in December 2024 by the Summit County Council.
However, whether this initiative can make it onto the ballot in November hinges on a forthcoming judicial decision.
Summit County Clerk Eve Furse indicated that residents had initially fallen short of the required signatures after rejecting 2,454 from 30 signature packets she deemed improperly processed.
Furse’s assessment cited that the signature pages were three-hole punched and spiral-bound, which allegedly violates accepted protocols.
In response, five residents have taken their case to the 3rd District Court, contesting the clerk’s decision about the validity of the signatures.
Reed Galen, a co-founder of the Lincoln Project, expressed strong skepticism over the clerk’s judgment.
He stated on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” on July 15 that “binding is one of those things that is subjective, and the clerk chose to take a very conservative view of it, based on what I would say is pretty spotty evidence.”
In a court filing dated July 14, Furse mentioned that both sides had reached an informal agreement to expedite the resolution of the case in time for the upcoming election.
The court’s presiding judge, Richard Mrazik, will ultimately determine whether the rejected signatures can be included in the final tally for the petition.
Should he rule in favor of including the disqualified signatures, it does not automatically guarantee the referendum’s inclusion on the November ballot.
So far, residents have gathered signatures from a minimum of 16% of Summit County voters, but these signatures must be evenly distributed across various voting precincts.
Specifically, endorsement must come from at least 16% of registered voters in three of the four designated voter participation areas.
Summit County spokesperson Derek Siddoway has stated that there are no plans to provide updates regarding these participation areas at this time.
It’s also important to note that voters have a window of 45 days to withdraw their signatures from the date the Utah Lt. Governor’s office publishes this information.
Following this, both parties are required to submit written arguments for Mrazik’s review, with petitioner Angela Moschetta anticipating a hearing scheduled for August.
Amidst these developments, Summit County has the potential to approve a new development agreement with Dakota Pacific Real Estate in accordance with the recently enacted Senate Bill 26, which may influence the previous agreement’s standing.
SB26 seems to pave the way for the construction of a 725-unit neighborhood and public-private partnership, effectively sidelining the need for a countywide vote.
This referendum was initiated after the county council’s endorsement of the project in December.
Nevertheless, Senate Bill 26 allows for a similar development agreement to be put in place, bypassing the referendum process entirely.
County Manager Shayne Scott is slated to consider the new agreement’s approval on July 28.
Moschetta underscored the importance of having the original development agreement presented on the November ballot, expressing that success in this referendum could trigger a constitutional dispute on precedence between the agreements.
She stated, “If we do, and if it succeeds as a ballot referendum, then it becomes a constitutional fight.”
The court hearing regarding the referendum has yet to be scheduled, leaving the outcome uncertain for residents and stakeholders alike.
image source from：kpcw
