A judge has dismissed two lawsuits challenging land-use decisions tied to the sprawling home that Cloudflare founder Matthew Prince and his wife Tatiana want to build above Park City's historic Old Town, but the fight over the mansion is far from over. A separate suit filed in February remains pending, alleging the project's plans violate city codes, and the dismissed cases were tossed without prejudice, meaning neighbors can refile them.
Why The Dismissals Didn't End the Fight
The two dismissed suits were thrown out based on a law passed in 2025 by the Utah Legislature that lets municipalities settle land-use disputes through a consent decree, according to the Park Record. That same law underpinned a consent agreement the Park City Council approved by a 3-1 vote, which reinstated Planning Director Rebecca Ward's Historic District Design Review approval along with 24 conditions she had originally imposed, the paper reported in January. Those conditions require Pesky Porcupine LLC, the entity tied to the project, to complete additional landscaping to offset visual impact, along with road-safety upgrades including a new fire hydrant and other infrastructure work.
Because the dismissals came without prejudice, neighbors Eric Hermann and Susan Fredston-Hermann can still bring their claims again, and the code-compliance suit filed in February is still active, per the same account. That suit alleges the Princes' house plans run afoul of Park City's building codes. The Hermanns contend the design's size, massing, proposed materials and general ornamentation fail to reflect the character of the historic district, the Park Record notes.
A Dispute Rooted in Size and Scale
Just how big the proposed home actually is has been described in conflicting terms across coverage of the saga. The Park Record's most recent reporting describes nearly 7,500 square feet of finished living space, plus a 6,000-square-foot unfinished basement and a 1,000-square-foot detached office, while earlier reporting from TownLift described an 11,300-square-foot footprint for the project. Whatever the final figure, the Princes bought the 1.3-acre property in 2020, according to the Park Record.
The home would rise in a neighborhood where Park City's historic character has long collided with the pressures of one of the West's costliest housing markets, where vacation rentals and luxury homes keep creeping up the mountainsides, as reported by Axios. That tension over development and local control isn't new to this particular fight either — the Princes had attempted to lobby the Utah Legislature in March 2023 to bypass local controls, an effort that ultimately failed, according to KSL.com.
Dogs, a Retaining Wall, and a Feud That Won't Quit
The legal battle over construction plans isn't the only front in this dispute. In April 2024, the Princes' attorney filed suit against the Hermanns seeking damages for trespassing, private nuisance and violation of a trail easement, according to KPCW. That complaint specifically named the Hermanns' two Bernese Mountain dogs, Sasha and Mocha, each described as weighing more than 100 pounds, per KPCW's reporting. A second Prince lawsuit, filed weeks later, claimed a retaining wall on the Hermanns' property encroached on Prince land and sought damages, attorney fees and injunctive relief, TownLift reported at the time.
The whole saga has even bled into local culture, with KSL.com reporting that residents have circulated stickers featuring Sasha and Mocha and that the feud was spoofed in the Egyptian Theater's annual Follies comedy show.
Matthew Prince is Cloudflare's founder and CEO and was identified by KPCW as Utah's second-wealthiest person, with a net worth exceeding $3 billion according to Forbes. KPCW also notes that Matthew and Tatiana Prince own the Park Record, the outlet whose own reporting has chronicled much of this dispute's twists and turns.
