This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Sandy • City Council members and residents debated a code amendment that would affect land development around Dimple Dell Park, ultimately creating a mandatory overlay zone on a 4-3 vote.

Dimple Dell is a 644-acre natural area with horse, bike and foot trails.

The council voted Tuesday night in favor of an option that creates an overlay zone for new development on half-acre lots with an increased setback of 40 feet for properties adjoining Dimple Dell Park or Dimple Dell Road. The amendment only applies to the south side of the park, from 1700 East to 2000 East.

Council members rejected, as had planning commission members before them, a proposal to allow cluster development on smaller lots with a provision that developers preserve open space adjoining the park.

Councilwoman Maren Barker explained the difficulty of this decision. "What are we protecting and preserving? That's the heart of this matter. Are we protecting the park, or are we protecting the neighborhoods around the park and the residential nature that is and the rural area and the type of housing that's there and the acreage that's there? Those things to me are almost diametrically opposed," she said.

Council Chairwoman Kris Coleman-Nicholl agreed with Barker and said that the option approved better protected the community. The park does not need more acreage, Coleman-Nicholl said, but the community does need to be preserved.

The majority of residents attending the discussion was opposed to the possibility of a cluster development in the area, saying it would destroy the integrity of the area.

Dan Fischer has lived on a 5-acre parcel on Dimple Dell Road since 1977. He and his wife raised 14 children and 32 grandchildren on their property. "The increased population brings other increased challenges," Fischer said, citing traffic and road safety among them.

Residents pay a high tax on their acreage to maintain that open space that everyone enjoys, he said. "All of us contribute to keep it that way," he said. "I ask that Sandy work to help us keep it that way."

Angela Scott voiced the concerns the members of her neighborhood. "Don't change how this park is impacted by those who live around it," she said. "It's a place of recreation, of stillness for everyone around. It's easy access as it is. Sandy is known for its location next to the mountains, and that's what the residents want to live here for, is because of its location and access to the natural habitats."

Neil and Jaleena Jessop saved up for years to buy their one-and-a-half-acre lot on Dimple Dell Road.

"I think if we start going smaller and smaller, the beauty of that area is completely gone," Jaleena Jessop said, adding that a cluster development with reduced lot sizes could threaten the future of the park's identity and could ruin the experience for everyone who enjoys the park — residents, cyclists and Girl Scouts alike.

Diana van Uitert, a member of the Dimple Dell Advisory Board, also was concerned about clustering, praising Dimple Dell as one of the last horse-property areas in Salt Lake Valley. Homes in her neighborhood sell very quickly, she said, and she believes large lots preserve the integrity of the area and still are making developers a profit.

Several other members of the community voiced concerns over park access, the environmental impact and possible increased traffic in the face of possible development.

Cyclist Jacqueline Breslawski worried that development would affect the integrity of Dimple Dell Road, making it dangerous for cyclists and wildlife. "Dimple Dell still has the integrity of a country road. It is the only road in Sandy like that," she said. She suggested City Council look into purchasing the park land for open space.

The amendment was a reaction to Ivory Homes' development application in December 2015, which was rejected. A temporary development moratorium was placed on the borders of Dimple Dell Park at that time, but that prohibition expires Sunday.