Resident urges explanation after engineer alters Dover Hill plans, says neighborhood protections were changed

Audrey Pines addressed the Cottonwood Heights City Council during the Oct. 7 public-comment period to raise concerns about changes to Dover Hill park and nearby grading that she says were made by an engineer after a development agreement was signed.

“We had a plan that was in the development agreement, and that was signed in '24 in January,” Pines said. She said the engineer “went in and changed it in February,” altering grades and what she described as protections for hillsides and tree growth. “Where does the engineer get the authority to do this? I don't understand, and I'd love to have it explained to us,” Pines said.

Pines said the change affected the grading approach — moving from the original grade to what she called a “trenching grade” — and that she believed the changes allowed a developer, which she identified as Ivory Homes, to alter promised home heights and site harmony. “Ivory Homes got off after promising everybody what they were gonna build. Then the engineer went in in this sensitive land,” she said.

Pines said neighborhood sentiment is divided and that residents had previously been told the hill would not be touched. She asked the council to explain how implementation of plan protections can be reversed and urged clarity on the engineer’s authority and any approvals that allowed the change.

Mayor Mike Wickers thanked Pines for her remarks and told her, “I think nobody up here would be surprised that you read the general plan before buying your home.” The council did not provide a technical or legal explanation on the record during the business meeting excerpt; Pines requested an explanation from city officials.