Residents upset about debris, construction damage at Dimple Dell Park

SANDY, Utah – Neighbors who enjoy Dimple Dell Park were stunned and angered to discover large piles of construction debris illegally dumped near an entrance to the park.

Worried about damage to the environment and the threat of wildfire, members of the Dimple Dell Preservation Community called the police Sunday.

“I was really angry because we’ve been working really hard to keep Dimple Dell wild,” said Monica Zoltanski, president of Dimple Dell Preservation Community. “Does one homeowner get to use it their launching pad for their own construction project? It’s kind of a free-for-all to see this going on here.”

KSL saw several large piles of construction debris Monday morning on the easement owned by the Utah Department of Transportation. It stretches from the 1800 block of Sego Lily Drive south to a Dimple Dell Park entrance. People walk the 100 yard easement to get to the park from their homes.

“I was aghast,” said Joyce Walker who has lived on the north rim of the park more than 20 years. “This is not someone’s junkyard. This isn’t isolated area. No one should be damaging and destroying the beauty.”

Trail users were upset to discover large piles of construction debris down the hill from a home that was ripping out a tennis court. In those piles were chunks of asphalt and concrete. Previously untouched areas of the sandy, grassy hillside had also been torn up by the tractor.

“There’s bricks, asphalt, concrete chunks… big piles littered at the entrance to the property,” said Zoltanski who treasures the park for rides with her horse. “There’s no other place like it along the Wasatch Front where you can bring your dog, bring your horse, and bring your kids and just hike.”

The preservation group has fought hard to protect Dimple Dell Regional Park and to raise awareness about keeping it natural.

“It’s someplace special and it is someplace worthy of preservation,“ said Zoltanski.

They report any damage they find to the park.

Motorized vehicles are not allowed in the easement, and neither is dumping. A construction contractor was called out Monday and used a tractor and dump truck to clean up the mess he illegally left behind.

“It’s a huge fire hazard to have heavy equipment running through this dry area,” said Zoltanski, pointing out another problem with running heavy machinery over extremely dry grass.

“We’re not sure why the general contractor decided to leave all of this construction debris in this open space area. Certainly, we’ve been working them to get it all cleaned up today,” said Evelyn Everton, deputy mayor of Sandy City.

The city has not fined or cited the property owner or contractor, although they did ask them to get it all cleaned up. After cleanup, the city said it will go through and make sure that there is not any long-term damage that needs to be repaired. If so, city officials said they will work with the contractor to get that repaired.

“It’s not legal to dump any kind of debris anywhere other than a dumpster, garbage can, the landfill,“ said Everton. “It really ruins it for everyone. It’s not safe for children. It’s not safe for pets. We want to make sure that we keep those areas pristine and clean so we can all enjoy them.”

Everton recommended checking with the city before beginning a major project that involves a lot of garbage. You can rent dumpsters for that.