Focus on Sandy neighborhoods

SANDY — It seems inevitable. As time passes, nearly every residential street in America goes through it — a period of transition when people start to wonder if the neighborhood is going downhill.

Deterioration starts creeping in: overgrown lawns and landscaping let go; curling roof tiles; peeling and cracking paint; trash and other debris in yards; junk cars; and fences that are unsightly or have simply succumbed to gravity.

Many residents in Sandy, Utah's definitive boomtown in the late 1970s and early '80s, are worried the city itself drooping a bit.

"We're seeing the influx of absentee landlords," said Dave Nicholson, who lives in the Edgemont neighborhood east of 700 East and south of 9400 South. "It's causing a lot of problems as far as deterioration of both the house and the yard. The yards are not being maintained and the landlords, they're difficult to get ahold of. And when we do get ahold of them, they're not very cooperative."

"Sandy has always been known for its great neighborhoods, and we want to keep that," said Nick Duerksen, assistant director of the Sandy Community Development Department.

More homes are becoming rentals; long-established families are moving out.

To make sure that Sandy continues to be known for its great neighborhoods, concerned residents have created a neighborhood preservation plan.

The plan committee consists of a perhaps unwieldy but extremely interested group of 39 people — one representative from each of the city's 29 neighborhoods, plus members of the city's planning staff, the Planning Commission and City Council. The hope is to emulate a city's master plan and to complete a first draft of the plan by early next year. A course of action will then be sent through the approvals process with public hearings before the Planning Commission and City Council.

Two meetings have been held so far and most of the problems have been identified.

"One of the things we already know is that code enforcement alone is not the answer," Duerksen said. The plan also has to provide:

• Education: Some residents may not be familiar with their legal obligations regarding the upkeep of their homes and property. And residents who feel impacted by others' neglect need to know what they can do about the condition of their neighborhood.