Last spring, two recently built houses in the Hidden Canyon Estates of Suncrest collapsed and slid down the hillside upon which they were perched. Built by EDGEhomes, the houses were unoccupied because the city had condemned them. Two adjacent homes had also been evacuated, and other homeowners in the area chose to evacuate for fear their homes might also slide. 

The news of the homes collapsing was so shocking, and video of the incident so unusual, it spread throughout Utah and beyond. The issues it raised continue to reverberate six months later, as do the questions of who or what is to blame. The homes slid into the city’s open space and trails below, leaving damage to city property that is still being remediated.

According to Draper City Manager David Dobbins, the city became aware of problems with the homes and chose to condemn them in October of 2022. “The homeowners had reached out to us with concerns about the structures settling, so we went out and inspected the homes. We felt like they were at a point where there were some life-safety concerns with them remaining in the home,” Dobbins said. Six months later, in April 2023, the hillside gave way and the homes collapsed.

In May, Robert Gehrke of the Salt Lake Tribune addressed the situation in an article. “Since 1937, geologists have been mapping landslides in the mountaintop area that straddles the border between Salt Lake and Utah counties…It’s an issue that scientists and Draper City leaders have been aware of for decades, but it became more pressing in the early 2000s when developers wanted to build the community of Suncrest….to be clear, we don’t yet know exactly why these homes collapsed—whether it was natural ground movement, poor design, faulty workmanship or something else entirely,” Gehrke wrote.

Gehrke spoke with Dobbins for that article. Dobbins indicated that planners have been aware of the slide risk for years and that the city adopted a geologic hazard ordinance in 2007, requiring potential developers to do technical studies in areas they intend to build. Dobbins said the city contracts with consultants to review the studies to make sure they’re complete. That happened in the development where the two homes slid, but the city and the developer went back and forth for months before the city approved the project. 

Dobbins told Gehrke that the city doesn’t have much leverage in dealing with developers because of past state legislative action that led the state’s Property Rights Ombudsman to issue a 2010 opinion stating that developers have a vested right to build as long as the study is complete and uses reliable data.  

Another article by Gehrke in June indicated that, after he reviewed thousands of pages through a public records request, it appeared that construction crews failed to comply with design requirements prior to the homes being built. Those design requirements indicated that vegetation in the area needed to be removed, fill soil compacted, and a drain installed to prevent the soil from becoming saturated with rain and spring snow runoff. “We don’t know the reason—whether it was to save money or time, or just sloppiness—but those requirements weren’t followed,” Gehrke wrote.

In an August interview, Dobbins said, “People have asked us why does the city not just deny permits in areas that have geological concerns. The Ombudsman’s office has said that if a property owner or developer has an engineer say that it can be done safely, the city can’t say no without it becoming what is called a ‘takings claim’…denying property rights so that the taxpayers of Draper would have to compensate that property owner if they can’t build on it. That puts the city in a predicament.” 

Former Draper City councilmember turned state legislator Jeff Stenquist doesn’t think the problem is with the state statute or the Ombudsman’s ruling. “The state Property Rights Ombudsman is intended to provide mediation between property owners and cities to avoid litigation. It’s not always a large developer, often it’s a small property owner that may own a few acres and those folks don’t have a lot of resources to go to court, so the Ombudsman is intended to provide a less expensive option. A city can require that engineering be done on a property that’s being built on. If a licensed engineer can say to the city that they’ve met the requirements of the city, then it wouldn’t be fair for the city to go back and say we’re now going to add more requirements. If the city has reservations, maybe they need to go back and look…and make sure they have the right standards in place, or the city could hire their own engineer at taxpayer expense to do the review, but it would cost the taxpayers a lot of money. When things go wrong, there are lots of questions about what’s to blame…It’s absolutely tragic for the homeowners, somebody obviously failed, but I don’t see a need to change state statute. I don’t know what state statute we could change that could have prevented that,” Stenquist said. 

Draper’s mayor and some councilmembers have expressed frustration in recent years that state officials have chipped away the city’s local control and ability to decide what is and isn’t built within the city, often under the push for what the state deems as a need for affordable housing. A July report by Darby Sparks of KUTV2 News found that 26 state senators and representatives, that’s one quarter of the state’s lawmakers, have some type of involvement in real estate, whether as an owner of a real estate company, or a building or development company, or as a shareholder or investor. 

“What happened with EDGEhomes was a tragedy. Our hearts are with the displaced families who lost so much,” Draper Councilmember Tasha Lowery said. “While we cannot go backward, as we look to the future, we need the state to proactively take more steps to even the playing field between the homeowners and the development community. Whether that is a requirement for up front disclosures regarding possible geotechnical issues that lie hidden beneath the home or notices attached to deeds regarding private ground water systems, the public is best served by being fully informed and educated. And cities should be able to impose reasonable engineering standards that better protect homeowners without fear of litigation from developers.” 

Gehrke’s June article indicated that EDGEhomes did repurchase the collapsed houses from their owners and was paying the expenses of neighbors who were displaced. According to Dobbins, EDGEhomes is also working on and paying for remediation of the area, under supervision by the city and the county which holds the easement for the property, so that city trails can eventually reopen. 

It’s an arduous task in an unstable area that’s difficult to get big but necessary equipment into. 

“The houses are cleaned up and they’re now working on a permanent solution. I want to say that the company (EDGEhomes) has stepped up and they’re doing the work, and Salt Lake County has been a great partner for us,” Draper Mayor Troy Walker said. λ