By Cassie Goff | [email protected]

The winners of the 2021 Cottonwood Heights Beautification Awards were announced and recognized during a city council meeting on Sept. 7. Every year, the city’s Community and Economic Development Department asks residents to nominate their neighbors whose beautiful properties exemplify what it really means to live in Cottonwood Heights. 

“A highlight for our city is to look at all the creative work our residents do to beautify our city,” said Mayor Mike Peterson. “There are a lot of deserving landscapes.” 

After residents have submitted their nominations, the Cottonwood Heights Community and Economic Development Department staff begins to collect and rank the nominated properties. Then, the nominations for each district are turned over to their respective city councilmember. Each councilmember ranks the properties within their district and selects a winner. 

The city staff members and councilmembers generally rank properties based on their: creativity, maintenance and upkeep; and environmental consciousness and landscaping. Each winner receives a certificate of appreciation and a small property sign to display on their yard, if they would like to. 

Two properties won Beautification Awards for the Commercial Property Category as they ended up ranking the same. “These properties are outstanding,” Peterson said. “They are great examples of redevelopment in our community.” 

Dr. Laurel Harris won a Commercial Property Beautification Award for her work on Wasatch Exotic Pet Care along Fort Union Boulevard. David Kim also won a Beautification Award for his work on David Kim Insurance Agency also on Fort Union Boulevard. 

“This is a neat project,” said Community and Economic Development Director Mike Johnson. “This was an old house that was transformed into a small-scale office building. The substantial reinvestment into this building really improved the curb appeal of this property.” 

Four properties won Beautification Awards for residential landscaping. In District 1, Tracy and Denise Gressman won the Beautification Award for their work on their family home on McCormick Way. Alex and Tammie Wilson won the Beautification Award for District 2 for their home on Brighton Way. For District 3, Katherine Brown and Ellen Blodell won the Beautification Award for their family home on Sundown Avenue. Morgan and Ida Petty won the Beautification Award for District 4 for their rear yard on Mountain Oaks Drive.

Peterson and various city councilmembers commented the winner’s beautification efforts over the years included xeriscaping and unique landscapes.