Cottonwood Heights
Local news, council decisions, projects and city spending, with links to the agendas, minutes and reporting behind each story.
Cottonwood Heights at a glance
Salt Lake County · Utah
Find local coverage below, or browse events and businesses connected to Cottonwood Heights.
Events and meetingsBusiness directoryRegional news
Government and sources
Your local briefing · Oct. 25, 2026
This week in Cottonwood Heights
- Cottonwood Heights council agenda: Bitcoin ordinance, assistant city manager hire and public safety training facility contract
The Cottonwood Heights City Council's Oct. 20 business meeting agenda listed a Bitcoin ordinance, the appointment and pay of an assistant city manager, a federal public safety grant agreement and a contract with Milo Live for a training facility.
Latest decisions
- Conditional use permit CUP-26-016: home child care for up to 12 children Approved with conditions · 7-0
- Conditional use permit CUP-26-015: home massage practice Approved with conditions · 7-0
Resident concerns and follow-up
- Preserving the Old MillSearch Cottonwood Heights records for later action →
- Future housing type at the Old Mill siteSearch Cottonwood Heights records for later action →
- Emergency accessSearch Cottonwood Heights records for later action →
- Drop-off traffic at a home child careSearch Cottonwood Heights records for later action →
- Client parkingSearch Cottonwood Heights records for later action →
Follow the money and what happened next
Trace the decisions and financial records linked to Cottonwood Heights's projects. A budget, bond ceiling, contract authorization and actual payment describe different things.
Old Mill demolition request
- Council action
In review according to the dated project source. Record → · Oct. 7, 2026
- Money in the record
contract: amount not given — Structural analysis of the Old Mill and cost estimates, hired by the city in spring 2026 Record → · Oct. 7, 2026
- Signed agreement and payments
Execution and project-level disbursements are not verified by this tracker. They require separate records; meeting approval alone does not establish either.
- Work and operating costs
Check the linked records for completion and recurring operating costs; this tracker does not verify them. Record →
Open questions in our reporting
- Canyon Centre plan swaps office space for housing and a hotel
Whether the interlocal amendment was signed and took effect.
- After a $1.7 million reserve drop, Cottonwood Heights moved to raise property taxes, then to cut the increase
Whether the council adopted Ordinance 2026-473 reducing the increase to 25%, and the final certified tax rate.
- Cottonwood Heights' $20 million Hillside Plaza bonds paid off 2023 debt, leaving $5.2 million unspent
How the $5,206,948 has been spent since June 30, 2025, and on which properties.
Auditing Cottonwood Heights →
Canyon Centre plan swaps office space for housing and a hotel
Cottonwood Heights' redevelopment agency adopted an amended Canyon Centre plan and budget on Feb. 18, 2025. The plan replaces office use with housing, a 125-room hotel and retail, and the budget projects $15,218,257 in lifetime tax increment, including $8,700,447 to repay a Salt Lake County parking structure loan.
After a $1.7 million reserve drop, Cottonwood Heights moved to raise property taxes, then to cut the increase
Cottonwood Heights' General Fund balance fell $1,695,491 in fiscal 2025. A July 2026 staff memo cited that decline in proposing a $3.5 million property tax increase. An Aug. 18 council agenda says the levy was approved Aug. 11 and proposes cutting the increase from 42% to 25%; the final signed ordinances have not been reviewed.
Cottonwood Heights' $20 million Hillside Plaza bonds paid off 2023 debt, leaving $5.2 million unspent
In June 2025 Cottonwood Heights issued $20,075,000 of the $30 million in general obligation bonds voters authorized for Hillside Plaza. The city's audit says the proceeds retired the $13,157,000 sales tax bond used to buy much of the shopping center, with $5,206,948 still unspent at June 30, 2025.
Cottonwood Heights' 2025 audit found late cash deposits and a department over budget
The independent auditor's fiscal 2025 schedule of findings lists two instances of state-law noncompliance: cash held beyond the three-banking-day deposit deadline, and the Highways and Public Improvements department spending $313,319 more than its final budget. City management said both have been addressed.
No recent news stories about Cottonwood Heights. Auditing Cottonwood Heights has our public-records reporting on the city.
Projects and policy tracker →
Find projects near you on a map →
City council & planning →
Tue, Oct 20 · City Council
Cottonwood Heights council agenda: Bitcoin ordinance, assistant city manager hire and public safety training facility contract
The Cottonwood Heights City Council's Oct. 20 business meeting agenda listed a Bitcoin ordinance, the appointment and pay of an assistant city manager, a federal public safety grant agreement and a contract with Milo…
Wed, Oct 7 · Planning Commission
Cottonwood Heights planners hear Old Mill study with no vote and approve two home-occupation permits
On Oct. 7 the Cottonwood Heights Planning Commission heard a structural study of the Old Mill that put the cost of stabilizing, restoring or rebuilding the building at $7.5 million to $46.3 million, with no vote on the…
Meetings, item by itemCouncil minutesAuditing Cottonwood HeightsProjects and policy trackerContracts and spending
What residents are raising
Preserving the Old MillFuture housing type at the Old Mill siteEmergency accessDrop-off traffic at a home child careClient parking