A proposal to rezone land in Uintah County for a subdivision drew criticism from neighboring residents.

Outlaw Country Development, of Lehi, proposes to build up to 30 units of apartments, town homes and single family homes on land near the Casa Rios Restaurant on the West end of Vernal.

Residents of Air Village Hills voiced their discontent with the rezone request at a packed public meeting on Jan. 9 at the Uintah County Commission.

Property owners asked that the rezone include a set back from the Air Village Hills lot line with possibly as much as 130 feet of variance.

“This is not an issue as to whether this project should or shouldn’t go forward. What it is, is to try to provide a little bit of a buffer,” said property owner William Ryan.

Residents expressed concern that the current plan could go away leaving behind an incompatible zoning pattern.

The proposed rezone would affect two lots upgrading residential and agricultural (RA-1) zoning to high density residential (R-3) and expanding the commercial (C-1) zone by the highway.

Much of the land to be rezoned is open space save for a few travel trailers at the Outlaw Country Trailer Park on the east end along 1900 S. 2800 West.

“The request is to extend a portion of the C-1 zoning to include more of the (east) lot and a rezone the remaining portion residential high density (R-3) to the west lot,” said county planner Matt Cazier.

Outlaw Country Development plans to place apartments in the front, or east side lots, with town homes in the middle and single family homes furthest west.

The concept plan as it is currently designed shows 70 percent of the land within the Outlaw Country Development to remain as open space.

McKay Christensen, representing Outlaw Country, expressed interest building a development that is a cohesive planned community.

“We’ve taken great effort to try to address some of the concerns that the residents have had,” he said, adding all the units have been pulled back by 100 feet from the lot line.

The strip between Air Village Hills and Outlaw Country could be planted or not, according to Christensen, but will remain as open space.

“The homes to be built will be very nice homes and they will sit at the back of the lot,” he said.

Several people objected to the potential look of two-, three- and four-story apartment buildings on Vernal City’s doorstep.

Vernal’s introductory scenic viewshed should be preserved, argued Air Village Hills resident John Spurlock saying, “it’s not visually a good place to put 400 residents.”

Others objected to the potential of expanding the commercial zone to possibly devaluing the developed property of the RA-1 zoned Air Village Hills.

As one resident stated the homes are 7,000 square-foot within Air Village Hills and designed as an exclusive residential community.

Strong objection was raised about the increased traffic potentially using Air Village Hills surface streets.

Outlaw Country Development and the Christensen family have a 2,600 acre planned community called Traverse Mountain developed behind Cabela’s in Utah County.

Last month, the concept plan of the unit development was recommended for approval by the by Uintah County planning and zoning commission.

Uintah County Commission opted to table the decision about the proposed rezone until the next regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 23.