Owners of Ainsworth barn defend operations; neighbors press county for enforcement, item tabled pending zoning administrator review

Owners of a private event venue (referred to in the meeting by the applicants as the Ainsworth property or “the barn”) described measures they say are in place to limit noise, trespass and privacy impacts after neighbors filed complaints with the city and county.

Casey Ainsworth, the property owner and operator, told the Emery County Planning and Zoning Commission the business has been in their ownership 1,187 days and has been rented for 181 nights, which he said amounts to roughly 15% occupancy. He said the property hosted 16 events during their ownership and that those events represent about 1.4% of total days since purchase. "We have now owned the property as of today for 1187 days. Our property, according to our records, has been rented out 181 total nights," Ainsworth said.

Ainsworth outlined mitigation steps: offering to pay half the cost of a privacy fence, adding cameras and sound‑measuring equipment, shortening event noise curfew below the city code (voluntarily asking guests to quiet by 9 p.m. when city code is 10 p.m.), adding contract language for guests, and designating a local point of contact in Orangeville that city officials may reach.

Neighbors and nearby residents, including Stephanie Brotherson, said the venue’s events have been disruptive and that the operation was effectively functioning as an unpermitted reception hall in addition to an Airbnb short‑term rental. "It's a rave in my backyard every weekend through the summer and through the fall. It's not okay," Brotherson said.

Orangeville City representatives and staff attended the meeting. Doug Stilson, an Orangeville City council member, described the situation as mixed‑jurisdictional: portions of the property and parking are in city limits while event activity crosses onto county parcels. He said Orangeville issued a business license for an Airbnb and that city and county attorneys have reviewed the matter; Stilson stated the city considers many of the disputes to be civil matters between neighbors.

Seth Manning, Orangeville city administrator, said Ainsworth had cooperated with city requests and implemented multiple measures requested in the city's standard operating procedures, including decibel meters and other mitigations.

Neighbors contested aspects of the owners’ account. Stephanie Brotherson and others said back‑to‑back weekend events had occurred last season, that trespass and privacy invasions were a recurring problem, and that notice or community outreach required by a short‑term conditional use permit were not always provided. Brotherson said several nearby households have been affected by repeated events and that some neighbors had declined to meet with the owners when a meeting was requested.

Commissioners noted the meeting lacked the county zoning administrator, Jim Jennings, who was excused; the commission agreed to table the item to allow Jennings to address zoning questions and to provide a fuller record of prior permits and code interpretations. Chair Gary Arrington said the commission would table the item until the zoning administrator could be present for clarification on code, permits and enforcement options.