Oakley planners continue review of Deer Meadows nursery after neighbors raise noise, traffic and environmental concerns

The Oakley Planning Commission heard public comment and asked for more technical detail Thursday before deciding whether to approve a conditional‑use permit for Deer Meadows Group to operate a wholesale landscaping and nursery operation with six greenhouses at 1050 East Weber Canyon Road.

Matt Worthland, who identified himself as representing Deer Meadows Group, told the commission the project would operate as a landscape yard and wholesale nursery rather than a retail garden center and would use hydroponic greenhouses and an existing 1,000‑square‑foot building for a small office. "There will be landscape materials that could be . . . loaded, unloaded, but not stored there," Worthland said. He said the operation would usually have four to five trucks onsite and as many as 20 employees during harvest peaks and that greenhouses would be roughly 50 by 100 feet each.

Neighbors and commissioners urged the applicant to return with more specifics. Residents said they had observed active landscaping operations already on the site, reported repeated construction noise and raised concerns about odours, dust, runoff to nearby waterways, and evening light and fan noise from the proposed greenhouses. "It was just pasture land at one time ... they took the trees out, all the cottonwood on the river," said Manny Piper, a nearby resident, who added he felt the proposal could increase flooding and runoff. Neighbor Mike Richmond requested screening and berming on the southern property line, saying, "I could toss a rock from my property onto those greenhouses."

Commissioners and public commenters asked the applicant to provide specific technical information before a final decision: building elevations/visual renderings for the greenhouses, fan and heater specifications and decibel projections, lighting photometrics and planned hours of supplemental lighting, an equipment/vehicle inventory and parking plan (including seasonal semi deliveries), dust control and stormwater/runoff protections, and clarification about which water source would be used for irrigation. Planner comments and public concerns also flagged the site's proximity to White Creek and a floodplain area; Worthland said the team would meet legal wetland and water protections and welcome conditions.

After public comment and discussion the commission voted to continue the hearing and asked the applicant to return with the requested materials and proposed mitigation measures. The motion passed on a voice vote with commissioners answering "Aye."