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RIVERTON — The view from Deborah Parry's doorstep hasn't always looked the way it does now.
"This used to be a two-laner when we bought the home," Parry said as she motioned towards Redwood Road. "There were lots and lots of trees."
Parry and her husband, Rulon, have lived in Riverton for 55 years.
"We've seen lots and lots of change," Deborah Parry said.
The Parrys' front yard may be a blur of traffic and activity but out back is completely different.
"We call it spooky swamp," Rulon Parry said. "Our kids liked to call it that."
Behind the Parrys' home are 11.5 acres of undeveloped wetlands.
"We get two or three foxes here every winter," Rulon Parry said.
A developer is asking the city to rezone this area and make room for townhomes; they're proposing 14 units per acre. Currently, it's zoned as a rural residential and commercial neighborhood.
For that reason, the Parrys' and dozens of their neighbors showed up at Riverton City Hall for the planning commission meeting on Thursday night.
They wanted their voices heard. One by one, concerned residents asked for the space to remain undeveloped.
The Parrys don't know if they're going to stay in Riverton.
"We had planned on it," Deborah said.
They know views change and development is inevitable. They just aren't sure they want to see it happen in their backyard.
Late Thursday evening the planning commission voted unanimously to deny the request for rezone. The request now goes to the city council.
KSL reached out to the developer, Century Communities, for comment following the decision.
"We don't expect the temperament to change much with the city council," Kameron Spencer, Century Communites representative, said.
Spencer added they are now weighing all their options, including the possibility of pulling their application with the city.
"We may hold meetings with the neighbors there," Spencer said. "We want to do what's best for everyone."
