"I don't think there's anyone but the applicant that likes this project," said Scott Miller, head of an area homeowners association. "It doesn't fit into the neighborhood."

Commissioners voted unanimously to deny the request by Vista Way Properties to rezone 5 acres from single-family to multifamily housing. The company also wanted the land designated as "planned unit development" to allow more leeway than standard codes in designing the site.

Thirty-one people signed a petition denouncing the project.

The company's representative at the meeting asked that commissioners put off voting. His requests drew grumbling from residents.

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, whose district encompasses the land, argued that the developer had ample time to prepare a case for building the condos, and other commissioners agreed.

County staff, the town advisory board and neighbors all oppose the plans, Giunchigliani said.

For the condos to be 60 feet tall, the county would have to let the developer build them 25 feet taller than the code allows, Miller said.

He and other residents said the complex would create unsafe traffic congestion, increase crime, lower property values and diminish their quality of life. They questioned whether enough on-site parking would exist for 152 households or whether some people would park on the street.

Mary Grant, an optometrist, worried that the units would be rented instead of sold, creating a big apartment complex. Vista Way, she said, will be an "ignorant, eastern neighbor" that takes the money and runs.

Mike Randolph, another resident, said developers tried to build multifamily structures on 5 acres to the south of this property but were turned down three times. In the end, single-family homes were built on that tract, he said.