But there wasn't much the county could do, the residents in unincorporated Willow Creek were told, those facilities are protected by federal housing laws.
They thought annexing into Cottonwood Heights might stop the group home. But there wasn't much that city could do either - again, the federal edicts.
Despite that setback, some neighborhood activists are exploring the possibility of annexing several thousand Willow Creek residents north into Cottonwood Heights or south into Sandy.
"Anytime this happens it becomes a very huge issue where the residents need to rely on their government," said Jonathan Beckstrand, who lives next to the house which is being converted into a sober-living home south of the Willow Creek Country Club.
Beckstrand says a neighborhood group wants to study the annexation idea more broadly so that it's not just a reaction to the group home.
But that group home - which has yet to open - still stings for some Willow Creek residents. Beckstrand, for one, hopes the county will change zoning laws regarding those types of facilities.
While cities might have tougher restrictions on group homes, that doesn't necessarily mean they are legal, said Nichole Dunn, the county's intergovernmental-relations specialist, adding that the county's limits have been upheld in court.
Federal fair-housing laws bar discriminating against group homes in residential settings. Dunn said the county does limit to 16 the number of people, including staff and patients, allowed in a home, but noted that no restrictions can be placed on location.
Therapist Cory Reich, a co-manager of the incoming LeMont Michel Applied Recovery Home, said much of the opposition stems from the stigma associated with addiction and recovery. He said he isn't aware of any study revealing that such sober-living homes negatively impact a neighborhood.
The patients who move into the home on Willow Green Drive will have been clean and could return to their homes, Reich said. But the recovery center will allow them to live in a community setting with access to resources to prevent a relapse.
He said the patients would be integrated into a "normal, healthy, day-to-day existence; school, work - it includes living in a community."
What's next
Salt Lake County official Nichole Dunn said there are no plans to change county ordinances for group homes, since they comply with federal laws.
But if they were tweaked, she said, Mayor Peter Corroon would be interested in presenting the new ordinance to the Legislature to get a consistent and statewide zoning law.
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination against group homes, including those for people with disabilities. Drug and alcohol addiction are considered disabilities.
"You literally have no recourse," said Jonathan Beckstrand, a Willow Creek resident who wants Utahns to lobby their cities and counties for stricter zoning language.
