A Fountain City man who loves working on guns received Wayne County Board of Zoning Appeals approval to begin a small custom gun business at his home.
Joshua Allen petitioned the BZA for a variance of use to begin the business on his agriculturally zoned property on Davis Meyers Road north of Fountain City. The board unanimously approved the petition during its May 8 meeting.
Allen does not need to expand any buildings and will not have signs or open business hours. All of his business will be done by appointment only, and there will not be any test firing on the property.
The small home business could lead to bigger things. Allen said he hopes to get the ball rolling and establish a foothold in the custom gun business, then he’d like to expand to another site.
Jacksonburg garage
Chelsea and Caleb McClain received approval for two variances that will enable them to build an 18-foot-tall garage at their Jacksonburg property.
Their home is at the end of West South Street, which dead ends, so they received a variance of use to permit the detached garage in the front yard. The McClains said that the garage in the front would prevent them from having to build the driveway through their entire property.
The BZA also granted a variance of development standards for the garage to be a foot taller than the McClains’ home. The McClains plan to store a camper and boat in the garage and to install a lift for Caleb McClain to work on cars.
More moo on Esteb Road
Mark Hoelscher, the Wayne County auditor, requested a variance increasing the number of farm animals permitted at his 3.5-acre property on Esteb Road.
Hoelscher, who currently has four alpacas and two cows, is now allowed four farm animals, rather than the two that zoning regulations permit on a 3-acre site. He is selling the alpacas, which will soon leave the property.
The variance to permit four animals enables him to cycle cows onto his property, bringing in new calves prior to butchering other cows. Hoelscher said he prefers to acquire the calves as soon as possible, because his cows are grain-fed.
The board also continued an enforcement petition from a variance granted last year. The extra time will enable zoning administration to further investigate the situation.
A version of this article appeared in the May 14 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.