Wilson County Board of Zoning Appeals approves most variances, limits some business uses and denies one tall garage

Lebanon, Tenn. — The Wilson County Board of Zoning Appeals on its July meeting approved a series of variances for property owners across the county, including conditional approvals for two business uses and a denial of one accessory-structure height variance.

Board members approved variances that will allow homeowners to replace or expand existing structures on several lots, and granted conditional permission for two nonresidential uses in the a-1 agricultural zone: a stone fabrication shop that will operate as a discreet home-based business and a firearms gunsmithing/manufacturing operation that the board approved for a three-year term. The board denied a request for an accessory structure that would exceed the 22-foot height limit in a residential zone.

The approvals largely reflected staff findings that many affected properties were older tracts of record or nonconforming lots, which limited the county’s ability to enforce current lot-size and setback standards without a variance. For business uses, the board added conditions intended to limit impacts on neighbors and to align operations with county expectations.

Discussion and key decisions

- Fabrication business (case 4306): The board approved use of an existing accessory building for a stone fabrication business on property at 5785 Bridal of Ferry Pike, with conditions. Planner testimony said the applicant told staff the shop would not be open to the public, would not employ non-resident employees and would not store materials outdoors; deliveries would be limited and scheduled to avoid school traffic. The board’s motion imposed stipulations including that the shop be used only for custom stone fabrication, not open to the public, have no additional employees, have no outdoor material storage and be limited to four pickup/delivery…