The St. Joseph County Council has denied a Granger resident’s request for a special zoning use permit to operate a gun sales business out of his home.
Jeremy Bontrager had received a favorable recommendation from the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals. He wanted an exception from his neighborhood’s residential zoning so that he could qualify for a federal firearms sales license. That would let him run background checks on gun buyers.
Bontrager lives in the Villas at Woods Trail, across Currant Road from the Harris Township youth baseball and softball fields. He said there are already six home-based federally licensed gun sellers in Granger, and his research found crime had not increased around them over the past 15 years.
But his Villas at Woods Trail neighbors overwhelmingly opposed his request. They included homeowners association president Charles Whetstone, who said the association prohibits anyone from operating businesses, and they especially don’t want one that sells guns.
“I would ask you to please consider, would you want and vote to allow a commercial gunshop right next to your home in your neighborhood, where your family live and play?”
The council voted 9-0 to deny Bontrager’s request.
