By Lindsey Rowland
news@wbcowqel.com

The Bucyrus Board of Zoning Appeals held its regular meeting on Tuesday afternoon to hear the appeals of two area business owners looking to do some work on their parking lots.

The first was for Hurst Auto Body, located on State Route 4 in Bucyrus. A representative from the company came to petition the board to allow for expansion of their parking area for the purpose of gaining more room to park trucks that are necessary for business.

Although the usual rule calls for asphalt, the area in question wouldn’t be extremely trafficked and, therefore, an exception was granted. A zoning permit for the issue will have to be granted a little further down the road, but the committee sent best wishes to the representative, who simply stated of the business, “We’re not done growing.”

The second issue was much like the first, in that Alpha Recovery 12 Step Program, a non-profit organization existing in Bucyrus, wanted to expand its parking, also with gravel, on the North Sandusky property they had just purchased. John and Margie Maddox appealed to the committee, who were happy to grant the exception after hearing the heart behind the organization’s activities, as well as the fact that, logistically, the parking area won’t be heavily trafficked.

Alpha Recovery is essentially a counseling service that has been around since 2008 and exists as a faith-based recovery program to help people transitioning out of prison achieve sobriety and be introduced to a new, foundational community once they exit the system.

Margie Maddox, who was ecstatic about the decision to allow the expansion, currently serves as the Crawford County Chaplain at the jail and is excited about the possibilities that this property will open up; namely, a place where one-on-one meetings can occur as a type of follow up for the students of the program. In addition, there will be office space, community counseling, cognitive restructuring, child development classes, assistance in parenting, and the 12-step recovery program.

Those in attendance were just as excited, with acting mayor Sis Love saying, “Thank you for being an asset to your community.”

The Board of Zoning Appeals will meet again on July 15.