Steven Willis argued that he is only maintaining a previous parking area that had been ignored for several years. City officials, however, insist that Willis, the owner of two Wright City businesses on the North Service Road, is in violation of a city ordinance that requires additional parking areas to be paved. Willis spoke to the board of aldermen at last Thursday's meeting questioning the ordinance that he fears could close both of his businesses, S&W Auto Sales and USA Guns. "That's ridiculous," Willis told The Record. "For a city the size of Wright City, we don't even have a blinking stoplight." Board members instructed Willis that he needed to talk with Public Works Director Larry Janish, who also serves as the code enforcement officer, more on the issue to see if it could be resolved. At last Thursday's meeting, Janish said a permit was not needed for flat work, but he needs to verify and approve the work before starting. Willis had yet to talk to Janish by Tuesday morning and was still waiting on clarification on how to proceed. Efforts to reach Janish, who was out of town, were unsuccessful. "Whether it was rock or not underneath the grass, we have no idea," Alderman Jim Schuchmann stated. The ordinance, adopted in 1997, states that new or changes to parking areas, including driveways, must be paved with asphalt or concrete. In a letter mailed to Willis dated Sept. 9, Janish said Willis needs to comply with the city's ordinance. Willis admits that he scraped grass off a sizable area in front of his building and then put down rock. While city officials interpret that as a change, Willis insists that the area was previously a gravel parking lot when he bought the property. "Once you scraped off the grass and eliminated it, isn't that a change?" Schuchmann asked. Willis responded, "That's nitpicky." Willis said he has owned S&W Auto Sales for 8 1/2 years. He opened USA Guns last month in a small building on the property which also serves as his office as a way to attract more customers interested in purchasing guns or ammo. Willis said he didn't know that he needed permission to gain approval from the city before making changes to his property. However, Alderman Jamey Abercrombie said later that Willis knew about the ordinance from when he approached the city several months earlier about using his property as a storage area for RVs and boats. "I have to go by (the ordinance)," Abercrombie said. "That is my job. That is what I'm elected to do." Schuchmann added: "We can't say we're going to enforce it on this one and not enforce it on the next one. We don't get that choice." Willis contends the area in question is similar to his grass-covered lot where his used vehicles sit. "I redid gravel," he said. At last week's aldermanic meeting, city officials were unsure whether Willis could apply for a variance through the city's planning and zoning board. A variance is normally used in hardship cases, Schuchmann said, and he didn't know if this instance would apply.