It's still uncertain whether Wright City officials will approve a proposed flea market. Aldermen delayed a decision on a conditional use permit for the second time in two months after informing a property owner of the planned business about the need to have a hard-surface parking lot. City officials told Charlotte Schneider that hard-surface parking lots are required for new businesses per city ordinance. It's an expense she didn't expect. "You're comparing a business in the city that would be open seven days a week," Schneider told the board Nov. 12. "We're talking about a field that will be used for a flea market. I don't compare this to someone who runs a typical business." The flea market is planned on 25 acres located behind Kaplan Lumber. The permit application was filed by CGA Gold Group. The property owners listed on the application are Donald and Charlotte Schneider, Carter and Eula Martin and Nick Nixon. Schneider was the only owner in attendance at the last aldermanic meeting Nov. 12. Since the property owners will need a land disturbance permit from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources for groundwork, Alderman Jamey Abercrombie asked Schneider to take care of that and come back to the planning and zoning board for reconsideration. By that time, city officials plan on looking at the ordinance to see if it needs to be revised. Until changes are made, aldermen stressed they wouldn't be able to approve the permit when other property owners' requests have been denied. Aldermen voted 4-0 to table a decision on the permit. "I have nothing against the flea market but I took an oath of office to enforce this book," Alderman Jim Schuchmann said. "That is what I have to do for the citizens of this community. Planning and zoning have the capabilities to make amendments to this book. They can do something about it." Schneider wants to open the flea market, which will be held each Saturday, in the spring. She added that vendors will be charged $15 weekly, with $5 of the fee going to the city. She's hoping the flea market can draw most of the same vendors that sell items in Wentzville on Sundays. The city's planning and zoning commission approved the proposed flea market permit request Oct. 19. The only stipulations were for the entrance road, located between Kaplan Lumber and Maze Auto Body, to be widened to 32 feet and for the property owners to revisit the planning and zoning board in six months. The ordinance, adopted in 1997, states that new or changes to parking areas including driveways, must be paved with asphalt or concrete. Schneider's concerns about the high price to pave a parking lot for the proposed flea market is not the first time the city ordinance has been questioned. In September, Steven Willis, the owner of S&W Auto Sales and USA Guns, also questioned the ordinance after he received a notice stating he was in violation of city ordinance for building a gravel parking lot. He claimed the gravel lot was there prior to him owning the property and was unaware that he needed city approval. Others also brought up that the board granted a conditional use permit for a temporary fireworks stand on a new gravel lot, while a church couldn't get a request approved for an expanded parking lot that was going to be gravel. Mayor Roy White and Alderman Tom Black remarked that the ordinance needs to be rewritten since it appears to be restricting businesses from opening in the city. White added that the flea market could help bring more visitors to the city. "I think the code was put in without much thought going into it or it's outdated," White said. "We need to work with people to get more businesses in town." Aldermen previously delayed a decision on the flea market when the permit applicants failed to attend the Oct. 22 meeting.