“You are violating my First Amendment constitutional rights,” Charles said.

“I don’t think so sir,” Spillman said.

He was not arrested or charged with any crime.

Charles said in a telephone interview after the meeting he intends to sue the city, including Spillman, Norris and Mayor Larry Haag for violating his civil rights.

“I intend to sue the city and I intend to win,” Charles said.

Neighbors speaking out against the variance included Sharon Walford, whose property sits next to Carpenter’s driveway. She reiterated Wednesday the trucks create a dangerous situation.

“That’s a bad area,” Walford said. “There’s been children hit there (in the past) getting off of school buses. We don’t need to add any more traffic there.”

Spillman asked how fast the trucks run through that area.

“At least 30 (miles per hour),” Walford said. “You’ve got a little kid running out there. We’ve got a newborn baby living across the way. We’ve got animals and Hispanic families with small children.”

Julia Ellis, another neighbor of the warehouse, asked why other areas weren’t used for a road.

“I have two empty lots by my house,” Ellis said. “If any company were to buy those two lots, they could come in off of Front Street. They could make a road from Front Street, to Ogdon and into their business. I just want to secure my road as a residential area.”

Carpenter was not at Wednesday’s hearing, but his attorney, Blake Chambers, was. Chambers said because the zoning code does not forbid the practice, then the board should grant the variance according to the concept of “home rule.”

“Anybody in municipal law has heard about home rule,” Chambers said. “It states that you can do it unless its forbidden. We have a code that doesn’t address this particular problem, so it needs to be varied.”

After the meeting, Walford said she was happy with the resolution.

“(Carpenter) can’t drive the big trucks in there,” Walford said. “It only lasts until March 10. I can hold my breath that long.”