The Gloucester County Board of Zoning Appeals approved a special exception for a home-based custom cake business during a meeting April 28 in the colonial courthouse.

Tracey A. Esplin applied for a special exception to allow customers to pick up custom-made cakes at her home. The request was approved by a 5-0 vote, planner Tripp Little said, with members C.W. Davis and Jim Leigh absent.

Esplin has an established specialty cake business, operating under county home occupation regulations. The property is located at 4288 Cato Drive; it lies in Petsworth District and is zoned Rural Countryside (RC-1).

Little said Esplin presented a petition in support of her application which included signatures from neighbors along the private road where she resides. No one spoke in opposition. Planning staff recommended approval of the application under the following conditions: no customer traffic until the proper home occupation permit has been received; a zoning permit for the proposed use must be...