SOUTH JORDAN, Utah — The Boob Bus doesn't feel like your stereotypical doctor's office — and it's not supposed to.
"We get the women checked in and one thing we like to do is give them a warm robe instead of a paper hospital gown so it does make it feel more spa-like," said The Boob Bus CEO Rena Vanzo.
Since February, Vanzo and The Boob Bus have served more than 350 women from Ogden to central Utah — all with the goal of catching breast cancer early.
"When I started The Boob Bus, Utah was third to the bottom in the nation for breast cancer screening. Our women just are not doing it, so with The Boob Bus has come this sort of revolution and idea: Let's make breast cancer screening more fun,'" Vanzo said.
When the bus isn't traveling to provide critical services to women, it stays parked in Vanzo's backyard at her South Jordan home where she can monitor it 24/7.
"If this were not parked at my home, it would be really challenging for me, especially as a single mom. it's not easy for me to get up and leave and go check something if it's not here on my property," Vanzo said.
Now Vanzo is worried she may no longer be able to park her bus in her backyard after she was notified that it's a violation of South Jordan city code.
FOX 13 News reached out to South Jordan City. The City code says commercial vehicles exceeding 8,000 pounds may not be stored on a residential lot for any length of time.
"I'm in a community with a lot of recreational RVs, and from my standpoint, there really is no difference to my neighbor's RV sitting on their property and my RV sitting on my property," Vanzo said.
Vanzo says she submitted a request to change the city code, but that request was denied.
"Right now I'm faced with: 'What am I going to do? Where can I park this bus? And is that going to be a threat to me being able to operate my business?'" Vanzo said.
She's now started an online petition and submitted an application to change the requirements to allow for an exemption for medical vehicles. She says she'll get the opportunity to present her case to the South Jordan Planning Commission and City Council in the coming months. In the meantime, she'll continue traveling and providing breast imagery services.
"I understand these codes and these processes exist for a reason, but I think the fact of the matter is our society is always changing and we need to re-evaluate the codes that are in place," Vanzo said.
