A toast to backing local brews and wines
Public demand for locally sourced food is increasingly spilling over to also encompass alcoholic beverages. The locavore movement has more people than ever demanding not only to buy local brews and wines, but to get a firsthand look at the farm-to-glass (or mug) process of brewing and winemaking.
This demand is also spurring a growing number of requests to amend municipal zoning regulations or issue special permits to allow or encourage such operations. The public should support this trend as good for the local economy by promoting the production and consumption of locally produced goods.
In Stonington, where Cottrell Brewing and Beer’d already operate as examples of successful repurposing of former mill space, the Economic Development Commission asked the Planning and Zoning Commission to amend zoning regulations to encourage more microbreweries and brew pubs.
In Lyme, more than 150 residents this week turned out for what turned into a three-hour public hearing on Sunset Hill Vineyard’s request to be allowed to host small-group, by-appointment, weekend wine tastings.
In Salem, a local couple is asking for a zone change to allow them to operate Fox Farm Brewery on their Music Vale Road property.
These proposals provide many potential benefits, including increased local tax bases, agricultural land retention, new hope for empty and aging mills and more locally sourced product offerings. We urge local officials to pave the way for these businesses.
In Lyme, for example, a special permit for Sunset Hill Vineyard easily could impose stipulations to address some neighbors’ concerns that a small wine-tasting business not morph into a huge wedding and special event venue in the future. Allowing Sunset Hill to welcome small groups of weekend visitors, however, helps assure the property remains agricultural and is not instead carved into house lots, as has been the fate of far too many former Connecticut farms.
In Stonington, the Economic Development Commission’s request seeks to ease the path for Cottrell Brewing, whose head brewer Drew Rodgers hopes to open a microbrewery on Washington Street in Mystic. Cottrell already operates a successful brewery in a former Pawcatuck mill – an operation allowed via special permit. The EDC asks for a considerable expansion of the number of zones that allow brew pubs and microbreweries by special permit.
In Salem, Zack and Laura Adams want a zone change to allow them to operate a brewery on their land. The requested zoning designation has merit, in that it recognizes the value of agriculture, can help preserve the town’s rural nature, and in doing so play a part in sustaining the quality of life in the small town while improving its economy.
It is understandable why neighbors may have concerns about some of the proposed enterprises. Those concerns, however, can be addressed within the special permit and zoning process. Stifling these proposals with unreasonable demands or outright rejection would be a mistake.
It’s hardly a secret that preserving farmland and repurposing old mills is a challenge for municipal leaders. Encouraging and welcoming microbreweries and vineyard-based wine tastings not only will assist in overcoming these challenges, but also quench the public’s thirst for locally sourced spirits, while increasing municipal tax bases.
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