Salem — The Planning and Zoning Commission conditionally approved a zoning change Tuesday that would allow a farm brewery to open on Music Vale Road.

Zack and Laura Adams submitted an application in October to change the zoning designation for their property at 62 Music Vale Road from RU-A to a Special Agricultural Zone.

The zoning change would allow them to open a farm brewery with a production facility and taproom on the property.

The Special Agricultural Zone is a floating zone that was created by the town of Salem in 2005 to preserve its rural character by promoting agricultural use of land as well as the adaptive reuse of existing agricultural buildings.

The Adamses plan to convert a dairy barn on their property into the production facility and taproom.

Chairwoman Gloria Fogarty said the Fox Farm Brewery application was the first time the Special Agricultural Zone has been used, and she was pleased with the process.

Overlay zones can be complicated for both the public and the commissioners, she said, but the commission gave the application a very thorough review and satisfied both the applicants and other residents.

While the zoning regulations do not specifically mention breweries as a permitted use of the special zone, the application stipulates that the use of a farm brewery is "consistent in form and function to a 'winery,'" which is a permitted use.

The status of a brewery as an agricultural endeavor was one of many contested points brought up by residents at the public hearing, which started Nov. 17 and continued through the Nov. 24 meeting until Dec. 15.

Other concerns summarized by town planner Richard Serra at the close of the public hearing included the hours of operation, the amount of alcohol able to be consumed on site and the amount of traffic a brewery would bring to Music Vale Road.

The conditions stated in the motion to approve the application came from a summary provided by land-use permitting agent Boundaries LLC.

It included clarifications on how much beer the brewery would produce, when trucks would be able to make deliveries to the brewery and other items that had been discussed during the public hearing but were not specifically part of the application.

Fogarty commended Adams and the representatives from Boundaries for being prepared to answer questions at the public hearing and also for being willing to make changes based on concerns from other residents of Music Vale Road.

"We're absolutely thrilled for the approval decision," Adams said. He and his team had been working on the application process since last June. He said he appreciated the care the commission took in making an informed decision.

The next step for the brewery is to finalize renovation plans for the interior of the barn and begin construction on the facility.

Adams said the brewery will open sometime in the second half of 2016.

a.hutchinson@theday.com

Twitter: @ahutch411