Winery ordinance appeal scheduled for court Friday

A legal challenge to San Diego County’s tiered winery ordinance will be heard in the California Fourth District Court of Appeal in San Diego on Friday, June 14.

The case, San Diego Citizenry Group v. County of San Diego, is the citizenry group’s appeal to an April 2011 ruling in favor of the county ordinance that allows boutique wineries by right to open tasting rooms on land zoned for agricultural use. The citizenry group had challenged the county supervisors’ approval of the Environmental Impact Report for the winery ordinance.

Oral arguments on Friday will be presented by attorneys with Coast Law Group, which represents San Diego Citizenry Group, and the County of San Diego before a panel of three justices: Presiding Justice Judith McConnell, and associate justices Gilbert Nares and Joan Irion.

Court is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at the Symphony Towers, 750 B St., Suite 300 (third floor), in downtown San Diego. An exact time for the winery lawsuit appeal is unavailable as two other cases are also scheduled.

According to a court representative, no opinion will be rendered that day and anyone interested in attending should arrive by 8:45 a.m.

Since the tiered winery ordinance went into effect, approximately 21 wineries in the Ramona area have opened tasting rooms or patios.