County agrees with some winery suggestions
On Friday, the county Planning Commission will consider proposed changes to the Tiered Winery Ordinance, which includes some revisions recommended by a subcommittee of the Ramona Community Planning Group.
Still prohibited, however, will be the availability for boutique wineries to import bulk wine from outside San Diego County, a provision that the subcommittee sought to change. Among reasons that winery owners gave were that most of the boutique wineries produce red wine and some customers prefer white, and that weather could adversely affect their grapes and therefore limit production.
“Importing bulk wine from outside of San Diego County was the biggest issue at the ad hoc meetings,” said Paul Stykel, who chaired the subcommittee that consisted of planning group members, winery owners and other stakeholders.
According to county Planning and Development Services (PDS), the sourcing requirements were included in the original ordinance to assure that a specified percentage of grapes are being grown on the property where the wine is made. Boutique wineries may source a specified amount of fruit from outside the county.
The purpose of the changes for the Tiered Winery Ordinance, adopted in 2010, is to clarify certain sections and allow additional flexibility related to the sourcing of wine, food service and hours of operation within the limitations of the Tiered Winery Ordinance, Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR), according to PDS.
Because the majority of wineries are in Ramona, the county allowed the planning group additional time to review the changes and make recommendations, even though public review of the draft ordinance had closed Nov. 23, 2015. The planning group submitted its recommendations to PDS after its Jan. 7 meeting.
One of the subcommittee’s recommendations that the county included was clarifying when an outdoor tasting area can be used in conjunction with Boutique Winery operations, so owners are not prohibited from using that area at other times for private use.
A concern of the subcommittee was seeking clarification that large equipment could be stored in non-winery production space when not in use and then not impact production square footage.
PDS said in its response that staff would consider separate storage to provide flexibility to winery owners and to maintain compliance with the final EIR. Staff plans to create a handout addressing particular types of equipment that could be excluded from the winery production facility limitations.
According to PDS, “suggested revisions which would result in the need for an amendment to, and recirculation of, the previously certified Final EIR were not considered.”
To view the final draft amendments, visit sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/PC/160205-Supporting-Documents.html.
The Zoning Ordinance Amendment related to wineries is the third item on the Planning Commission’s Feb. 5 agenda. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. at the County Operations Center, Conference Center Hearing Room 5520 Overland Ave., San Diego. The agenda can also be found at the above website.