TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Brian D. Bordona - Director of Planning, Building and Environmental Services
REPORT BY: Michael Parker, Planning Manager
SUBJECT: Micro-Winery Ordinance Update
RECOMMENDATION
title
Receive a status report of the Micro-Winery Ordinance and provide direction regarding the May 5, 2025 sunset date. (No Fiscal Impact)
body
BACKGROUND
On April 5, 2022, the Board of Supervisors (BOS) adopted the Micro-Winery Ordinance (MWO) which is scheduled to sunset on May 5, 2025, unless otherwise extended by the BOS. The MWO established a new sub-category of winery with the following characteristics:
A. Ferments on-site at least 201 gallons of wine annually and has a production capacity of no more than 5,000 gallons of wine;
B. At least 75 percent of the grapes used in fermentation on-site are grown on the same property as the micro-winery or contiguous parcels under the same ownership. For the purpose of this section, "the same property as the micro-winery" means any parcel or parcels identified as included within the Use Permit application;
C. Has a maximum of 5,000 square feet of total enclosed space including storage, processing facilities, tasting areas, and caves;
D. No more than twenty Average Daily Trips (ADT) (ten daily round trips) are generated by tasting room visitors, all winery employees including seasonal employees, and deliveries to and/or from the winery;
E. No marketing events are conducted on site;
F. Tours and tastings and retail sales for wineries in the Agricultural Preserve and for the Agricultural Watershed, may be conducted on-site but are limited to between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.;
G. No subsequent application for an increase in the production of wine or tasting room visitation shall be considered within two years after the approval of the original micro-winery use permit.
Micro-wineries shall only be permitted within the Agricultural Preserve (AP) and Agricultural Watershed (AW) zones.
In terms of t...
Click here for full text