Draft regulations for the craft brewing industry will have a second round with the Wilmington Planning Commission this month.
The commission has scheduled a special meeting for July 30 to discuss concerns members had with the plan when it surfaced for approval two weeks ago.
Set for 4:30 p.m. in the Lord Spencer Compton Conference Room on the first floor of Wilmington City Hall (102 N. Third St.), the meeting will go over how to properly regulate breweries in the city limits.
Recommendations from city planners include defining and governing them by building size (versus the number of barrels produced per year, though the building size may provide a clue to it).
For one, a microbrewery would have to keep its footprint at 25,000 square feet or less, according to the proposed rules. In that category, the brewery could operate in business, commercial or mixed-use districts, for instance.
Planning Commission Member Bruce McGuire, however, suggested the city consider the rate of product output, as that could tie directly with the number of trucks rumbling to and from a single brewery each day. He was concerned about impacts on neighbors; much of the focus centered on any breweries that would open in the downtown area.
(Front Street Brewery downtown operates as a restaurant and sells brews on site).
Related story: Planning commission holds off on brewery rules
Currently, the city’s development code has no language specific to breweries, a rising form of business in the Wilmington area. (Enthusiast website NC Beer Guys offers a map of area breweries already in operation here.)
Senior Planner Phil Prete said several people in the past year or so have come to his office inquiring about opening breweries in town but were troubled by the development code’s lack of recognition. It regulates breweries as nightclubs, restaurants or intensive manufacturing facilities, often a total mismatch.
Background: City discusses accommodations for craft brewing scene
The draft rules would give breweries specific definitions and a framework to follow, which would make them easier to establish here. A zoning-related part of the proposal would expand where breweries could operate.
If planning commission members are able to sort out their issues with the draft rules, they will consider them for approval at their next regular meeting, on Aug. 6.
The city council would have the final decision.
Ben Brown is a news reporter at Port City Daily. Reach him at [email protected] or (910) 772-6335. On Twitter:@benbrownmedia
