Rural brewing on tap for county
A hop farm with beer-making aspirations persuaded Minnehaha County officials to drop a restriction on rural breweries.
The owners of a Valley Springs hop farm with beer-making aspirations persuaded Minnehaha County officials Tuesday to drop a restriction on rural breweries.
After a request by Anderson Hop Farm, county commissioners voted to change to the county’s zoning ordinance to allow breweries and distilleries on agriculture. The board also did away with a rule that property owners or operators live on the site where their alcohol is manufactured.
Until now, wineries were the only type of alcohol manufacturing allowed in the county, and owner-operators of such establishments were required to live on the property. The commission’s 4-1 vote nixed that requirement and now stipulates owner-operators live within a half-mile of a winery, brewery or distillery.
But commissioners were at odds over the merit of having an alcohol manufacturer living at, close by or an extended distance from their business. Commissioner Gerald Beninga said telling a business owner where they are allowed to live could dissuade people from starting a brewery, winery or distillery.
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“I don’t understand why someone who has the initiative and the abilities … has to live on it to make it a ‘viable business’ without going through extra steps,” Beninga said. “I think it’s a discouragement to economic development in the rural communities.”
Planning Director Scott Anderson said while the new policy is less restrictive than requiring an on-site residence, maintaining a stipulation that the owner live nearby is about minimizing the likelihood of theft on the property.
“I think it’s important that you have the owner-operator close by just given the nature of what’s being manufactured there,” he said. “It’s different than, let’s say, a hog confinement. There’s an element there of attractiveness for mischief.”
Commissioner Jeff Barth agreed.
“Our forbearers determined that having large vats of wine or other beverages unattended out in a remote area might compel a caravan of wine seekers to show up … and cause some disruptions,” Barth said.