Placer County winery and farm brewery ordinance

By Placer County

With its planned winery and farm brewery ordinance, Placer County is working to further address the future development of wineries and farm breweries in the county, while encouraging agricultural economic development and protecting the character and long-term viability of our agricultural lands.

The county is proposing an amendment to the existing winery ordinance in order to outline and regulate the type of events allowed with the use, define rules regarding farm breweries, modify the minimum parcel size required to establish the use without a land use entitlement, and clarify other development standards as they pertain to hours of operation, water, waste disposal and access.

The county has released a notice of preparation for the required environmental analysis that will be conducted on the proposed winery and farm brewery ordinance, which will be available for public comment until Nov. 16.

The purpose of the notice of preparation is to provide information about the proposed ordinance and its potential environmental impacts, and to allow agencies and interested parties the opportunity to provide input related to the scope and content of the environmental impact report being prepared for the ordinance.

A scoping meeting will be held Nov. 1 from 6-8 p.m., at the Placer County Community Development Resource Center, Planning Commission Room, 3091 County Center Drive, in North Auburn.

The facility for the meeting is accessible to people with disabilities. Those needing special assistive devices will be accommodated to the county’s best ability. For more information, please contact Shirlee Herrington (at the contact information below) at least 48 hours before the meeting.

The notice of preparation is available for public review during normal business hours at the Placer County Community Development Resource Agency, 3091 County Center Drive, Suite 190, Auburn, CA 95603. It’s also available online HERE.

Comments may be addressed to the Placer County, Community Development Resource Agency, Attention: Shirlee Herrington, Environmental Coordination Services, 3091 County Center Drive, Suite 190, Auburn, CA 95603; at the scoping meeting, or by email to cdraecs@placer.ca.gov. Comments must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Nov. 16.

(Photo: Erik Bergen, Placer County)