By Jessie Burchette
Salisbury Post
Interest in opening wineries complete with tasting rooms and banquet facilities has county planners looking anew at the county zoning ordinance.
The Rowan County Planning Board agreed Monday night to put a committee to work researching possible zoning changes to accommodate wineries.
County Planning Director Ed Muire said Tuesday that inquiries about wineries have come from eastern and western Rowan.
As the county zoning exists, growing grapes fits within the rural agriculture zoning. Building a winery would also likely fit within that zoning.
But issues arise with a tasting room and a banquet hall or similar facility. Under current zoning, such a facility would likely require commercial, business, industrial zoning.
Tommy Baudoin, of John Morgan Road, is one of the people interested in the winery issue. He has seven acres of vines and wants to open a winery with related facilities.
In discussing the issue with the Planning Board, Muire said planners will look at ordinances in Surry County, where a number of wineries have opened during the past several years. They include Shelton Vineyards, one of the largest wineries in the state.
“We want to look at what others are doing,” Muire said.
He said planners will explore options that range from allowing wineries by right in certain districts ó with a set of standards ó to creating a special zoning district.
Planning Board Chairman Terry Hill assigned the winery issue to a committee headed by Barbara Lomax.
The committee is expected to meet in February and bring recommendations back to the full board in March.
The county’s lone winery, Old Stone Winery in Granite Quarry, is not in the county’s zoning jurisdiction.
Contact Jessie Burchette at 704-797-4254 or jburchette@salisburypost.com.