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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20190069 Artisanal Brew Works ZBA Interpretation .s. City of Saratoga Springs BiJILDING DEPARTMENT DUANE MILLER • r Assistant Building Inspector i'± l��; CITY HALL Extension 2512 `.'-=•t ' 474 Broadway PATRICK COGAN . `^ Ash• Sarata a S rlri S,NY 12866 Assistant Building Inspector �p�R►TED` Extension 2491 • BUILDING & PLUMBING Telephone (518)587-3550 Ext. 2511 MICHAEL CARLSON Fax(518)580-9480 Assistant Building Inspector • CODES Extension 2541 www.saratoga-springs.org • ZONING JOHN BARNEY Assistant Building& Construction Inspector Extension 2521 June 10,2019 Zoning Board of Appeals City of Saratoga Springs 474 Broadway Saratoga Springs,NY 12866 RE: Artisanal Brew Works,41 Geyser Rd. Members of the Zoning Board of Appeals, After reviewing the applicant's submission (Application#20190069)and listening to the presentation during the Zoning Board meeting of 5/20/19, I would like to offer some points of clarification. Artisanal Brew Works is permitted to operate a brewery,bottling/canning operation,and tasting room at the subject location. This was determined by the former Zoning and Building Inspector and was not called into question by the 11/26/18 letter. All sales of beer(bulk, wholesale, retail,tastings, etc.)produced by Artisanal Brew Works are regulated by the New York State Liquor Authority(SLA)and are not limited by the zoning determination. Limited retail sales of items authorized by the Farm Brewery License legislation are permitted within Artisanal Brew Works' tenant space as ancillary to the main use. Retail sales of any items not specifically authorized by the Farm Brewery License legislation would not be ancillary to the main use and would be prohibited within the General Industrial (JND-G)zoning district, as"Retail" is not a permitted use within IND-G. The authorization and approvals required would of course be dependent upon the type of items that the applicant wishes to offer for sale. It is reasonable for the City to expect the applicant to seek authorization for retail sale of items that are in no way associated with the brewery. During the initial phase of Artisanal Brew Works' operation,City staff was under the mistaken impression that an Eating and Drinking License was required for operation of the tasting room. After a review of the Farm Brewery legislation by City staff and the City Attorney,an internal consensus was reached that an Eating and Drinking License was not required for operation of the tasting room as it had been authorized. In fact,the Eating and Drinking Licenses for 2016 and 2017 had been issued in error. In August of 2018,we met with the applicants and explained that an Eating and Drinking License was not required for normal operation of the tasting room. Please note that an Eating and Drinking License issued in error has no bearing on what uses are or are not allowed under the Zoning Ordinance. Page 1 of 2 Certain claims have been made by the applicant that warrant a response. In my opinion, most of this information has little relevance to the interpretation at hand, but the Zoning Board of Appeals should have information relevant to the claims made in the application and the presentation. The applicant claims that they sought the proper approvals and did their due diligence before making an investment in the property. In reality,the applicant did not seek a Zoning Determination before moving into the space. They moved in and opened for business without any authorization and without the required Building Permit. Attached please find a Notice of Violation from Stephen Shaw dated 11/1/16 showing that Artisanal Brew Works was open and operating before receiving the required approvals. The applicant has provided no written record of said"due diligence"to the Board for consideration. The applicant claims to have invested over a half million dollars into the business. According to the applicant's Building Permit application dated 11/15/16(Article A,Page 17)the total cost of material improvements to the building was$1,000. Any significant alterations to the building are required to be included in the scope of the Building Permit. I can only conclude that the other$499,000(at minimum)has been invested in equipment, processes,marketing, ingredients,etc.which are not specific to the facility at 41 Geyser Road. The applicant claims that the occupancy of the tasting room was lowered to 49. In reality, I discovered in August of 2018 that a Certificate of Occupancy had never been issued for the business,and thus,that they were open and operating without proper authorization. I also discovered that the applicant and their design professional had not submitted a code analysis as part of the Building Permit application. As part of my professional responsibility, I had to conduct a code analysis in order to issue a Certificate of Occupancy. My code analysis revealed that the tasting room could only be allowed as part of the Brewery if the occupant load was less than 50 persons. If the occupant load was 50 persons or more,the space would have to be classified as a separate"Assembly"occupancy(A-2). In order for a separate assembly occupancy to be allowed,the applicant would need to meet a multitude of requirements in the NYS Uniform Code and the City's Zoning Ordinance. One of these requirements would be a use variance for an Eating and Drinking Establishment,as"Eating and Drinking Establishment" is not a permitted use in the IND-G zoning district. As a result,on August 15,2018 I issued a Certificate of Occupancy which correctly established the maximum occupant load at 49 persons. I pointed this out to the Fire Inspector,who promptly posted the corrected occupancy limit. Before 8/15/18,the approved occupant load was, in fact,zero persons. The applicant claims that the letter of 11/26/18 was unsolicited. In reality,after multiple meetings,the applicant had requested written clarification of what they are and are not allowed to do on the property. Specifically, both owners of the business were present in a meeting with the Mayor and City staff on 8/15/18 where they were told in no uncertain terms that special events and food trucks were not permitted on the property without further approvals. On the weekend of 11/23/18-- 11/25/18,the applicants advertised another special event at the Brewery, involving food vendors and the sale of Christmas trees. The owners were contacted and came in for a meeting with City staff,where it was reiterated that they had no authorization to conduct such events. The owners proceeded with the event,and were issued a Notice of Violation(attached). The"unsolicited" letter of clarification was mailed on Monday, 11/26/18. It is my hope that the above information clarifies the purpose and intent of the 11/26/18 letter under consideration by the Board. It is also my hope that the Board now has enough information to properly consider or not consider claims put forth by the applicant. As always,I am available to the Board should any further clarification be required. Respe #" y, Patrick Cogan Assistant Building Inspector,Zoning Officer Page 2 of 2