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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20190069 Artisanal Brew Works NOD r CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS Bill Moore, Chair Keith Kaplan, Vice Chair } `. ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Brad Gallagher,Secretary ;*SiI Cheryl Grey -'',�F+ ; ' ��� `� �'� Jerry Luhn ._�, �, r,� CITY HALL-474 BROADWAY Chris Hemstead SARATOGA SPRINGS,NEW YORK 12866 Suzanne Morris °-' .+ PH)5I8-587-3550 Fx)5I8-580-9480 Kathleen O'Connor,alternate ' , � '\G' VVWW.SARATOGA-SPRINGS.ORG #20190069 IN THE MATTER OF THE APPEAL OF QUINN BORCHARDT BREWING, LLC d/b/a ARTISANAL BREW WORKS 41 Geyser Rd Saratoga Springs,NY 12866 From a determination dated November 26, 2018 by the Assistant Building Inspector/Zoning Officer that the existing brewery use, identified as a"bottling plant", at 41 Geyser Road, Tax Parcel#178-1-33 (the"Premises") in the Industrial—General (IND-G)District does not permit retail, eating and drinking, or outdoor activities (such as food vending, recreational activities or special events). This interpretation appeal presents the Board with the question of whether certain uses conducted by Artisanal Brew Works ("Artisanal")at the Premises are permitted in the Industrial—General (IND-G)Zoning District. BACKGROUND: Artisanal leases a portion of the Premises for operation as a brewery including a tasting/tap room. There is no kitchen. Artisanal has three licenses from the State Liquor Authority which are currently active. These include: FD 106 (Farm Brewery), MI 101 (Microbrewer) and CM 101 (Combined Craft). After meetings with City Staff at which Artisanal's owners were told that special events and food trucks were not permitted on the Premises without further approvals,they requested written clarification of what they are and are not allowed to do on the Premises. In spite of being advised that they had no authorization to conduct a certain event,the owners proceeded with the event and the City issued a Notice of Violation and Order to Remedy dated November 23, 2018. The violations included outdoor vending (Food Truck)without a Vendor Permit and conducting an event(Christmas tree sales)without a Special Event Permit. The determination appealed from was issued shortly thereafter. Under Section 2.2[E](1) of the Zoning Ordinance, except in certain specified Transect Districts, all uses not specifically mentioned or described by category in the Use Schedule are prohibited. A bottling plant is listed as a use permitted in the IND-G Zoning District with Site Plan Approval. "Bottling plant"is not a defined term in the City's Zoning Ordinance and must be understood from its ordinary meaning as a facility where beverages are put into bottles and capped. The primary question is which activities conducted by Artisanal can reasonably be considered incidental and subordinate to operation of a bottling plant. In addition to compliance with the Zoning Ordinance, any activities conducted on the Premises must comply with specific requirements in the City Code for various permits and licenses for particular activities. Similarly,permits and licenses may be subject to Zoning Ordinance requirements. For example, as highlighted in the November 23RD Notice of Violation, licenses for outdoor vending on private property"shall be issued only in areas permitted by the City's Zoning Ordinance." The Zoning Board of Appeals has the authority pursuant to Section 8.3.5 of the Zoning Ordinance to hear an appeal by aggrieved parties seeking to overturn a determination made by the administrative official charged with the enforcement of the Zoning Ordinance. The Board conducted a duly-noticed Public Hearing on this appeal on May 20, 2019,June 17, 2019 and July 8, 2019. In addition,the Board reviewed and considered information submitted by Artisanal,the public and the City's Officials and Staff DECISION: The Building Inspector/Zoning Officer is responsible for administration and enforcement of the provisions of both the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (the"State Building Code") and the City Code. The City Code includes the Zoning Ordinance as well as separate provisions requiring permits or licenses for specific activities. In the situation here,the tasting/tap room qualifies as a small assembly space under the State Building Code so long as it has an"occupant load of less than 50 persons and accessory to another occupancy". If it had a greater capacity it would be classified as a separate"Assembly"occupancy and would be subject to additional requirements under both the State Building Code and the City Code, including an Eating and Drinking Establishment License. Neither tasting room nor tap room are defined or used in the Zoning Ordinance. A tasting/tap room is a usual and customary operation associated with a brewery. The tasting/tap room is located on the premises of the brewery's production facilities and an area at which guests may sample the brewery's products. As such, it can reasonably be considered an incidental and subordinate part of the brewery's operation. Sale of hops and beer related products and crafts within Artisanal's tasting/tap room area of the Premises can also be considered incidental and subordinate to the operation of the brewery. An Eating and Drinking Establishment Permit is not required for these limited activities and they are not prohibited even though Eating and Drinking Establishments are not a permitted use in the IND-G Zoning District. Retail sale of items not incidental and subordinate to the operation of the brewery are prohibited. Retail is not listed as a permitted use in the IND-G Zoning District. In general,uses that are specifically addressed in the Zoning Ordinance but are prohibited by virtue of not being permitted in a particular Zoning District cannot be conducted without a use variance or pursuant to a permit or license. City Code Section 199A-9 specifies this requirement in connection with issuance of Special Event permits, stating that no rights are conferred upon permit holders to conduct any activity in violation of the Zoning Ordinance. Section 199A-9 further specifies that it is the responsibility of the permit holder to determine if the activity complies with the applicable zoning laws. Similarly, as noted above and addressed in the November 23RD Notice of Violation, licenses for outdoor vending on private property"shall be issued only in areas permitted by the City's Zoning Ordinance." Neither "food truck"nor"vending"are defined or specifically mentioned in the Zoning Ordinance. However,whether included under the category Eating and Drinking Establishment or Concession Stand, outdoor vending via food truck is not included as a permitted use in the IND-G Zoning District. Certain activities Artisanal seeks to conduct at the Premises are defined and/or used in the Zoning Ordinance, are not incidental and subordinate to the use of the Premises as a bottling plant, are not permitted uses under the Zoning Ordinance and are subject to City Code requirements for permits and licenses. As noted above, and in the determination appealed from, these uses include but are not limited to food trucks (Vendors Permit) and Christmas tree sales (Special Event Permit). As stated in the determination appealed from, the Staff of the Accounts Department, Planning Department and Building Department are available to review ideas for future activities of Artisanal before they are scheduled. This might ensure that the appropriate permits and licenses could potentially be issued in a timely manner for activities that might be conducted on the Premises by Artisanal or others,but might not be incidental and subordinate to the operation of the brewery by Artisanal. Accordingly, the November 26, 2018 determination of the Assistant Building Inspector/Zoning Officer is upheld and affirmed. Adopted by the following vote: AYES: 5 (S. Morris, B. Gallagher,K. O'Connor, B. Moore, C. Grey) NAYE S: 0 Dated: July 22, 2019 I hereby certify the above to be a full,true and correct copy of a resolution duly adopted by the Zoning Board of Appeals of the City of Saratoga Springs on the date above mentioned, five members of the Board being present. li 0 k+7~ s L SIGNATURE: mow_ 4-s. � 07/23/2019 r CHAIR DATE RECEIVED BY ACCOUNTS DEPT.