A King County ordinance that would create a pilot program to allow alcohol tasting rooms and production in unincorporated areas was sent back to committee after a lengthy public hearing.<\/p>\n
The ordinance<\/a> in question would allow tasting rooms for wineries, breweries and distilleries to operate in three areas of the county at first, but if successful, the program could set precedent for code across King County. In particular, the ordinance is dealing with several tasting rooms that have set up in recent years just outside of the Woodinville tourism district. While the tourism district is zoned to support tasting rooms, under current county code, several of the tasting rooms in unincorporated King County are not allowed.<\/p>\n The public hearing packed the council chambers and led to more than a three-hour meeting as supporters and detractors of the ordinance voiced their concerns. The sides roughly broke down to winery, brewery and distillery owners who hoped the ordinance passed — and neighbors and farmers who were worried it could open the door for development and contamination for farmland across the county.<\/p>\n A representative of the Castillo De Feliciana winery asked the council to pass the ordinance, allow parking to be accommodated at current levels, and extend their hours of operation past a 7 p.m. cutoff on weekdays. Several other business owners expressed frustration and concern that while they were trying to come into compliance with interim permitting rules, it seemed that King County staff was constantly changing their regulations.<\/p>\n Several farmers also showed up to voice concerns that allowing these pilot programs to continue could eventually open the door for land speculators to purchase normally cheap farmland, therefore driving up the cost of land and pricing small farmers out of the market.<\/p>\n The council ultimately decided to send the ordinance to the Committee of the Whole for further discussion at a date yet to be decided.<\/p>\n “We will make sure the public knows what the schedule is,” said council chairman Rod Dembowski.<\/p>\n