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By Gerald Ochs
Rappahannock News Writer
Judge Jeffrey Parker of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit Court recently ruled on the case brought by William Stewart of Bardo Brewery against the Rappahannock County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA). Judge Parker’s decision appears to be a reversal of County Zoning Administrator John McCarthy’s decision, upheld by the BZA at their February 2002 meeting, but the final outcome of the case is dependent upon the Court order expected on Nov. 13, upon clarifications sought by the County, and upon the result of any appeal by the County of the Court’s decision—should the County seek to appeal that decision.
The issue came to the fore when Mr. McCarthy ordered that sales of beer at the brewery be stopped because such sales were not in accordance with the Zoning Ordinance and because the brewery’ was originally permitted if “There will be no sale of products on site, at this time; and the grain residue will be fed to cattle or other livestock.”
Mr. Stewart appealed the Zoning Administrator’s decision before the BZA on Feb. 27 of this year, contending that his brewery was analogous to a farm winery and should therefore be permitted to conduct tastings and onsite sales for onand-off premises consumption. He told the Board that his use of spring water at the brewery site in Amissville amounted to more than eighty percent of the finished product and that, combined with the disposal of the brewery grain waste by feeding it to cattle, equated to the farm winery requirement that more than fifty percent of the materials used in the product be grown on the farm.
He also noted that Virginia ABC and Federal ATF both make no distinction between breweries and wineries and, in the absence of a definition of a brewery in Rappahannock County ordinances, he contended that the equivalency should stand as well in the County.
Mr. McCarthy produced communications that indicated that Mr. Stewart had committed, in 1997, to a brewery that would produce a product to be shipped out-of-County and that would not engage in any form of onsite sales.”
The BZA voted unanimously
93.5%