Concerts

Concerts

From Page A1

per month. He is suggesting that attendance at the events be capped at 150 persons. In the winter months, any events would be contained in the winery’s tasting house and therefore be much smaller.

McCarthy is recommending that the permit not be approved. Ashby Road (Route 608) and Woodward Road (Route 600) are inadequate to deal with the traffic flow that would be caused by the events, he said.

“While I applaud the applicant for meeting with those most directly impacted by his proposal (his neighbors) and the resulting offered conditions that he proposes, I cannot resolve in my mind the question of access,” McCarthy wrote in his recommendation to the planning commission ' and the Board of Supervisors. “They would double the existing average daily traffic volume on narrow, unimproved roads.”

Hallberg has proposed several limitations and conditions, which he believes will mitigate potential impacts on neighbors. He is agreeing to provide paid security personnel for events with more than 75 attendees, to keep neighbors and the Rappahannock County Sheriff’s Office informed about the event schedule and attempt to avoid scheduling events when neighbors have conflicts for a specific date. Events will end by midnight at the latest, according to his application.

He is also agreeing to limit noise to a specified decibel level and to host no more than one show with electric instruments per season. Hallberg said he thinks one show in particular may have stimulated the complaints this past summer. The event included a reggae band called Street Legal, which plays electric instruments that produce louder music than the acoustic shows he usually books.

John Bridgeman, Hallberg’s neighbor across Ashby Road, has agreed to allow parking for the events in a field on his property. Hallberg said he will place cones and signs along Ashby Road to discourage attendees from parking in the street.

Hallberg said the permit is simply part of a progression that has happened at the Smokehouse. He said he typically has four annual events at the meadery, where he makes honey wine and hard ciders, and three to five more musical shows. As the events have become more popular and he has met more national and regional musicians, the number and size of events have grown.

Also, if the band is better known - and more expensive to book - he needs more people to attend to cover the cost. He said he realizes the hollow holds a finite capacity; that’s why he suggested capping attendance at 150.

The Smokehouse is also a good venue for local musicians, he said. “Nearly every musician m the county has played here.”

The F.T. Valley has been a relative hotbed recently for special-exception permits involving event venues.

In November, the Board of Supervisors approved a permit for Roger and Sophie Scruton to use their 18thcentury mansion Montpelier as a setting for weddings, conferences and similar