Council approves 1st reading on expansion of areas allowing breweries

Micro-distilleries added to ordinance

Simpsonville, S.C. — Simpsonville City Council moved one step closer on Tuesday to expanding the area inside city limits in which breweries and brewpubs are allowed to operate.

City Council voted 7-0 at its business meeting to approve first reading of Ordinance TX-2021-01, which would make a number of refinements or changes to the Simpsonville Zoning Ordinance. The proposed refinements include permitting breweries and brewpubs inside the zoning district of general business, or Business-General District (B-G).

Planning & Economic Development Director Jason Knudsen said that allowance of micro-distilleries in B-G was added as a refinement to the ordinance after the February Committee of the Whole meeting, in which Council advanced the ordinance to the business meeting agenda. Knudsen said micro-breweries produce alcohol like breweries and has the same setbacks and distance requirements.

"The big difference would be instead of a restaurant requirement, (micro-distilleries) would have a retail requirement," Knudsen told Council.

Whereas micro-distilleries must be attached to retail establishments to operate in B-G under the proposed ordinance, regular breweries must be attached to restaurant establishments; both retail and restaurant establishments are currently permitted in the zoning district of general business.

The proposed ordinance consists of amendments to the text of the zoning ordinance. Each year the Planning & Economic Development Department reviews the zoning ordinance to identify language in need of removal or change or new language to be added.

In addition to the inclusion of breweries, brewpubs and micro-distilleries to B-G, Ordinance TX-2021-01 proposes the following changes:

• Adding discretion for the Planning Commission on driveway size
• Allowing administrative offices for construction services by right for specified districts
• Requiring outdoor music to conform to the Simpsonville Code of Ordinances
• Adding "high-quality architectural metal" to allowed building finish materials
• Requiring Simpsonville residency or business ownership by members of the Board of Zoning Appeals
• Aligning rules for measuring distances for alcohol sales with state law
• Excluding shipping containers and pods from "building definition" and description of building use

For the proposed changes to be made to the zoning ordinance, Council must approve by a simple majority second reading of Ordinance TX-2021-01 at its business meeting on April 13. Council next meets March 23 at 6:30 p.m. via an online meeting service to be live streamed on the City of Simpsonville YouTube Channel.