USA, NY: Hawley Brewing Co. to proceed with construction after board’s vote

A proposed nano-brewery and tasting room along the Erie Canal in Pittsford will proceed after a decision by the village's Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported on January 4.

The board voted on January 3 to deny an appeal by the village trustees. It upheld a determination by the then-village building inspector that cleared the way for the Hawley Brewing Co. at 50 State St. near Schoen Place.

Village trustees voted by a 4-0 margin to appeal the building inspector's decision in October. Trustee Dan Keating abstained. The next step will be for the brewery to secure building permits, project attorney Don Young said.

Co-owner/head brewer Clay Killian couldn't hide his relief and excitement. He said they're looking forward to working with other businesses in the area.

"I'm in awe. I'm shocked right now," Killian said. "I had no idea that this was going to go in this direction. I'm very excited."

The proposed project would renovate an existing building and occupy less than 1,500 square feet at Northfield Commons. But the village currently has a moratorium on new construction projects as it works to update its comprehensive plan. The plan was last updated in 2002.

Both sides, Young and the Pittsford village attorney, Jeff Turner, presented their cases to the board of appeals last month and again Thursday.

Developers and brewery owners want to open a tasting room and nano-brewery near the Erie Canal. At 1,500 square feet, the entire space would be smaller than Three Heads Brewing's tasting room in Neighborhood of the Arts. It would be the second smallest brewery in Monroe County. Only Iron Tug Brewing in Rochester is smaller.

Brewery co-owner Bryan Meyer told the board that they have no plans to renovate the exterior of the building. Instead, work on the vacant building would be limited to interior renovations. There are also no plans for outdoor seating or a desire to host live music, Meyer added.

Meyer stressed a desire to become part of the community fabric in the village. Killian echoed those sentiments.

"To me, the public house is what this country is built on," Killian said. "Everybody is coming together as a community in the pubs and the breweries. All I'm looking to do is to get people together to enjoy some craft beer."

The village’s current moratorium on new construction, however, has halted most commercial developments.

"The problem with the building inspector’s determination, this was not a use that was specifically called out in our code," Village Mayor Robert Corby said last month.

In its filing to the board of appeals, trustees said the brewery is prohibited by village code.

Young said his clients are just looking for clarity. In a September letter to trustees, Young wrote, "The village is primed to take a position that, indeed, the brewery is not allowed at all."

The brewery proposal was first presented to village trustees in March 2017.

The village's Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals heard from both parties in a two-hour meeting in December. Thursday's meeting lasted 90 minutes and the board of appeals determined that it was only responsible for considering whether or not the production of beer constituted an agricultural process (from agricultural products).

The former village building inspector ruled this to be the case, and then OK'd the project, because the village zoning code allows for projects of this nature in a commercially zoned development.

One zoning board member remarked, “My dad said tie goes to the runner. And that still holds here.”

Hawley Brewing would be the first brewery in the village to brew on-site. Lock 32 Brewing, which is roughly 1,000 feet away from Hawley, produces beer through a contract brewing agreement with Honeoye Falls-based CB Craft Brewers.

Paul Leone, executive director of the New York State Brewers Association, appeared at the meeting to voice support for the project.

"You have towns on Long Island and other parts of the state that don't really understand what a craft brewery is and what they bring to a community," Leone said. "I think a lot of people think craft breweries are bars, and they're not. They're really, more or less, a gathering place, of locals, of tourists, of families, and I think that it takes situations like this to kind of make town and village boards understand really what a craft brewery is."

Village officials have vowed to continue discussions about amending and updating the comprehensive plan during 2019. They say they want smart growth and want to make sure neighborhoods in the village remain "livable and desirable."

07 January, 2019