E-Malt.com News article: US, VA: Smith Mountain Lake microbrewery given green light

The Franklin County Planning Commission has voted to recommend that the board of supervisors approve rezoning to allow a microbrewery at Westlake Towne Center just west of Kroger. The vote was unanimous, with five commissioners present and two absent, SmithMountainLake.com reported on April, 13.

Jerome Parnell, owner of Lakeside Imports and Distributing, which owns the trademark rights to Dam Lager, an SML-inspired brew, told commissioners the 8,800-square-foot facility would be capable of “large-scale manufacturing.” He said the business plan outlines distribution in a three-state area.

The proposed brewery would be located on a 2.28-acre lot that is part of a 49.39-acre tract that has been slated for the expansion of Westlake Towne Center.

According to a presentation by Neil Holthouser, Franklin County’s director of planning and community development, the brewery would employ six full-time employees. It would operate Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and be open for visitors and retail sales Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“I like the idea of the brewery being here,” said Karen Hiltz, Gills Creek commissioner. “I think it’s a good location for it.”

She did, however, express reservations about a requested proffer and its associated deviations that pertained to the building’s signage.

One deviation would allow a roof-mounted sign, which the county codes don’t allow. Another would allow the sign to be 144 square feet; county code allows a maximum of 100.

Wendy Ralph, Union Hall commissioner, echoed Hiltz’s concerns. Ralph said she worried that allowing the deviations could set a precedent.

Ron Willard II, vice president of The Willard Companies, which developed Westlake Towne Center, said the sign deviations were requested because the petition also asks to amend the shopping center’s concept plan to allow for a 4,200-square-foot restaurant. He said the restaurant, which would not be built until a tenant is secured, would share a common wall with the brewery — the one facing Virginia 122. It would, he said, ultimately prevent motorists from seeing a building-front sign.

The commissioners encouraged Willard to seek other alternatives and voted unanimously to recommend the supervisors reject the sign deviation requests. The supervisors will hear the application at next month’s meeting.


15 April, 2011