Steve Burns
WMAL.com
ROCKVILLE, Md. – (WMAL) As breweries continue popping up around Montgomery County, county officials are now hoping to see similar growth among wineries in some of the county’s more rural areas.
County Council President Hans Riemer announced legislation this week aimed at clarifying zoning rules and other policies to encourage wineries to set up shop in the county’s Agricultural Reserve.
“Today, the zoning code is a little murky,” Riemer told reporters. “We have found that wine makers, the ones that we have, have had very conflicting views about what rules they think that they are actually operating under today.”
Riemer said “related business functions” have proven to be particularly tricky, as wineries attempt to host large-scale events like a wedding.
“I’ve always wondered why we didn’t have more wineries in Montgomery County,” Riemer said, mentioning the sterling reputation of wineries just across the river in Virginia. “I had always figured it must because our soil and our climate are somehow different. I’ve recently learned that’s not the case…it has a lot more to do with policies, procedures, and maybe perspective on how welcoming we might be to an industry here.”
Greg Glenn, founder and CEO of Rocklands Farm in Poolesville, has found that out firsthand. He has had to forge new ground operating one of the county’s few wineries.
“For better or for worse, we’ve kind of been the tip of the spear in terms of figuring out what’s up and what’s down with the county, and what we can do and not do,” Glenn told WMAL. “It really is kind of a novel thing for their current setup.”
There are challenges to operating a winery, including startup costs and grape growth in the area, but Glenn said Montgomery County’s industry should still be thriving just as Loudoun County’s across the river is.
“I don’t know why else besides zoning that it wouldn’t be something that could’ve taken off a while ago,” he said.
Should the bill pass, it could result in more competition for Glenn, but he said he would welcome it.
“We’re big supporters of free market capitalism,” he said. “If more businesses like this pop up, I think it would be for the better.”
Some may be concerned about the potential effects of more activity and traffic in the county’s Agricultural Reserve, set aside in 1980 to maintain farmland and a more bucolic setting in the ever-growing county. But Riemer said they are working to mitigate the impacts, including setting a 300-person limit for any events without a longer approval process.
Glenn said more businesses in the Ag Reserve could even serve as an engine for historic preservation, mentioning a 150-year-old barn his team refurbished. However, he said it only happened after a protracted conversation with different factions in the county over fire safety, preservation, handicap accessibility, and more.
“What we’re trying to do is protect the economic opportunity for farmers,” he said. “Open farmland with old buildings doesn’t really mean much if they’re not in operation.”
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