South Kingstown council approves zoning change allowing small ‘brewpub’ use in Matunick Village

The South Kingstown Town Council on Jan. 13 adopted a zoning text and map amendment that creates a Matunick-focused “CN‑M” commercial neighborhood district and defines and regulates small-scale “brewpub” operations as an accessory use to restaurants in that district.

Supporters said the change is designed to allow a test-scale brewing operation at an existing Matunick restaurant while preserving neighborhood character and protecting municipal utilities. Opponents raised concerns about parking, traffic and alcohol-related safety at the narrow, heavily used Matunick Beach Road corridor.

Planning Director Jamie Rabbit told the council the amendment grew from a multi-month planning board review and from questions about how breweries had been classified historically. “Present breweries in town were classified under food processing,” Rabbit said, and that made it hard to regulate them as a distinct use. The amendment creates a clear brewery/brewpub definition and a new CN‑M label that would apply only where the town and the applicant agree it fits the Matunick neighborhood.

Attorney Matthew Landry, representing applicant Tide Storm LLC and property owner Kevin Finnegan, described the proposal as narrowly drawn to allow “brewpubs” — brewing incidental to an on-site restaurant — not industrial-scale breweries. “This is not a use that changes the character of anything,” Landry said, adding the brewpub standard follows state licensing practice and town planning suggestions.

The ordinance includes several specific limits and requirements: a brewing equipment capacity limit of seven barrels (one barrel = 31 gallons, roughly one keg), a state‑aligned requirement that at least 40% of product brewed on-site be sold at the brewpub, and a mandatory wastewater management plan that would prohibit discharge into the municipal system. Public Services Director Rich Bourbonnais and planning staff worked with the applicant to require off‑site disposal of brewery wastewater rather than allowing direct discharge to the town sewer system; Bourbonnais told the council that the town’s wastewater treatment plant could otherwise face processing challenges and potential costly upgrades.

Neighbors and other residents questioned parking and safety. Several speakers described heavy weekend congestion on Matunick Beach Road and called for additional parking, traffic management or other mitigation before approving any new alcohol‑serving uses. Linda (last name on file), a Matunick resident, said: “Parking is horrible. If you come down there on a Saturday or a Sunday, it’s so hard to park.” Planning staff and the applicant said parking and circulation requirements remain part of the separate development review and permitting process and would be evaluated during planning board review and building permitting.

Applicant Kevin Finnegan and his operations manager described the proposed brewpub as a small test kitchen intended to brew on-site for the pizza shop property only, with a modest staff (they estimated one to three employees for the brewpub operation) and the option, if a product proves successful, to upscale production at an industrial site outside of Matunick under separate licensing and manufacturing rules. Finnegan said the Village already supplies many seasonal jobs and that the brewpub would be limited by the site footprint: “It really could never turn into a larger operation,” he told the council.

After the public hearing, the council voted to adopt the ordinance as presented and to accept the planning board’s findings of fact and consistency with the comprehensive plan. Council members noted the amendment was the first step: a successful text and map change allows applicants to apply for development plan review, building permits and liquor licensing; it does not itself grant a permit to construct or operate a brewpub.

What’s next: The change requires any future brewpub applicant in CN‑M to file a development plan, a wastewater management plan and other documents for planning review and licensing. If the brewpub operator later wants to produce at larger scale, the applicant would need a separate manufacturing license in a zoning district that allows industrial brewing.