Glocester council approves Mulberry Vineyards’ 2025 outdoor events with new limits after neighborhood objections

The Glocester Town Council on Nov. 21 approved Mulberry Vineyards’ applications to hold 24 individually licensed outdoor events in 2025 — 8 farmers markets, 5 festivals and 11 live‑music events — while explicitly denying any weddings and adding conditions intended to limit neighborhood impacts.

The council’s motion, approved after a public hearing and extended discussion, restricts live music to Saturdays or Sundays between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., requires application filings at least six business days before each event, a crowd‑management and parking plan for every event, chief of police and fire chief approval, and a prohibition on on‑street parking along the nearby Town/Long/Putnam Road corridors. The approvals run from April through November and treat any amplified outdoor music as a special event that counts against the venue’s total allotment.

The decision followed sustained public opposition from nearby residents who said past amplified performances carried into surrounding yards and that a residential neighborhood is an inappropriate place for expanded evening or wedding events. “This is a residential area,” resident Robert Rogers told the council during public comment, asking why the vineyard sought expanded evening hours and weddings.

Mulberry’s representatives said they sought flexibility to schedule events earlier and later in the season and that they would comply with permitting, public‑safety and zoning requirements. Tim Roehacker, the attorney representing Hill Farm LLC/Mulberry (who introduced documents submitted to the state inspector), told the council he had spoken with the Division inspector and was informed “there would be no punitive action taken against the license holder,” and that the farm brewer license would not be subject to enforcement action at this time.

Councilors and residents debated whether wedding ceremonies and receptions would constitute an expansion of the farm’s permitted use under zoning. Several council members said they were not comfortable approving weddings pending any required zoning review; the final motion set weddings to zero for 2025 and left the zoning question to the appropriate agencies.

Neighbors called out specific incidents from the prior season, including an amplified performance they described as a 14‑piece band that carried into evenings and across several properties; several commenters and council members said they were willing to allow daytime festivals and farmers markets to continue, but wanted stricter caps on evening and large amplified shows.

The council’s motion passed by voice vote after the second and carried the conditions listed above. The approval includes an explicit rescission clause: the council may rescind event permissions for cause and each event remains subject to police and fire review before it may occur.

The council’s action leaves enforcement and permit compliance to the police, fire and building/zoning officials; any applicant that later seeks weddings would be required to return for separate review or to pursue zoning approval.