Porter County approves rezoning so Four Corners Winery can continue operations without recurring variances

The Porter County Board of Commissioners approved a commercial medium (CM) rezoning for Four Corners Winery and Wedding Venue on second reading and adopted written commitments limiting some normally permitted CM uses.

Petitioner Deian Sasser, who identified herself as the business owner, said the business has operated under successive variances since about 2011 and requested CM zoning so the operation would not need five‑year variance renewals. Sasser asked that "raising a farm and exotic animals" be included on the permitted‑use list to allow freerange chickens on the property; she said she does not plan to keep exotic animals but wanted the category included for small‑scale agricultural uses.

Staff described an exhibit that overlays the requested permitted uses and highlighted the uses explicitly removed from the CM list in the written commitments; those removed uses include night‑intensive commercial operations such as single‑screen movie theaters, tattoo parlors and certain drive‑through restaurants. Commissioners and staff discussed whether winery or brewery activities fall under existing categories such as "restaurant," "banquet hall" or "retail low intensity;" legal counsel and staff said the combination of agricultural, banquet and retail categories covers the winery's existing operations and that additional specificity could cause unanticipated complications.

After clarifying the permitted uses and adding the requested agricultural use, a motion to approve the rezoning passed by voice vote.

Next steps: The written commitments will be recorded with the ordinance; staff instructed the petitioner to obtain any necessary permits (for example, driveway or entrance paving) through county offices.