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Planning commission will ask zoning board to limit hours, noise and operations at Just About Winery
Summary
The commission recommended approval of a special-exception request for the Just About Road winery subject to staff site and procedural conditions and asked the zoning hearing board to set operational limits (hours, noise, lighting and parking) to protect neighbors.
The Peters Township Planning Commission on June 11 voted to recommend the special-exception request for the Just About Road winery subject to staff’s recommended site and procedural conditions, and asked the zoning hearing board to impose specific operational limits to protect nearby residents.
Staff described the property’s history: an accessory garage and vineyard were established years ago and the site evolved into a winery and tasting room with occasional small events. Because the use shifted to a place-of-assembly open to the public, staff presented a set of conditions the commission could recommend to the zoning hearing board. Items 1–6 cover procedural and site requirements (building and occupancy permits, occupancy calculations, subdivision/land-development sequencing, septic verification and highway-occupancy updates); items 7–11 are operational controls such as hours, noise/sound screening, lighting and parking that directly affect neighborhood quality.
Neighbors expressed mixed views. Some nearby property owners said the venue has been a beneficial, low-key neighbor; others warned against allowing expansion into a larger event center. Larry Waters told the commission he feared an event-center conversion and asked that conditions limit such growth. The applicant’s representatives emphasized they had planted vineyards, obtained septic approvals and were sensitive to neighborhood impacts, saying they do not seek amplified late-night events.
Commission action: a commissioner moved that the planning commission recommend approval subject to staff recommendations 1–6 and request that the zoning hearing board impose specific operational conditions for items 7–11; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The commission also accepted written neighbor suggestions collected by a resident and directed staff to include them in the zoning hearing board docket.
What’s next: the zoning hearing board will consider special-exception approval and may adopt specific operational limits; a future site-plan submission would return to the planning commission for site-level review if the special exception is granted.
