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Council hears zoning and land-use changes to accommodate breweries and Orono Brewing expansion
Summary
The council held public hearings on (a) adding a brewery definition to the land-use ordinance and (b) rezoning parcels to allow Orono Brewing to expand; planning staff said the changes clarify brewery classification and permit future wholesale and storage expansion while aiming to limit retail impacts on neighbors.
At public hearings the council heard two land-use proposals from planner EJ Roach: one to add a "brewery" definition to chapter 18 and another to rezone parcels to bring Orono Brewing (OBC) into compliance and allow modest expansion. Roach said breweries often blend manufacturing, restaurant and retail uses and that the definition would make review and permitted uses clearer.
On the rezoning request, Roach explained the parcels (tax map 312 Lots 26A, 28, 29B) are currently in an MDR zone; rezoning to Commercial C2 would remove a nonconforming status and allow OBC to expand storage and wholesale operations. "They are currently leasing space in a neighboring community because they have outgrown their space for storage. So we'd like to bring that space back into Orno," Roach said. The planning board recommended the changes and the council scheduled action at a later meeting.
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