Santa Barbara County is looking at its first major update in more than a decade for requirements for establishing a new winery. County planners have held a number of community meetings to look at balancing efforts to establish new facilities with impacts like traffic, and noise with rural areas. The proposal includes a requirement that at least 51% of a proposed new winery’s wine production be from grapes grown on the property, or from Santa Barbara County. And, new wineries would have to be at least 10 acres in size to open an on-site tasting room. Wineries with larger acreage would be allowed to have expanded services, like on-site food preparation. County officials are hoping the new ordinance can deal with a number of issues which fall through the cracks with the current rules. County Supervisors will look at the proposal when they meet Tuesday.
Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.