Page 18 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch By JOANNE SHRINER OC Planners Endorse New Brewery STAFF WRITER January 10, 2014 FRIDAY: 50-CENT OYSTERS ALL DAY, ALL NIGHT SATURDAY: $15 ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT RIBS AND SHRIMP TUESDAY: 1/2-PRICE ALL CHICKEN ENTREES (CLOSED WEDNESDAY) LOCATED ON THE CORNER OF 28TH ST. AND COASTAL HWU. 410-289-2020WWW.PITANDPUB.COM OPEN MONDAY-THURSDAY 3 P.M. FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY 11 A.M. OCEAN CITY – The details on OC Brewing Company on 56th Street have emerged as the Planning and Zoning Commission deliberated their request for a Conditional Use this week for site plan approval to follow. On Tuesday evening, a public hearing was held before the Planning and Zoning Commission to consider a request of a Conditional Use in the LC-1, Local Commercial District, to permit a portion of a proposed establishment to engage in brewing. Concurrently, a preliminary site plan was reviewed of a proposed mixed-use project consisting of the wholesale brewery, restaurant and bar, and a retail area. OC Brewing Company is located in an existing 17,400-squarefoot building on 56th Street bayside and Coastal Highway. The building’s most recent use was Sassy Beachwear retail store but dates back to Adkins Hardware and Lumber Yard in the early 1970s when it was first approved as a Conditional Use in the LC-1 District. Immediately to the south of the location is the Best Western motel, to the southwest is Marisol Condominiums, further west are other residential units, and to the north is a commercial shopping center with Johnny’s Pizza as the immediate neighbor. The restaurant and bar that will seat over 200, and the attached gift shop will total about 9,000 square feet and will be located in the front of the building. The brewery taking up about 8,400 square feet and will be located in the back of the house. The brewery will be closed off to the public, but a glass window will be in place for the public to view brewing operations. There are 72 parking spaces on site with handicap parking in the front and primary parking along the south side of the building. Between the mixed-use of a brewery, restaurant/bar and retail space the tabulated amount of required parking was non-compliant, but the Board of Zoning Appeals ruled the required amount of parking for the brewery was in excess, because there will only be a handful of employees for the brewery, and granted a parking waiver. Mark Fesche, manager of the brewery, who has over 20 years of brewing experience starting as a keg washer moving up to brew master while working at multiple breweries, came before the commission to explain operations. The brewery will contain eight large brewing tanks and one 31foot grain silo. It will brew anywhere from 4-6 batches of craft beer a week, as it takes two weeks to ferment a batch, or one tank of beer. One batch equals at least 1,000 gallons of beer each week. Grain is estimated to be delivered by bulk truck once every 10 weeks and air blown into a silo. Batch waste, which is the leftover grain sediment once the batch is brewed, will be dumped into an outdoor container, which will be picked up promptly by local farmers to be used as feed for livestock. According to Fesche, odors and noise from brewing operations will not be offensive to neighbors. Outdoor brewery operations, such as filling the silo, will be no louder than a residential air conditioning unit, he said, and the odor is no more offensive then a bakery. The public hearing was closed with no public comments made. The Planning and Zoning Commission was generally pleased with the proposed use of the old Adkins property. “As far as the conditional use, I think it is a great use and I am looking forward to it,” said Commission member Peck Miller. “It will be wonderful for the Town of Ocean City.” Miller was concerned over the existing two entrance/exit points on Coastal Highway, and a challenge may arise between parking and deliveries. In having the operation be successful, he suggested installing an additional ingress/egress point on the backside of the property to create traffic circulation to avoid having a large truck parked on Coastal Highway to make a delivery or have to pull into the parking lot to take up parking that will then have to make a three-point turn or back up onto the highway to exit. Miller also urged the applicants to self-police the potential odor issue. “We should include in the Conditional Use that we are not liable,” he said. “We do not need to be policing it 24/7. You are bringing a new product in town, it is your product, you take care of it, and you can lose this Conditional Use if the odors are too abrasive.” Commission Member Lauren Taylor agreed the Conditional Use has changed due to the changes in the surrounding neighborhood as population has increased, and asked for the site plan to reflect that in providing a buffer from the community. Commission Chair Pam Buckley furthered 56th Street serves as buffer to the north but landscaping and fencing should be included to buffer neighbors to the south and west. Miller made a motion to forward a favorable recommendation to the Mayor and City Council to grant Conditional Use for the brewery in the LC-1 District based on several conditions including the offensive odors will be controlled, the waste container will be covered and all waste will be removed the day of brewing. In addition, the use and treatment of wastewater must be in compliance with Ocean City Wastewater and Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) requirements.