For the second time in as many years, Carolyn’s Sakonnet Vineyards’ attempt to obtain a Class B retail beverage license has been put on hold.

As was the case last April, the winery’s application was deferred after the Little Compton Town Council last week agreed that the license would breach current zoning ordinances, as the establishment is a legal non-conforming use in the residential zone in which it sits.

The vineyard, which occupies about 150 acres of land along West Main Road, has been in operation for nearly 50 years. Its operations include a tasting room, vineyard tours, and a dining area where food can be grabbed on the go. Despite having a kitchen and offering prepared food, the establishment is not considered a restaurant.

The winery's recent application, if approved, would have changed that, allowing the establishment to serve beer, spirits, and offer an expanded eat-in restaurant menu.

“The purpose of the license would be to allow us to expand our menu,” said Cynthia Rocha, the vineyard’s general manager.

“We see an opportunity to utilize an expanded menu, to introduce Sakonnet Vineyard to those who would not normally visit ... because they ‘don’t like wine,” she wrote in the the application.

Neighbors opposed

As was the case last year, the application inspired objections from townspeople, mostly from those neighboring the vineyard’s property. 

Amy Veri, of West Main Road, spoke before the council on the matter, something she said she has done “countless times” since Sakonnet Vineyard’s current owners assumed the business around a decade ago.

“There has been an infringement on my property rights caused by the vineyard, most recently including projecting an obnoxious level of sound onto my property,” she said.

“As a directly impacted neighbor who has to contend with this, I do not wish to obstruct their ability to use their agricultural land, but this is a far cry from agricultural use,” she said. But “it’s time that the council hold the vineyard accountable. They haven’t done anything that [the council] has asked them to do over the last decade. Nothing. They haven’t turned down the volume, they haven’t curtailed their activities. So why give them even more leash?”

Councilor Gary Mataronas said he's heard similar complaints, “but what I’m being told — (that) you can’t even sit in your house, the windows are being blown out — I just don’t see that.”

Current zoning won't allow it

Letters to the council from former councilor Larry Anderson cite correspondence from the previous zoning official, who stated that according to the town’s zoning ordinance, a restaurant — what the vineyard would become if the license were granted — is not permitted in a residential zone. He recommended that the license not be granted if the zoning ordinances are to remain the same.

Little Compton's recently appointed solicitor agreed.

“In order for the council to entertain an application of this nature, the ordinance would have to be amended in some fashion,” Anthony DeSisto said. “With the zoning ordinance the town has now, this isn’t a permitted use. And because it isn’t a permitted use, the application for a BV license can’t be permitted for restaurant use.”

DeSisto said that going forward, Sakonnet Vineyards could petition to change the ordinance or that the change could be initiated by the council itself. From there, the planning board would determine if the change complies with the town’s comprehensive plan. Finally, the amended ordinance would undergo a public hearing and a vote by the town council.

For now, though, the topic has been shelved until further notice, but is expected to return to the town council’s agenda in the coming months.