Xerxes Wilson

The News Journal

Newark city government has opened the door to potential craft brewers and distillers setting up shop.



Earlier this week, the Newark City Council approved new regulations that would allow beer brewing or alcohol distilling businesses to locate in the city potentially with tasting rooms and outdoor drinking areas.

"It is the wave of the future," City Councilman Todd Ruckle said.



Before the change, building rules didn't allow beer brewing as a primary function of a business. Beer production was allowed only as an accessory use for full-service restaurants like Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant on Main Street.

"Many of the business owners we talk about are not interested in that model. They are interested more in the distribution and higher production," Michael Fortner, principal planner for Newark, told the City Council on Monday. "They are interested in the craft brewery aspect of it, not running a restaurant."



The regulations passed unanimously by the City Council give entrepreneurs seeking to establish a brewery or distillery the opportunity to seek a special permit from the council for such an operation. The City Council would have the discretion to approve the permits as well as approve or deny permission for associated tasting rooms or outdoor drinking areas.



"Delaware has several of these microbreweries," Fortner said. "It has kind of become a hotbed in Delaware."

Last year, Constitution Yards, a beer garden on the Riverfront in Wilmington, was granted approval to operate for two years after a number of stop-gap temporary licenses were issued by regulators. In Yorklyn, Dew Point Brewing Co. opened a microbrewery in a former snuff mill in August. Smyrna has also seen a wave of craft beer businesses locate in town.



Nationally, the craft brewery industry contributes more than 400,000 jobs to the economy, according to the Brewers Association, a trade group.



City officials have said residents looking to form such businesses in the city have pushed the issue.

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Resident Kent Steeves previously told city officials he was looking to open a microbrewery that includes a taproom, beer garden and light food as well as space for food trucks.



"This is an economic development area," Steeves said.



The rules created by the city limit such businesses to establishing in certain zoning categories that are prominent in places other than Main Street, the center of the city's drinking hub.



If someone wanted to establish such an operation on Main Street or anywhere else where the zoning isn't appropriate, they'd need council permission for both the rezoning and the special permit for the business. The rules also limit the brewing and distilling capacity of such businesses.



"This is a great opportunity for us to bring more to the periphery of the city," Steeves said.

Some residents have expressed concern that the welcome mat would make the city, even more, a destination for drinking and encourage more underage binge drinking from University of Delaware students.



"If you have ever been to a craft brewery, we are not talking about beer priced at $2.50 pounders, and you don't, not in any I've been to, see craft beer used at beer pong," Steeves said.

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Ruckle said he frequently visits craft brew and distilling operations elsewhere and doesn't see the problem.



"It is creating a lot of local jobs, and nobody is going crazy or wild or running through the streets with their shirts off," Ruckle said.

Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter.