Board OKs ordinance change for proposed brewery

Planned Blueprint Brewing Company to occupy industrial building

A proposed brewery in Towamencin is another step closer, and one last approval could come next month.

The township supervisors voted Wednesday night to approve an ordinance change to allow sales at their proposed brewery, while tabling their conditional use application for a later meeting.

“What the applicant is proposing here is to allow retail sales in connection with a brewery, as a conditional use, in the limited industrial district, subject to certain conditions,” said attorney Kim Freimuth on behalf of Blueprint Brewing Company.

Since April, a group of co-owners have proposed plans to convert roughly 6,400 square feet inside an industrial building on Gehman Road into a brewery with a seating and serving area surrounded by taps, and at least one food truck to be parked outside. Last month the co-owners detailed the approvals they would need from the board: the ordinance allowing sales with a brewery use, which had not been written in the township’s codes, and a separate conditional use approval.

“As you probably know, micro-breweries are booming right now, and this is a great reuse of what is currently vacant industrial, limited industrial space,” Freimuth said.

“By allowing this as a conditional use, it allows this board to attach appropriate conditions, but it also allows this reuse of the property, in an area where it’s appropriate for both manufacturing, and for the general public to come for retail sales,” she said.

Township codes currently allow food processing as a permitted use, as well as manufacturing and packaging of non-alcoholic beverages, but the change would remove “non-alcoholic” to allow sales of any beverage, and allow retail sales so long as they are separated from the manufacturing.

“Of course, this amendment is going to impact your entire limited industrial district,” she said, which is located in the northwestern quarter of the township.

Food trucks and outdoor seating for eating would also be permitted under the ordinance change, “so long as the township is satisfied the use would not adversely affect or impact neighboring properties,” Freimuth told the board.

After hearing details of the proposed ordinance, the supervisors held a brief hearing, with the only audience question having to do with whether the new code was advertised online as well as in print. The board also opened a second hearing on the conditional use approval for the brewery request, but tabled that hearing; township Solicitor Jack Dooley said that was done because part of the application were not fully complete.

“The reason for that is there are a couple of items we still need to put into the record at that hearing, and those items are not available. They will be by the 13th,” Dooley said.

The board voted unanimously to approve the ordinance change, and supervisors Chairman chuck Wilson said “We’ll see you on the 13th” for the conditional use approval.

“We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” co-owner Cory McDonald said.

For more information on Blueprint Brewing Company, visit www.BlueprintBrewCo.com, search for “Blueprint Brewing Company” on Facebook or follow @Blueprint_Brews on Twitter.

“What the applicant is proposing here is to allow retail sales in connection with a brewery, as a conditional use, in the limited industrial district, subject to certain conditions.” — Attorney Kim Freimuth on behalf of Blueprint Brewing Company