Suzy Ageton George Karakehian KC Becker Tim ... - City of Boulder

adjacent industrial site (Attachment G). These concerns were raised after representatives of the
brewery met with school representatives about a preliminary concept plan for the site that would
include a brewery and restaurant. (Since that initial meeting, the brewing company has
submitted a Concept Plan to the city for review.) At a meeting with city staff on October 10,
2011, school representatives noted that they had met with brewery representatives several times
to discuss the plan and work through their concerns. They also indicated that they feel that it is
important for the city to adopt a 500-foot buffer requirement between any brewery and a school.
Representatives of the school also spoke during Public Participation at the November 15, 2011
City Council meeting and provided the following additional comments on the proposed
amendments:
� The proposed ordinance would not be consistent with the intent of state law. The city
should be consistent with state law regarding retail liquor licenses and require breweries
to be at least 500 feet from any school.
� Tap rooms have evolved into “complexes” and may continue to evolve. What if the
restaurant becomes a sports bar?
� Festivals at the brewery would have an impact on after-school and weekend productions
at the school.
BACKGROUND
The Front Range of Colorado and the nation are experiencing substantial growth in the craft
brewing, micro-distilling and urban winemaking industries. Until the past couple of decades,
nearly all malt, spirituous and vinous liquors in the U.S. were produced by very large companies
or, in the case of wineries, concentrated in agricultural regions suitable for grape production. A
small number of micro-distilleries began emerging in the 2000s with an emphasis on small, local
production of unique, handcrafted spirits and liquors.
The brewery and distillery industries, however, are no longer dominated by a small number of
large producers. The industry is now largely characterized by small entrepreneurial businesses
serving localized or regional markets and communities. Most of the local manufacturers begin
with very low production volumes and sell their products primarily to local retailers, or directly
to the consumer from their manufacturing sites.
A micro-brewery or “craft” beer brewery is a small, independent and traditional brewery which
focuses on producing distinctive beers from traditional ingredients like malted barley. Craft
brewers are distinguished from the large nation-wide breweries by their innovative and
individualistic approaches to beer making.
According to the Brewer’s Association, a national trade group representing the craft brewing
industry and located in Boulder, there has been an exponential growth in demand for craft beer
just over the past few years. The number of craft brewers in the U.S. has gone from eight in
1980 to over 1,790 today with an increase of approximately 165 breweries since June 2010 (see
Figure 2 below). The Brewers Association also lists 725 breweries in planning throughout the
country today compared to 389 a year ago.
Agenda Item 5B Page 12