Rural neighbors want quiet. Family vineyard seeks to grow. A fight brews near Eagle
Fights over development often echo with a common refrain: A property owner wants to change the conditions or structures on their land, and neighbors object.
But a battle between property owners north of Eagle represents a larger struggle in the Treasure Valley, one that pits agricultural use in rural areas against people seeking lives of quiet apart from the proliferation of subdivisions.
On a parcel of land off of Highway 55 in unincorporated Ada County, a family wants to turn their vineyard into a winery to sustain and grow a small agricultural operation — which the owners acknowledge is a tall order.
“Unless you have a direct path to a consumer, or a value-added product that you’re making out of your agriculture, it’s really hard to survive as a farm right now,” Hailey Minder, who owns 3100 Cellars along with her husband, Marshall, told the Idaho Statesman.
In recent years, a number of people have applied to open wineries in rural parts of Ada County, which includes a federally designated viticulture area.
After a months-long appeals process, the Minders appear likely to be able to produce wine — with restrictions — on their property. But requirements related to the sale of alcohol may mean they won’t be able to sell their product at the location.
On Wednesday, the Ada County Commissioners appeared likely to deny an appeal to the commission that opposed the Minders’ plan to produce wine on their property off Homer Road, north of Eagle.
Debate at the commissioners’ meeting pitted proponents of the local Treasure Valley winery against neighbors of the property, some of whom opposed having wine processing or social events on the premises.
The commissioners’ deliberations followed over two hours of testimony from the public. Their proposal would limit the times during which farming can occur, wine tastings can be hosted and deliveries to the vineyard can be made.
Though the three commissioners appeared to agree on these conditions and their intentions to allow the introduction of a winery to the property, a formal vote on the conditional use permit was tabled until June 28.
But even with the permitting, Ada County code requires the winery’s owners to obtain the approval of 75% of their closest neighbors before they can sell alcohol.
Couple plans for winery north of Eagle
The Minders operate the 10-acre vineyard on North Artemisa Lane, a few miles west of Highway 55. The vineyard — which grows three kinds of grapes — sits on a hillside among farms and single-family homes.
The Minders, who live in Boise, operate their winery in Garden City and say it is Idaho’s first and only sparkling winery. The couple rent space from Telaya Wine Co., which sits along the Boise River.
In 2016, Hailey Minder said, her parents purchased the plot on North Artemisa Lane. They planted a vineyard in 2017.
“The way (my parents) felt like they could be part of our business was by helping to grow the grapes and kind of have an estate vineyard for us without us having to do all of that on our own,” Minder said.
A recently built home sits on the property. The house also serves to store the vineyard’s equipment.
In October, the Minders applied for a conditional use permit to operate a winery on the property and use the home and land as an event space to host wine tastings.
They applied to build a larger building to process wine. The Minders hope to move their winery to the property north of Eagle to streamline their business and produce sparkling wine.
In January, the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved a permit for a limited number of promotional and large events at the site, while also requiring limits on outdoor music, hours of operations for wine tastings, and future review of the permit.
A contingent of neighbors is not happy with the couple’s proposal, believing that selling alcohol and processing larger quantities of wine on the premises would damage the character of the neighborhood.
In late January, a neighbor, David Castro, appealed the Planning and Zoning Commission’s decision, which sent the permit’s approval to the county commissioners for review.
In April, the commissioners took public testimony at a hearing and proposed several further restrictions on the winery’s operation. But commissioners tabled the matter until this month and directed staff members to search for clarification on certain aspects of the project, including whether the existing septic system was sufficient for residential and commercial use.
‘I understand the frustration that people have’
Over three dozen people testified at the commissioners meeting Wednesday. Most supported the winery businessand opposed the proposed conditions, saying they would inhibit the business’s ability to survive.
But several neighbors said additional traffic and noise would negatively affect them. Others said the 8,000-square-foot building proposed for the property — 7,000 feet of which would be for production and office space — was larger than needed for processing a small number of grapes.
Castro told the Statesman before Wednesday’s meeting that he might consider legal action.
“We didn’t move out here to be in a commercial, industrial district,” he said.
As part of their conditions, the commissioners will likely require appointment-only wine tastings for only a five-hour period, five days a week. A commercial kitchen and events will likely be prohibited, other than two large wine pickup events per year. Wine production will likely only occur between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
The Planning and Zoning Commission included requirements that existing lighting be screened and that outdoor music be prohibited in their initial approval. The county commissioners directed their staff to pursue ways to further limit excess lighting and sound.
A review by county staff found that the current septic system could likely accommodate a wine production and tasting room or residential use — not both.
Minder told the Statesman that she was happy to work with neighbors to minimize the impacts of the business.
“After receiving feedback from the community, we’re more than happy to limit some of those things so that we can exist out here in the neighborhood that we chose to plant our vineyard in,” Minder said.
Minder’s property sits within a small American Viticultural Area, called the Eagle Foothills, which is a federal designation used to recognize regions of the U.S. that have distinct geographic or climatic features that distinguish its wine.
“I understand the frustration that people have in feeling like they bought property in a place or have lived here for a long time and see the landscape changing,” she added. But Minder noted that having a direct path to consumers and bringing customers to the vineyard is an important aspect of their business, which could otherwise struggle to turn a profit.
She noted that many small farms have turned into subdivisions.
What’s next?
Since 2014, the county has approved the opening of six wineries in unincorporated Ada County, said Leon Letson, the community planning manager at Ada County Development Services. Since 2020, the county has received four requests — including the 3100 Cellars property — and three have been approved.
Though the business’s conditional use permit appears likely to be approved, the county code requires that the owners also get consent from at least 75% of neighbors who are within 1,000 feet.
While the vineyard’s owners haven’t yet fully canvassed their neighbors, Minder said she suspects they may not have the support of enough of their neighbors to meet the requirement. If that’s the case, the owners can bring the issue back to the commissioners, who could choose to issue the license anyway, said Heather Luther, the county’s Director of Recording.
In late May, the commissioners discussed amending the code to require only 67% of close neighbors to consent to the sale of alcohol, as first reported by BoiseDev. The commissioners plan to reconsider the issue in the fall.
A final decision on the winery’s conditional use permit is scheduled for June 28.
This story was originally published June 2, 2022 at 12:04 AM.
