NOTE (Wednesday, March 13, 2019): The P&Z public hearing mentioned in this story has been postponed to April 4, 2019. 

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A Naugatuck man is proposing the creation of a vineyard/winery at a sloping 41-acre site alongside Pole Bridge Road in Sandy Hook.

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has scheduled a public hearing on applicant Ardian Llomi’s proposal for 7:30 pm on Thursday, March 21, at Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street.

Town real estate records indicate that the vacant land at 56 Pole Bridge Road proposed for vineyard/winery use, which lies in a R-2 (Residential) zone, is owned by Mr Llomi and Neviana Zhgaba. The site has extensive frontage on the east side of Pole Bridge Road, near Pole Bridge Road’s intersection with Bancroft Road.

Mapping and aerial photography of the site indicates that the land has both wooded and cleared areas as well as some steep slopes and relatively gentler slopes. It is unclear if the proposal would require review by the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC).

Mr Llomi is seeking two approvals from the P&Z — a special zoning permit and a site development plan endorsement.

Application documents, which were submitted with the mapping for the project, indicate that the proposed vineyard/winery would sell its products at retail and offer free samples to visitors and prospective retail customers. The applicant is represented by Chipman, Mazzucco, Emerson LLC, a Danbury law firm.

The owners of 20 properties that lie within 500 feet of the 41-acre site will be notified of the P&Z’s public hearing by mail. The site abuts residential properties and town open space land.

Engineering drawings submitted with the application depict the proposed size and locations of a winery building, a four-bedroom house, parking areas, driveways, septic waste disposal facilities, and graded areas. The plans indicate about 22 parking spaces.

Plans for the winery show a building measuring 90.3 feet long by 46.4 feet wide, reflecting a building “footprint” of about 4,190 square feet.

The applicable zoning regulations that allow vineyards and wineries with retail wine sales specify that such uses must be on lots that are at least 20 acres. Wine sales are limited to sealed bottles or other sealed containers of wine manufactured at the winery for consumption off the premises.

The zoning regulations allow tours and the offering and tasting of free samples of wine to visitors and prospective retail customers for its consumption on the premises. Such activity is allowed provided that the facility has a farm winery manufacturer permit issued by the state.