A newly-seated Islamorada Village Council dug into a contentious major conditional use request with six variances for a brewpub, restaurant and distillery at the former BB&T Bank building in Tavernier on Dec. 6. Following roughly five hours of conversation, the dais voted 3-2 to clear the way for development of the building’s first floor and outdoor area into Crooked Palm Distillery.
The evening, which saw new councilwomen Sharon Mahoney and Elizbaeth Jolin seated, saw a lengthy presentation on the application by Daniel Gulizio, village planning director, and Nick Schroth, one of the owners of Islamorada Beverage Company. That was followed with passionate sentiments for and against the project by more than 30 residents.
An application sought several variances related to site improvements, including landscaping, buffer and parking relaxations to develop the bank building into a distillery. The building, which sits on 0.77 acres of property, has seven affordable housing units on its second floor.
Along Gardenia Street, applicants requested a 50% buffer relaxation. Along U.S. 1, a full buffer relaxation was requested with plantings provided elsewhere on site. Another relaxation request for 10 canopy trees along the street was due to the presence of overhead wires within the right-of-way, but the applicant proposed to plant the required number of street trees elsewhere on site.
As for off-street parking landscaping, the applicant sought to plant seven islands for a total of 1,047 square feet. That’s less than the required nine islands and 2,562 square feet of on-site landscaping. The minimum 70 parking spaces required for the property was dwindled to 41. Roughly 14 spaces will be used by residents at seven units on the building’s second floor, leaving only 27 to distillery patrons.
“Anyone familiar with this community, it’s a special place. But when you drive up and down the road, many properties commercial and residential don’t meet strict application of our code. This is recognized and a reflection of that,” Gulizio said.
Gulizio kicked off discussion with a presentation on the application, the property and the project. He told the council and public that the conditional use for a distillery is permitted in a village center zoning district.
“The applicant is not seeking a zoning change. Village center allows for a restaurant, distilleries and brewpubs via major conditional use permit,” Gulizio said.
A staff analysis deemed the proposed conditional use consistent with the comprehensive plan and consistent with uses and the character of surrounding land. Payfair grocery store, 7/11 and Capt. Craig’s all sit near the former BB&T building. In addition, staff found the design and proposed conditional use minimizes adverse impacts. But not far from the project are residents on Gardenia Street who feared the project would wreck their quality of life.
Some 19 special conditions were agreed upon by the applicant in a bid to mitigate some of the concerns raised by neighbors. Some included limiting the gross floor area of the brewpub and distillery to the current size of the building and limiting the outdoor plaza from an originally planned 5,400 square feet to 4,751 square feet. A total occupancy limit of 160, which includes the outdoor area, and limiting hours of operation and amplified music were also agreed upon by the applicant. The council requested to further limit amplified music to 8 p.m. on weeknights and 9 p.m. on weekends, to which the distillery owners agreed.
Another condition allows the village to address any future violations of the conditions through a reduction in the intensity of the proposed use and revocation of the major conditional use after a public hearing.
Concerned residents didn’t feel that it went far enough to address issues over noise, traffic and public safety, to name a few.
“If the project was a true tasting room and limited to the existing 3,100-square-foot building, I wouldn’t be in opposition. Every bit of outdoor space means more risk to our community. They’re asking for too much,” said Plantation Key resident Angie Quigley.
Plantation Key Colony resident Joe Wischmeier spent several minutes delving into the history of the project, going back as far as Oct. 22, 2021 when the acting planning director approved a minor conditional use for the brewery/distillery/tasting room. At that time, no outdoor seating area was included. By April 2022, the village council approved an alcoholic beverage use permit following lengthy discussion. The vote was 4-1 with Rosenthal dissenting. Wischmeier said there was no mention of variances at that time. Hours of operation also changed, he said.
Hours of operation were Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. As for the outdoor area, hours would go until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
“Now the hours Sunday through Thursday are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Really? 1 a.m. in a residential, family neighborhood?” he questioned. “The other brewery closes at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.”
Residents speaking in favor of Crooked Palm Distillery mentioned that it would bring a positive impact to the community on Plantation Key, such as Plantation Key Colony.
“We live on a very small island. We all live near and behind a commercial building,” said Nikki Cullen, in support of Crooked Palm Distillery. “They all have pros and cons. What they’re proposing is beyond what we’re seeing anywhere else in this community. I wholeheartedly believe they’ll do the best for our community.”
Councilman Henry Rosenthal, who voted against the request, questioned what the project does for the community and who benefits from it all.
“What does this do for the community that they can walk to the bar and get a drink? What’s motivating this? Dollars. Money,” Rosenthal said. “And we didn’t have that years ago. I’ve been here a hell of a long time. Don’t tell me anything different. We didn’t have that motivation.”
Rosenthal and Councilwoman Elizabeth Jolin were among the ‘no’ votes. Mayor Buddy Pinder, Councilman Mark Gregg and Councilwoman Sharon Mahoney voted ‘yes.’
