Zoning rules irk maker of wine

The question is over grape imports to the Beaver County winery.
NEW BRIGHTON, Pa. (AP) -- A would-be winemaker has a grape gripe.
Dennis Lapic is challenging a zoning ordinance in Daugherty Township, Beaver County, that prevents him from importing grapes to make wine on his property -- a court challenge that could affect another winery his parents already own nearby.
The township's zoning hearing board approved Lapic's plan to build a home and winery on his 7.4 acre property last month, but they included several caveats because the land is zoned for agricultural use.
Among the conditions: Lapic must grow his own grapes and can't import any. Otherwise, the winery would be considered a commercial enterprise, not an agricultural one.
Appealed decision
Lapic appealed that decision to Beaver County Common Pleas Court. His attorney, Gregory Douglass, said the import provision is "unreasonable and unnecessary to accomplish the purposes and objectives" of the zoning ordinance. The winery would not harm the land's agricultural character, he said.
After Lapic's appeal, township manager and zoning officer David N. Lodovico Jr. said he wouldn't object to Lapic importing up to half the grapes he uses, because the land would still be serving an agricultural use.
That's where Lapic's parents, Paul and Josephine, come in.
The elder Lapics received a similar zoning variance for their winery in 1976. Lodovico researched that pact after their son argued that he should receive the same consideration they did. But Lodovico said he found that Paul Lapic agreed to import no more than 20 percent of the grapes he uses to qualify for the exception -- which caused the township to take a closer look at that winery.
The township investigation determined the Lapics were importing about 80 percent of the grapes they used. As a result, Lodovico told the couple in August that they could no longer host their annual wine festival and that they must abide by the 20-percent import restriction in the future.
But if Dennis Lapic wins his court fight, his parents could ride his coattails and challenge the import restriction they operate under, too, Lodovico said.
"I think they're really great people," Lodovico said of the family. "I feel bad they're in this situation."
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