Winery granted stay of decision

Staff report

COLUMBUS

The Ohio Supreme Court has granted a stay of a 7th District Court of Appeals decision that a Lake Milton winery must cease operating in a lakefront residential neighborhood.

The stay, granted Wednesday, will let the Myrddin Winery, at 3020 Scenic Drive in Milton Township, continue to operate while the winery’s appeal is pending before the top court.

Winery operator Gayle K. Sperry requested the stay, saying her family would “suffer severe economic losses if forced to close” while the appeal is pending.

In a 2-1 decision in March, the 7th District Court upheld a ruling by Judge John M. Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court that barred Sperry from operating the winery at that location.

Because its primary activities are processing, bottling and selling wine, and not grape cultivation, the 7th District Court ruled the winery couldn’t be classified legally as an agricultural enterprise that would be exempt from township zoning regulations.

The winery, which claims it is entitled to an agricultural exemption from those regulations, said in its appeal to the state’s top court that its dispute with the township zoning office “raises a substantial constitutional question” and is of significant public interest.