Plans for a farm-slash-brewery in the Clifton area have been shelved, according to the offices of Del. Tim Hugo (R-40) and supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield).
Several hundred members of the Fairfax Station-Clifton community met Sunday April 26 with the project leader, Clifton resident Marcus Silva, to discuss concerns of the brewery’s impact on local traffic and groundwater, among others. A decision followed shortly after the meeting.
“They had almost 300 people show up mad on a sunny Sunday afternoon,” said Hugo, “who were overwhelmingly against it.”
Hugo was also critical of the project as planned, saying it was “too big and improperly placed.” He also worried about the precedent it would have set in a reading of Virginia’s recent farm brewery legislation, Senate Bill 430 from 2014.
“I could’ve planted one plant of hops in my front yard and turned my house into a farm brewery, if their interpretation of the law is correct, which it’s not,” he said.
Herrity weighed in that the law needs further unpacking. “The question is whether [the farm brewery] is on land allowing agriculture use or zoned for agriculture use,” he said. “It’s a legal question that’s probably better left to attorneys.”
According to Herrity, a strict reading of the statute from Richmond meant Fairfax County was only required to give approval for the site’s septic plan.
“For me, the county is going to continue to explore what our role can and should be, looking at these farm breweries,” he said.
Both men are in favor of the farm brewery concept, just not where it was proposed.
“I wish them well in another location,” Hugo said.
“In the right place in Fairfax County I think they’re good things,” said Herrity. “They preserve the land for agriculture, they’re environmentally sound and provide jobs. But they’ve got to be in the right location. In the end, Marcus determined this wasn’t the right location and I think he made a good decision not to pursue it.”
Silva did not respond to interview requests for this story.
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