The Redlands Planning Commission denied a conditional use permit to Dry Spell Wine on a split vote.
On Tuesday, Aug. 11, Dry Spell Wine's request to establish a beer and wine lounge on 404 E. State St. was denied when questions of confidence in the owners arose after 36 public comments.
Owners Austin and Andy Amento presented their plan to reutilize the building that formerly housed State Street Winery. They proposed serving a rotating selection of small-producer niche wines and specialty craft beers, ancillary off-sale of bottles of wine, as well as a monthly membership.
While city staff recommended to the Planning Commission to approve the permit, commissioners were deterred after hearing backlash from the public.
City Planner Brian Foote read 36 letters urging the commission not to approve the permit for the Amentos, citing the closure of their previous business, Augie's Coffee, and $140,000 in wage theft and union-busting allegations from former employees.
"If the Planning Commission approves this permit, it shows that they do not care about the serious allegations against the Amento family," wrote former Augie's employee Katie Walsh.
The Labor Council of the Inland Empire also wrote a letter urging commissioners to reject the permit.
In his rebuttal, Austin Amento said that allegations of union-busting were under examination but was not relevant in a land-use permit decision.
"The comments against my family are one-sided and misinformed," said Amento. "Some people want my family to lose everything. We have been threatened by former employees at protests. I hope the negativity of Augie's closure doesn't prevent the potential of this business."
Commissioner Joe Richardson said this was a difficult issue.
"There is a confidence issue," he said. "We ask if companies are investing in Redlands, and we look to what owners have done before. Sometimes we vote against things because we don't believe the design fits who we are as a city."
Commissioner Mario Saucedo said his biggest issue was that he was not comfortable with the number of alcohol-serving businesses already downtown, hoping for something more family-friendly.
"This business is one-sided for adult consumption," he said.
Commissioner Julie Rock was in favor of approval.
"We would be discriminatory if we didn't approve this permit since this business is replacing an identical one," she said.
Vice Chairman Steve Frasher agreed with Rock but had concerns of his own.
"Strictly within the land-use question, there is no issue," he said. "My concern is we have a crisis of confidence. We have had businesses before with plans they could not achieve. The Amentos' previous business closed because of COVID-19. Those same concerns would affect this business too. Do they have the ability to operate a new business in the same atmosphere where they couldn't operate Augie's?"
The vote to approve was split 3-3. Chairman Conrad Guzkowski, Rock and Saucedo voted yes while Frasher, Richardson and Commissioner Karah Shaw voted no.
Dry Spell Wine now has a 10-day period to appeal the decision to City Council.
August 14, 2020 at 01:10AM
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Augie's owners denied permit for new winery - Redlands News
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