By Lisa Carolin
It’s clear sailing ahead for the Ugly Dog Distillery, which will be opening a manufacturing facility as well as tasting rooms at 218 S. Main St. in downtown Chelsea soon.
Following a public hearing, the Chelsea Planning Commission voted unanimously (Sarah Haselschwardt absent) to approve a special use permit for the craft distillery.
Ugly Dog distillery owner David Salmon told the commission that hours of operation will be 8 or 9 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m. with the tasting rooms staying open later for some events such as Sounds and Sights. The total occupancy of the two tasting rooms will be just under 100 people.
The commission held a public hearing about the City of Chelsea’s draft master plan, which has been posted publicly for 63 days. The next step will be for the commission to review the feedback it has received and to make revisions.
There was also a public hearing about the Marjorie E. Prinzing Trust rezoning request regarding two empty parcels with frontage on the west side of Grant Street. The commission unanimously approved rezoning the parcel from agricultural to residential. The intent of the owners is to divide it into five properties.
There was also a public hearing about Michael Jackson’s special use permit request for the Sunset Building LLC. The commission voted to approve the request, which means that a second floor apartment can be built above Vogel’s and Foster’s at 107 Main Street.
In other action, the commission approved a 1,000-square-foot kitchen as well as a storage area to be built at Silver Maples of Chelsea. Commissioners determined that the final site plan is a “minor change” based on the fact that the amount of floor area is less than 5 percent of the overall facility.
The commission welcomed new member Adam Ellison and bid farewell to member Geoffrey Voshel, who is moving out of Chelsea.
The commission also approved its 2018 meeting calendar.
