LITTLE COMPTON —Parking in open grassy fields has become such an issue at Carolyn's Sakonnet Vineyard that some contend it represents a violation of town zoning regulations. It's also creating a challenge to the preservation of agricultural and conservation values at the vineyard. 
Behind the concerns raised by extensive open-field parking is the vineyard's contention that it needs to host weddings and concerts in order to maintain a viable winery business.
To partially resolve these conflicts, the vineyard and its lawyers are seeking a variance to the town zoning requirements for parking.
Its request for the variance (and related issues) will be aired at a public hearing before the zoning board of review on Wednesday, Jan. 18 in Town Hall at 7 p.m..
A preview of the variance request and other issues will be heard Jan. 3 before the planning board, which has scheduled a hearing on the matter at 7 p.m. in Town Hall.
"The planning board has put them on our draft agenda for the 3rd," said Planning Board Chairman Michael Steers. "The planning board hears variance petitions before the zoning board of review to comment on conformance with the Comp Plan."

Conflicting requirements
Town zoning rules require that parking areas with over ten parking spaces must have a "dust-free bituminous surface" —asphalt.
The same ordinance requires "an opaque fence or a double-row compact evergreen screen not less than four (4) feet in height," which must be "erected or planted and maintained between the parking facility and an adjoining" residential district. The vineyard is located in an area of town zoned residential.
The ordinance also requires parking areas of over ten cars to "be landscaped with one (1) tree per five (5) spaces with vegetation or ground cover at the street frontage."
Meanwhile, deeded land use restrictions aimed at preserving the land for agriculture and conservation purposes appear to argue against asphalting and landscaping the vineyard fields.
In its November license application, the vineyard stated it plans "to conduct 12-14 weddings/events" next summer at the vineyard any day of the week, for four hours each, between the hours of 11 a.m. and 9 p.m."
It also sought a license that would have allowed the vineyard to sponsor 14 concerts next summer on Thursday nights, another 14 concerts on Sundays, and another four concerts on Saturdays.
These events were described by Bill Richmond, chairman of the Little Compton Agricultural Conservancy Trust (which oversees land conservation issues at the vineyard), in a Nov.12 memo to the Ag Trust's board of trustees.
"The largest events, expected to be Thursday nights," he wrote, "would be limited by the admittance of a maximum of 317 cars on a given night. This produces about 700 visitors on a typical Thursday."
For all the Thursday and Sunday concert events alone (not including weddings), Mr. Richmond estimated that for the summer months a rough total of 8,400 visitors and perhaps 6,500 cars would be descending upon the vineyard.

Vineyard getting pinched
As a result of its desire to host concerts and weddings, the vineyard is getting pinched from all sides.
In order to host concerts and weddings in the first place, the vineyard needs an entertainment license from the town. To get that license the vineyard must provide written documentation for the council, first, that the activities are in compliance with the conservation purposes of the DDR, and, second, that town zoning requirements are met.
The former consists of a written statement of findings from the two entities that are stewards of the vineyard land — the Little Compton Agricultural Conservancy Trust (the Ag Trust) and the Rhode Island Agricultural Lands Preservation Commission (RIALPC ) — that the concerts and weddings — and all they entail, such as crowds, cars, traffic, parking, noise, outdoor lighting, and so forth — "are fully consistent with the terms, conditions, and provisions of the conservation restrictions" and do not "defeat or derogate" from them.
That zoning requirements have been met must be evidenced by a written statement from the town zoning official that the town zoning ordinances — such as the parking regulations — are being complied with.
The town zoning official has not written an opinion that open-field parking for many cars is compliant with zoning — that is the issue for which the vineyard is seeking a variance.
But the zoning official has addressed another zoning issue which would seem to prevent weddings and concerts at the vineyard — and this issue is not on the zoning board of review agenda for Jan. 18 nor the subject of a variance request by the vineyard.
For the vineyard to be awarded an entertainment license by the town, the town zoning official must provide written documentation that in conducting these activities the vineyard is in compliance with the town zoning ordinances.
However, the town zoning official, by letter dated November 13, 2016 to the town council, has already declared what would appear to be the opposite.
In his Nov. 13 letter, George Medeiros, the town zoning official, declared that concerts and weddings “are not accessories to, and required for, the operation of the principal use [i.e., a winery] and are therefore not allowed.”