The Latest Home-Based Business: Wineries

"Tacoma's basement winemakers have gotten the green light to bring their businesses above ground.

At the recommendation of the city Planning Commission, the Tacoma City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday to allow small-scale microwineries in certain residential areas."

"The ordinance will go into effect Dec. 31.

The proposal came from Tacoma winemaker Philip Coates, who's wanted to expand his home-based winemaking business since 2006. He'll now start operating Coates Winery out of a retail location he owns at 2621 N. 21st St., in a zone where microwineries were formerly prohibited.

Since Coates proposed the amendment to the zoning regulations in December 2006, he's been able to store some wine at the site, but that's about it, he said.

"Legally we couldn't sell from that site, we couldn't serve and we couldn't produce any wines," Coates said. "We didn't know if we could go forward."

Planning Division manager Philip Huffman said his staff determined that allowing the microwineries in low-level retail zones wouldn't be disruptive to housing and could improve the neighborhoods' livability."