After 16 years, Monterey County Supervisors advance Agricultural and Winery Corridor Plan.

To provide a potential boost to a struggling wine industry, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 on Sept. 29 to approve an ordinance implementing the Agricultural and Winery Corridor Plan (AWCP).

The AWCP streamlines approvals for agricultural and winery-related businesses in three designated areas of unincorporated Monterey County: along River Road, Metz Road in the Central Salinas Valley and Jolon Road in South County.

The plan allows for up to 10 new, full-scale wineries; wine-tasting and visitor-serving activities associated with wineries; large winery events, including weddings with more than 500 people through special-event permits; inns, employee housing and other winery-related uses.

“Overall, we're very satisfied with the way this has turned out,” said Norm Groot, executive director of the Monterey County Farm Bureau, at the Board of Supervisors meeting. “It allows for a lot of flexibility, which I think is really important, particularly as the wine-making industry recovers from the current economic depression that they are in.”

Groot noted that, following the dissolution of the Vintners and Growers Association in 2025, he has been working with the Farm Bureau's wine industry members throughout the process.

“It's probably going to be several years before we get to that point, but this sets us up to be in the right place for that inclusionary development of these entertainment sites as well as the wine tasting rooms,” he added.

The Board of Supervisors originally adopted the AWCP as part of the 2010 General Plan, when a significant portion of the agricultural land in unincorporated Monterey County was used for grape production and wine grapes were among the county's top-value crops.

The plan, originally requested by the now-disbanded Monterey County Vintners and Growers Association as a way to keep the local wine industry economically viable, lacked a formal ministerial permit process to put the corridor plans into practice.

In April 2025, the AWCP went before the agricultural advisory committee for review, eventually heading to the Planning Commission this summer.

The Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance that adds AWCP zoning regulations, applies the corridor designation as an overlay to existing zoning and creates a formal zoning-clearance process for eligible projects. 

The approval also included a request for staff to return within 90 days with clarification on size limits for kitchen and dining areas, as well as employee housing and groundwater concerns.

“Waiting 16 years I think is long enough,” Supervisor Chris Lopez said at the meeting. “I know that the industry right now is at a down point, and this is a cyclical market. Hopefully, when they come back, we are open to continue to review and revise, knowing that that may look different when it comes back and having this in place may make it easier for those folks who want to invest along the corridor.”