A proposed amendment to the city’s zoning ordinances would allow businesses to brew beer in Vicksburg.

City officials are asking the Board of Zoning Appeals to amend the ordinances to allow brewpubs and small craft breweries by special exception in the Vicksburg Historic District, C-3 commercial Central Business District zone and the C-4 General Commercial Zone. A hearing on the request will be set Nov. 14 at 5:30 p.m.

The businesses wanting to have breweries must be licensed, meet the same parking requirements as restaurants, have site plans reviewed by the city’s site plan committee and meet other regulations under the amendments.

“Approval of a business as a brewpub or a small craft brewery does not serve as approval to operate a nightclub, tavern, lounge or other similar uses regulated under the Vicksburg Zoning Ordinance,” according to the amendments.

The zoning amendment request comes about two weeks after the Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved an ordinance establishing a leisure and recreation district that allows residents to have open containers of alcoholic beverages in a special area along Washington and Mulberry streets.

“All we’re doing is conforming our laws to state law and bring that ordinance into the 21st century,” Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said. The past session of the Legislature passed several laws allowing businesses to develop small craft breweries and brew pubs in the state. Several areas, including Hattiesburg and Jackson, have established those businesses.

“I think it’s a great idea. It’s in the city’s best interest, and it can’t do anything but help concentrate interest for people and tourists to want to come down,” said developer Tim Cantwell, who wants to establish a nano, or small, brewery at the Cottonwood Public House, a proposed craft beer, craft pizza and craft cocktails business at the former 1311 site on Washington Street, which will only be able to sell its beer at retail at the business.

Plans for the Mississippi Hardware building renovation include a craft brewery.

“It will give them one more thing,” he said. “For those that like beer, it will give them a reason to stop. There’s no reason why Vicksburg shouldn’t have its own brew, and our hope is to grow that up and incubate it there, grow it up and then be able to launch a production brewery, which will create a bunch of jobs.

“Hattiesburg’s got one, there’s several up north, there’s one in Jackson, why not?  People that are beer aficionados will like it.”

North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield said he wanted more time to research the proposed amendments before commenting on the idea.

South Ward Alderman Alex Monsour believes allowing brewpubs and craft breweries in the city is a good idea.

“What we’re trying to do is this, we’re trying to attract the younger generation into town and attract the millenials,” he said. “They like that. Studies have been done, and that’s part of what attracts them to the downtown areas and living in the downtown area, and that was one of the criteria listed.

“It’s also a tourist amenity that attracts people downtown, or to the areas downtown, and gives that mystique to downtown Vicksburg, so I think it’s a good idea for us. It’s going to give Vicksburg its own identity of a brew pub down here.”

He said having the breweries here would be unique to the downtown area.

“It’s going to be an area where they can come down and see something that’s done down here in Vicksburg. I think people will go in there; it’s just something that will attract people.”