(NVR) - Napa County’s latest quest to balance winery success and farmland protection will go to the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 8 for what could be a resolution.

Except for some possible editing, the Planning Commission on Wednesday finished its five-meeting look at the topic. The commission for the most part endorsed the recommendations of the county Agricultural Protection Advisory Committee (APAC).

That means supervisors will discuss setting a new limit for how much farmland on rural parcels can be paved over, creating a fast-track for proposed small wineries applications and in most instances prohibiting winery wastewater hold-and-haul for future wineries.

How fast any of these and other ideas might become reality remains to be seen. APAC recommended that new laws apply to new winery applications filed after Jan. 1, 2016, but that seems unlikely.

New ordinances and policies couldn’t be enacted until late summer or autumn of 2016, Planning, Building and Environmental Services Director David Morrison told the Planning Commission. A more appropriate date to start any new rules might be January 2017.

Planning commissioners suggested some recommendations might be able to move forward faster than others. They talked about the desire for speed in some instances, but also the desire for caution in others.

“My experience has been the quicker we move on something, the greater the chances there could be unintended consequences,” Planning Commission Terry Scott said.

Plus, there is the unknown of what the Board of Supervisors will do with the APAC — and now the Planning Commission — recommendations. It can make whatever changes it wants.

“I just want to caution everybody not to expect the board to be a rubber stamp for the Planning Commission and APAC,” Morrison told the group.

Commissioners agreed with most of the APAC recommendations at previous meetings. A key issue that arose Wednesday was how existing wineries would fit in among a new winery rules world.

APAC recommended that existing wineries not be subject to the new rules. But Morrison said that, while existing wineries would remain legal and conforming uses, the new rules would apply to expansions they might seek. He reached that conclusion after consulting with county attorneys.

Attorney Richard Mendelson spoke on behalf of Napa Valley Vintners. He sketched the potential scenario of an existing winery applying to the county to increase wine production. County planners might agree, but require the winery to remove a portion of its outdoor hospitality area to meet new limits.

“That, to my mind, is being held hostage,” he said. “Nobody wants to be in that situation.”