(NBBJ) - Sonoma County officials cannot impose a moratorium on winery permits while they prepare to put long-awaited new regulations on the industry in place, Supervisor Lynda Hopkins said Thursday.

Hopkins was responding to critics who are frustrated with the county’s slow progress creating a policy about winery events, which have proved controversial in certain unincorporated areas.

More than 1,100 people recently signed a petition asking the Board of Supervisors to temporarily ban new or expanded winery permits until the regulations are approved.

But Hopkins told more than 50 people who attended a meeting she hosted at the county government center in north Santa Rosa that it’s “very apparent” winery events don’t fulfill the legal requirements for such a moratorium.