San Juan Capistrano’s historic Swanner House could move closer to becoming a wine-tasting and special-events venue when the City Council considers a license agreement Tuesday with Hamilton Oaks Vineyard.

The item is part of an agenda that also includes a city budget workshop from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at City Hall, 32400 Paseo Adelanto.

Hamilton Oaks, a winery based in Trabuco Canyon, wants to use the property at 29943 Camino Capistrano for a demonstration vineyard, weddings, educational programs and other events for up to 400 people. The council chose to pursue that proposal from among three presented in March. The others were from Napa South Wine Tasting and the Orange County Art Center.

A report by city Development Services Director Grant Taylor says City Manager Karen Brust negotiated a five-year license agreement with Hamilton Oaks that would bring the city $4,000 a month starting June 30 and increasing to $5,000 a month by the fifth year, plus 3 percent of annual gross revenue exceeding $1.2 million. If neither side ends the agreement, it would automatically renew for an additional five years, paying the city $5,500 a month to start and increasing to $6,000 monthly. Read the proposed agreement here.

Hamilton Oaks had proposed a five-year lease in which it would pay $3,000 a month in rent, with an option for a five-year extension.

The Swanner House, built in 1923 by Judge Roger Williams, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The 2.6-acre site includes the two-story, 2,234-square-foot house, an 18-by-20-foot detached garage, a 35-foot-tall water tower and orange groves.

The property was vacated last year, and several council members have been supportive of the idea of wine tasting and events. The city’s cultural, open space and parks commissions have weighed in with some concerns about parking, landscaping, sewer connections and portable restrooms. Members of the Open Space, Trails Equestrian Commission requested horse hitching posts and corrals.

The house has a 50-person capacity under the California Building Code. The grounds could accommodate up to 400, though the city may request a parking- and traffic-management plan, Taylor’s report says. Hamilton Oaks plans to install a parking lot, with overflow parking north and south of the house. Parking would not be allowed on Camino Capistrano, Taylor says.

Before the property can be used for events, it would have to be renovated to accommodate pedestrians and people with disabilities, along with electrical and plumbing upgrades and restrooms, according to a city report.

Any alteration of the buildings would have to meet federal standards for historic properties, and the citrus trees can’t be removed unless they’re dead, diseased or hazardous.

Hamilton Oaks plans to make the Americans with Disabilities Act renovations but does not plan exterior alterations to the structures, Taylor says.

Three rows of demonstration grape vines are proposed along Camino Capistrano south of the house, with an alternate behind the parking area.

Along with city approval, the plans will need the OK from the Orange County Fire Authority, Orange County Public Health Services and the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

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