LAFARGEVILLE — The expansion of Thousand Islands Winery, and neighbors' concerns about the project, has the town of Orleans Zoning Board thinking about one word — moratorium.

Aimed at clarifying the zoning laws, the moratorium they are considering would likely apply to large commercial enterprises along the St. Lawrence River.

Since farm wineries are an agricultural, not commercial, enterprise, it is unclear how the move would resolve neighborhood concerns. Also unclear is whether either TI Winery or future area wineries might be affected.

Orleans Zoning Board Chairman Lawrence A. Walldroff said a moratorium would give the town time to create zoning laws on noise, lighting, hours of operation and nuisance issues for large businesses.

"We have some deficiencies in our current zoning law," Mr. Walldroff said. "It would be a prudent decision to get a moratorium in place, just so we could rewrite some of the ordinances that were omitted."

Mr. Walldroff said any moratorium would cover only what are known as resort one and two districts, located mainly along river communities such as Fishers Landing. It would not affect business or agricultural districts, he said.

Asked for examples of large businesses that might be affected, Mr. Walldroff cited automotive dealerships and manufacturing facilities, even as he admitted such entities are more likely to appear in business and industrial zones rather than resort districts.

"I don't think you're going to have a large manufacturing facility wishing to locate in Fishers Landing," he said.

How long such a moratorium would last, when it would start or even specifically what it would cover, has not been decided yet, Mr. Walldroff said.

Although Mr. Walldroff was reluctant to talk about how wineries would be affected under potential zoning changes, he agreed that the entire moratorium discussion had been sparked by recent concerns over the expansion of the TI Winery on Seaway Avenue.

Owner Stephen Conaway established TI Winery in 2003, after purchasing the location the year before, and has since grown his winery into a facility that is expected to produce about 30,000 gallons of wine this year, the same as in 2007.

Mr. Conaway said TI Winery has been a positive presence in the area. The facility employs 23 people and collected $84,000 in sales taxes for the town and county between last July and this one.

This spring, Mr. Conaway went to the Orleans Zoning Board with plans to build an 8,400-square-foot storage facility. He received a zoning permit for the building in May.

Mr. Conaway said this week that he expects the building to be complete by the first week of September, after which he will fill it with existing winery equipment such as outdoor wine tanks, brush hogs, tractors, sprayers, lawn mowers and back-up generators.

The building also will contain a grape crusher, destemmer and half-ton grape press, all of which he already owns.

Eventually, Mr. Conway expects to upgrade the grape press, which he said "doesn't make any noise to speak of," to a 5-ton machine.

"A few folks are concerned about a big building. It may seem imposing but, in reality of it all, it's just a farm winery building," Mr. Conaway said. "It's permanent storage as opposed to temporary storage."

Residents along Seaway Avenue, though, say Mr. Conaway has misrepresented the building uses. They fear that the expansion is just the latest in what they see as a series of escalating winery problems.

Jefrey A. Martusewicz, a Seaway Avenue resident and former Orleans Town Councilman, describes himself as a "strong ally of wineries." But, he said, TI Winery had not stood up to his ideal of what such an establishment should be.

The neighborhood has been bothered by drunken visitors trespassing on his property, by loud winery functions and by dangerous traffic along the road, he said. Mr. Martusewicz owns two rental properties and a large tract of land adjacent to the winery.

"To have a bar room in the back door is not beneficial to a family-oriented neighborhood," he said. "I want a cheese and crackers winery just like you have in the Finger Lakes."

Mr. Martusewicz, who said Mr. Conaway misrepresented his new building by saying it was for storage, not manufacturing, worries that any further winery expansions will create more noise, more traffic and greater safety hazards.

Potential contamination from new wells at the winery or toxins from the wine making process are also a concern, he said.

"He is going to manufacture wine there," Mr. Martusewicz said. "That's a long reach from a storage facility."

In a petition to town officials, some 35 residents agreed that the expansion of the winery was a concern, he said. Mr. Martusewicz said he hopes town officials "do the responsible thing" by forcing construction on the TI Winery to stop until they can reassess Mr. Conaway's plans.

"Do they want a manufacturing facility or do they want a storage building?" he said. "It's up to the community to decide that."

For his part, Mr. Conaway admits being "baffled" about the recent neighborhood opposition to his farm building. He said water is potable, has been tested for salts, nitrates and E. Coli, and his process doesn't create toxins dangerous to the community. He said he believes the fears of Mr. Martusewicz and other neighbors are unjustified.

"I'm willing to show anyone our operation," he said. "They're more than welcome to come out and see what we're doing. We're not trying to hide anything."

So far, Mr. Conaway said he hasn't received takers to his offer.