The white building at 489 Florida Road looks abandoned except for a notice from the city taped to the window saying Discount Liquors would like to move here. A small sign tucked downslope from the small parking lot points visitors to the lower level and the Family Center of Durango.

A mural of a tree sheltering a cat chasing orange butterflies through a garden of blue flowers covers the wall. Painted vines frame the door, making it look like a portal to a charmed sanctuary.

“That’s the mood we were going for,” program director Rachael Cameron said proudly.

Parents bring children here for play dates and an array of services such as enrolling in Medicare or parenting classes. The center also provides supervised visitation for parents the court deems too emotionally fragile to be alone with their children.

“So when we heard that a liquor store wanted to open on the floor above us, we were worried,” Cameron said. “We had practical concerns like parking. That parking lot has only five lined spaces, and we don’t want store customers taking our clients’ spots. We were also concerned about a lot of cars veering around the children.”

And some of the fears center staff harbored were more subtle.

“I realize there’s a liquor store right down Florida Road from us,” Cameron said. “But people wrestling with addiction are so vulnerable emotionally when they come to the center. I can’t help thinking that the proximity of alcohol has a bigger impact on them than it would on someone without that history.”

Discount Liquors store owner Gary Brown is bemused by the controversy. He has been operating liquor stores for 38 years and says he has never had a violation. He noted that he is probably a longtime supporter of the Family Center via his donations to United Way. He sees the center’s fears as completely baseless.

“It’s illegal for me to let someone drink in my store or parking lot; I am not going to let that happen,” Brown said.

Durango residents will have a chance to air their opinions about Discount Liquors’ proposed relocation at a meeting of Durango’s local licensing authority at 2 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.

The executive director of the center, Gaye Weiss, considered leasing the bigger space upstairs. The center’s classrooms, play areas and offices currently share cramped quarters. One room is filled with canned goods, a pantry for families caught in a financial crunch who need groceries. But Weiss felt the higher rent would put too big a dent in the center’s budget.

“Every cent we spend on rent is a penny less we can spend on programs,” Weiss said. “In this economy, our clients need our services more than ever.”

Brown said, “I understand the staffers have seen all sorts of terrible family problems where alcohol may be an issue. But if a parent with an alcohol problem is going to supervised visitation downstairs, the last place they are going to buy liquor is in a store upstairs where the case workers the court has ordered to watch the parent can see what he or she is doing.”

Brad Kill and his family own the Island Cove Park mobile homes next to the center. Kill’s parents bought the park in 1981. He has watched several businesses – a convenience store, a Curves fitness center, a spinning gym – lease and leave 489 Florida Road.

Kill printed fliers urging Island Cove residents to attend the meeting and voice concerns about “traffic, parking, heavily intoxicated people entering this property, drivers under the influence, theft, vandalism, vagrancy, litter and the safety of all our residents and their children.”

Discount Liquors currently is located in the Centennial Center mall anchored by Office Depot at 305 South Camino del Rio.

The Family Center has been in the Florida Road building for about seven years.

Brown said the building owner, Larson Eoff, told Brown that the center’s lease expires in a couple of weeks so not to worry about tension with the center.

“The staff of the Family Center can leave if they feel a liquor store is intolerable,” Eoff said in a phone interview. “They are not obligated to leave, and they are not obligated to stay. I would never throw out a tenant because she expresses an opinion. I’ll be at the Tuesday meeting, too, expressing my opinion.”

He plans to tell attendees that he checked Brown’s background thoroughly and is convinced he is an ethical, capable store owner.

ledwards@durangoherald.com