Parking is a challenge for any business opening downtown, and that held true Tuesday for Animas Brewing Co., which is planning to open in the building where For the Birds was previously at 15th Street and East Second Avenue.

The city of Durango’s Planning Commission had denied owner Scott Bickert’s request for a parking variance, a request to have only seven of the 10 parking spaces required for an establishment seating 30 people. He currently has parking for seating 21. Bickert has a building permit for a deck that would seat more people seasonally. According to Durango City Code, Bickert is not required to provide extra spaces for seasonal business, city planning manager Nicole Killian said.

“My plan is to encourage people to walk or bike there on the Animas River Trail, including my employees,” he said. “This is about the viability of my business. Seating 30 patrons is much more viable than seating 21, especially in the winter. As soon as I was turned down by the Planning Commission, I introduced myself to the neighbors to see if we could work something out.”

Killian said the neighbors and Bickert had worked out some conditions for their support, but the city can’t enforce a third-party agreement. So city staff worked with them and eventually structured the appeal for the variance with eight conditions, including that outside music and serving outside will end at 10 p.m. except for special occasions such as the Fourth of July, and requiring Bickert to build a solid fence along the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad right-of-way. With those conditions in place, none of the residential neighbors came to the meeting to oppose the variance.

Those conditions put councilors in a bit of a pickle. If they approved the variance, they were concerned about putting more stress on the parking at Rotary Park, which often overflows with events. If they didn’t, Bickert could still open the 21-seat establishment, but without the conditions the neighbors had said would make having Animas Brewing Co., an acceptable business for the site.

“I feel held hostage,” Mayor Sweetie Marbury said. “I want to help the neighbors, and it seems practical and reasonable to be a good neighbor, but I’m concerned about Rotary Park. That parking lot is jammed when there’s an event.”

Bickert told councilors that the parking would be more needed in the winter, when people aren’t biking and walking, but also when there are no events in Rotary Park, which cleared the way for Councilor Dick White’s vote granting the variance.

In the end, Councilor Christina Rinderle’s argument held sway, leading the council to a unanimous 5-0 vote in favor of the variance.

“If our goal is to encourage revitalization of the riverfront, and we want to encourage people to bike and walk, then we need to support this kind of effort,” she said.

abutler@durangoherald.com