Aspen City Council did not find that the community development department abused its discretion when it told the Aspen Brewing Company that under the current land-use code, it could only serve its patrons 16 ounces of beer over a 24-hour period.

But at Monday night's meeting, the council did leave the door open for the brewery proprietors to come back in a month and make the case that the land-use code should be changed in order for them to have more latitude in running their business.

At issue was a ruling by Community Development Director Chris Bendon that the brewery's tap room could serve a total of 16 ounces of beer, or one pint, to each customer per day. Bendon made the ruling to ensure the brewery's tap room would not be seen by the general public as a bar, which is prohibited under the zoning regulations for the brewery's location. Bendon submitted that the zoning rules for the service commercial industrial area, in which the brewery is located, could be construed to prohibit retail sales and beer tastings altogether.

The brewers made the opposite argument, saying that the land-use code doesn't specifically prohibit retail or on-site consumption at a brewery, and that the brewery's request that there be no limits on the amount of beer served is entirely in line with the land-use code as it is currently written.

While council members showed various degrees of agreement with Bendon's take on the land-use code, they did not find that his actions constituted an abuse of discretion, as the brewers were arguing. In siding with city staff, the council made a point to wish the brewers luck in their venture.

The meeting called attention to conflicting sections of the code, where retail in the SCI seems to be discouraged in one section while it is encouraged in another passage of the land-use code.

The council is in the process of revising the zoning regulations for the SCI and will hold a public hearing on the matter March 24.

The meeting was attended by at least 15 people, most wearing Aspen Brewing Company T-shirts, supporting the brewing startup in its appeal of Bendon's decision. As the matter was an appeal of an executive decision, no public comment was taken, although the mostly under-30 crowd was encouraged to come back for next month's hearing on SCI zoning codes so they could make their comments then.

curtis@aspendailynews.com