For Adventure West owners Mitch and Beth Battilla, Clear Creek offers a very limited window for the local whitewater outfitter to make money.

As one of Golden’s largest recreational tube rental companies along Clear Creek, the Battillas depend heavily on two things — warm weather and suitable flow. 

Without both, their business suffers.

Now, they will have to contend with another factor.

On Tuesday night, the City Council approved a new ordinance that updates an existing municipal code to give Golden additional authority to limit the sale of recreational float tubes by permitted outfitters during peak days. 

The ordinance, in effect, targets a specific merchandize in a specific industry just as tubing season gets underway. It applies only to tube retailers and rental outfitters permitted to operated within the city. It does not apply to the sale of non-commercial tubes and pool toys.

City staffers will next convene to hammer the rules to implement the change.

To the city, the measure is meant to protect the health of the river and manage the flow of people in one of the most popular whitewater rafting adventures in Colorado.

To businesses, the move to limit the sale of a merchandise is a dramatic exercise of government power, with potentially grave ramifications for a company’s bottom line.

A tributary of the South Platte River, Clear Creek runs through Golden, offering  residents and visitors alike a refuge from the summer heat.

Over the years, the number of tubers and kayakers on the river has skyrocketed, posing a conundrum for the small mountain town. On one hand, the increased foot traffic along the popular corridor has been a boon to local businesses. On the other hand, residents have urged the city control the number of people using the river, while elected officials worry about environmental degradation. 

In response, the city adopted major changes particularly in the last few years. The city said growing problems with overuse, environmental worries, safety, trash and parking prompted officials to create a Clear Creek Subcommittee two years ago. The panel’s work led to the implementation of several management strategies, most notably the standardization of tube rental permits for outfitter companies in hopes of curtailing the number of users at certain times.

Deputy City Manager Carly Lorentz explained that, with the new ordinance, the city is primarily looking to “evenly apply” its current restriction on tube rental outfitters and extend that to tube sales.

Previously, tube retailers within the city were not restricted in the number of tubes they could sell. But the city imposed daily limits on the number of rentals that local outfitters, such as Adventure West, can offer.

The city justified its latest move by arguing that, during peak times, customers turned away from rental locations would simply walk a short distance to a nearby retailer and purchase a tube there instead, effectively undercutting Golden’s efforts to manage the flow of people in Clear Creek.

Golden’s existing municipal code already gives the city the power to curb sales and rental of recreational inner tubes for up to five days of the year during special events.

Golden will exercise this provision for the first time on July 27, the Saturday during Buffalo Bill Days, when it restricts tube rentals. The annual event is one of the city’s busiest days of the year, and, the hot temperatures is a predictor of larger crowds, city officials said.

The city said the July 27 shutdown will also serve as a data point, as Golden seeks to understand how much the “bring-your-own tube” crowd continues on Clear Creek, when retailers and rental outfitters are prohibited from doing business.

The response among residents and businesses to new ordinance is mixed — and often heated.

While most residents said they appreciate the need to limit crowds, businesses owners worry about its financial impact, as well as the potential for what they described as “ordinance creep.”

The Battillas urged the city to explore other solutions, including considering a public reservation system that would help regulate crowds.

“We are hopeful to come up with solutions together with you that don’t involve completely shutting down our small business for one peak day this summer and potentially up to five days for future summers,” the Battillas wrote to the council.

“Typically, our peak tubing season is only six weeks long, with a total season of about 10 weeks,” they said. “If you add in possible rain on weekends, shutting us down for up to five days in future summers would be catastrophic to our business.”

John Bortles, the managing partner for Woody’s Wood-Fired Pizza, called the ordinance a “slippery slope.”

“Such an ordinance builds precedent for council to come after businesses,” he wrote. “Should we not sell pizza during Buffalo Bill Days because it brings more folks downtown?”

Nola Krajewski, president of the Golden Chamber of Commerce, said she can see both sides of the coin when it comes to the council regulating businesses.

“Golden is our backyard, too,” she said. “There is definitely a need to find balance between the need for safety and the need of businesses to succeed.”