Jeremy Ordaz was on the right track when he was formulating ideas for a business. An avid biker, Ordaz wanted something other than the traditional retail shops on Davis, something "different". He dreamt up the idea of Oak Cliff Bicycle Company, which would be an Oak Cliff bicycle retail shop, catering to cyclists all over our neighborhood. The idea was good in theory, but Ordaz keeps running into one problem: Davis’s ongoing zoning issues.

Oak Cliff Bicycle Company was originally set to open around June 27, in conjunction with the Tyler Street Block Party. According to Jason Roberts, president of Bike Friendly Oak Cliff, the party was "meant to be an opening for the company," and the store an opportunity for Oak Cliff cyclists to have a place of their own. Roberts attributes the ongoing problems to the "mid-century" zoning regulations, which require one parking space per every 200 feet of a retail shop. In order for a store to be parking-lot free, it must be categorized as an "industrial" business. The parking lot problem has kept Ordaz from receiving a certificate of occupancy, which is needed for his business to open and run. Because Ordaz wants the shop to be biker-friendly, he says parking spaces would only invade cyclists’ riding area and lessen the curb appeal for the store. (We’ve covered the problematic parking requirements along Davis, something the Bishop/Davis land use study committee still hopes to address, and Bike Friendly Oak Cliff’s blog weighs the pros and cons of parking lots on Davis in this post.)

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Ordaz mentioned that this hold-up could take at least two months to iron out, and with all the paperwork and fees, there’s no telling when he will be able to open his store for business.