Letter published in

Longmont Times-Call, 8-1-08

MALL NEEDS GROCER,

GROCER NEEDS MALL

        With all due respect to those in the public and private sectors who deal closely with Longmont’s planning and economic development, it seems to me that two headlines on the front page of the 7-24-08 Times-Call reflect a possibly missed opportunity. One announced the “complicated” mall plan being put on hold; the other, “Natural grocer eyeing Hover.” Why can’t they get together?
       From a planning standpoint, the mall needs a natural foods outlet to attract shoppers, and the grocer needs the mall traffic. It looks like a winner—for the grocer, the mall owner, and the city treasury.
      Of course, the grocer is free to settle on the announced Hover site. But a far-better accommodation of vehicular traffic than what is currently available along there will have to be made because of the poor access to and from Hover Street. Mitigate traffic, join the mall lineup.
       Also, I wish whoever is riding the TIF horse around town would dismount and send that critter out to pasture because Tax Increment Financing—although legal—is unfair to the taxpayers. A legacy of LBJ’s “Great Society,” TIF allows public money (taxes) to be diverted to help pay for privately owned urban renewal projects.
      Talk of using TIF to help pay for renovating the mall has calmed a bit, but I see where the Longmont Downtown Development Authority is now toying with the idea of using Tax Increment Financing to start a façade improvement program. Naturally, the same question regarding TIF arises: who makes up for the tax money that will be diverted from the city of Longmont into this program until it is finished? In times of budget shortfall, the city may have trouble replacing diverted TIF revenues and the choices are limited: increase other fees and-or taxes, cut programs, or both.

P.