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Longmont Council Declares Twin Peaks Mall Blighted

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Contributed by: Russell Josephson on 4/28/2008

It's official! With a 4-3 vote, a majority of the Longmont City Council passed an ordinance, declaring that Twin Peaks Mall:

is blighted,
substantially impairs or arrests the sound growth of the municipality, retards the provision of housing accommodations, or constitutes an economic or social liability,
and is a menace to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare.

This starts the urban renewal planning process.

George Washington once explained the spirit of America to Lafayette by saying that [here] "are friends who owe each other nothing but affection".

The majority of the Longmont City Council feels that we are obligated to give tens of millions of your tax dollars to the new owners of Twin Peaks Mall.

The business editor of the Longmont Times Call agrees, saying that it is "not a handout, but a hand-up" -- but he failed to explain the difference.

There is a more appropriate word to describe this granting of special favors to a single business by our elected officials. It is cronyism--and it has no place in our egalitarian society.

If the mall owner's have neglected it's maintenance over the years, they have been converting that long-term asset into short-term income. We call that kind of management foolish and shortsighted, because it has the natural consequence of reducing the value of that asset. The city should not feel obligated to replenish the lost value.

A neglected property is an opportunity for a new investor to make something better of it. Many of us purchased our first homes as distressed properties. We would not have been able to afford to buy them had the government intervened on behalf of their neglectful owners.

It is time for us to return to the values proclaimed by Thomas Jefferson, who said: "The policy of the American government is to leave their citizens free, neither restraining nor aiding them in their pursuits."

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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Russell Josephson

Longmont , CO

Russell Josephson has posted 2 stories and 0 comments since joining on 10/25/2007. Russell Josephson 's average story rating is 4.75.

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