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In February the citizens of Lafayette, who voted in last November’s election, will receive a ballot in the mail. This ballot will ask them to vote to annex land, approve zoning and allow the construction of a Lowe’s Home Improvement store. This Boulder County land currently serves as part of a community buffer between Lafayette and Broomfield.
This issue is more than just a question of revenue for the city of Lafayette. This issue asks the citizens of Lafayette to question the ‘bigger is better’ and ‘more is not enough’ philosophy so pervasive in our culture and one we are helping to spread around the globe. This philosophy threatens the well-being of many so that a select few can earn huge profits at the expense of our planet’s limited resources.
There are more than the individuals who own the land in question involved in this issue. At a minimum, also involved are those individuals who own and work in local hardware and lumber stores will be affected due to the lower prices Lowe’s is often able to offer as a large corporation - a corporation in which most employees will never meet the ultimate owner who is likely earning a salary that is at least 10 times more than most Lowe’s employees can even dream of making.
Enough is enough. Now is the time for the citizens of Lafayette to vote their consciences. Residents of Boulder County can also impact this issue by helping the citizens group, Preserve Lafayette (www.preservelafayette.org), raise enough money to purchase the land and preserve it as a rural buffer and wildlife habitat on Boulder’s County’s eastern edge.

Cherri Jacobs Pruitt
Lafayette

This letter has not been edited.