Community Vitality Act chain-store ban still under debate in Boulder

BOULDER – A few months ago, the buzz among Boulder businesses was the Community Vitality Act, a proposal to ban chain businesses in Boulder. But lately, say the phrase and the answer you might get is: Oh yeah, what happened to that?

“The proposal is still very much alive,´ said Boulder City Council Member Gordon Riggle. “It’s just being analyzed by a subcommittee at the moment.”

The Community Vitality Act was introduced last fall by the Boulder Independent Business Alliance (BIBA) to prohibit “formula” businesses from setting up shop in the Boulder community – except to replace similar chains that left the city. Some local business owners hoped the proposal could level the playing field for small independent businesses competing with huge chains and help retain Boulder’s small-town setting.

“The CVA will maintain a good balance in town and keep the unique character of the community,´ said Jeff Milchen, BIBA director.

But even with these good intentions, the plan has been met with fierce opposition from council members and civic leaders along the way. Riggle, who called the proposal “ill-conceived and ill-timed,” is worried that legislation of this nature may hurt Boulder more than help it.

“Boulder’s already competing with retail stores to the East, and FlatIron mall is going to open up this summer making things worse,” Riggle said. “The Community Vitality Act may limit retail opportunities even more.”

Concerns over Boulder’s retail future led the city council to appoint a subcommittee to look into the economic sustainability of the city. As part of that job, the committee also will look at the proposed Vitality Act and see how it may affect the overall retail climate of Boulder in the future.

Milchen believes part of the opposition to the proposal has resulted from the way it’s been termed; instead of support for local independent businesses, the proposal has been viewed as a ban on business.

“There are a lot of people making a lot of money off the status quo in Boulder,” Milchen said. “We expected to get opposition from development interests.”

While the CVA could apply to the whole city, the area of primary concern is downtown Boulder. One thorn in the side of BIBA members has been the opening of Borders bookstore at the east end of Pearl Street because it may steal business away from the Boulder Bookstore at the west end of the mall. And although Crossroads Mall is technically exempt from the Act; a chain store larger than 12,000 square feet would require a special review prior to opening its doors.

At the beginning of the year, Boulder City Attorney Joe de Raismes said it was legal for the city to offer leasing preferences to locally owned businesses. De Raismes also wrote a memo, however, outlining several problems that may lay ahead such as the definition of locally owned businesses and whether the initiative should be mandatory or merely a guideline. This memo was used by council members in their February retreat and is now being looked at by the subcommittee. Until further action is taken by the city council, de Raismes said his office has no intention of looking at the proposal again.

For now, council members such as Lisa Morzel are asking independent business owners what they think about the proposal. “I want to get their perspective so we know how best to help them,” Morzel said.

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