Crossroads too much of a public issue to be discussed in secret

A process of openness and community involvement that surrounded the first discussions of redeveloping Boulder’s Crossroads Mall suddenly has moved behind closed doors.

In January, the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority held a secret “executive” session to discuss the possibility of hiring attorney Marlin Opperman, who specializes in condemnation proceedings.

Because Crossroads Mall owner Macerich Co. and the family that owns land at the south end of the mall are at a stalemate over the value of the land and a possible sale, Boulder has begun moving toward a possible condemnation process. This is more than “saber-rattling” on the city’s part; Boulder officials are unhappy that Macerich was unable to proceed with its redevelopment on this key piece of retail property, and they’re willing to look at all options to get the project moving again.

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Just two years ago, city and Macerich officials stood arm in arm on a massive plan to renovate Crossroads that would nearly double its size with new commercial and retail space. Numerous public meetings were held in 1998, allowing citizens and businesses to voice their views on what Crossroads should become.

Macerich was forced to scale back this plan, however, when anchor Foley’s blackballed Dillard’s department store from becoming a new anchor. Dillard’s ended up joining Broomfield’s new FlatIron Crossing mall, and the rest is regional retail history.

A second scaled-back redevelopment plan pushed forward by Macerich included a new movie theater and new restaurants in an open-air complex. But with the FlatIron project now on a roll, upscale retailers were not willing to commit to the aging Crossroads.

The same Boulder citizens and businesses who volunteered their time and energy to become involved with the Crossroads redevelopment should not take BURA’s secret sessions lightly. The media, including this newspaper, has covered the Crossroads saga in depth and will continue to do so.

Boulder typically is a very open city when it comes to government meetings. But once again, officials being paid by taxpayers are refusing to let the public know what they’re up to by using the “legal matters” excuse to shut the doors. A condemnation of Crossroads Mall obviously is a very important public matter. Hiring the attorney to do it also should be public. If the city decides to hire these attorneys, what they are paying them also should be a public matter.

Colorado’s open meetings law reads “personnel matters are not automatically material for executive sessions for state public bodies.” It’s true that meetings can be closed to hold conferences with the “body’s lawyer on specific legal questions” or “sessions to determine positions on negotiations.” Maybe something like this went on at the BURA meeting, but only those who were allowed in know for sure.

BURA will meet again on Feb. 21 to decide on hiring condemnation lawyers.

If BURA insists on secret sessions on a topic of utmost interest and importance to Boulder citizens ? the vitality and future of the city’s largest retail center, they should expect a public outcry and lack of confidence in their proceedings.This year is the 20th anniversary of The Boulder County Business Report, which remains one of the few independently owned newspapers in Boulder County.

Starting in this issue on Page 12A we begin a series of stories looking at the major business stories of the past 20 years. Our reporting will culminate in a special 20th Anniversary Special Issue in November.

And what was the big story in 1982 ? the first year The Business Report was launched?

Oddly enough, while Boulder ponders the fate of Crossroads Mall, in 1982 it was fighting off a plan by the city of Louisville to develop a new fashion mall in the Centennial Valley. Boulder won that skirmish, our story reports, by creating the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority, which quickly devised a plan to sell bonds to pay for a renovation and expansion of Crossroads.

BURA is now back at the center of a controversy ? considering a condemnation of Crossroads to get a redevelopment project moving again.

Funny isn’t it? No matter how much things have changed over 20 years, mall development is still a very interesting story.