1995 – Compromise defeated slow-growth initiative

BOULDER — The face-off between growth and no-growth advocates in Boulder County reached a crescendo in 1995, when an initiative called Slow Growth! found a place on the Boulder city ballot and almost won.

With the exception of massive layoffs at Louisville-based Storage Technology Corp., business was booming in Boulder County in 1995. As fast as developers could build, growing companies filled the buildings. Jobs were pouring into the county, especially Boulder itself.

The downside to all this prosperity was a meteoric rise in housing prices and traffic congestion. Something had to be done.

What emerged was a ballot initiative to reduce construction…