City of Lafayette

Printable Version

CITY COMMITS MILLION$ TO RETAIN WAL-MART
It seems like just about every community except Boulder is offering desirable businesses incentives to entice expansion or location decisions. Now, Lafayette has offered a $2.3 million incentive to keep WalMart in town. WalMart operates a standard department store and pharmacy at 300 Waneka Parkway that generates $1.1 million in tax revenue for Lafayette each year. Growth in area communities prompted WalMart to seek a location for a WalMart Supercenter north of its current store just off U.S. 287. Lafayette neighbor, Erie, has its eye on the move and was ready to step in with available land and a welcome mat had Lafayette rejected the discount giant’s relocation in the city. WalMart has been in Lafayette since 1987, has been a good corporate citizen and is a vital part of the local economy. Lafayette City Council voted to approve the incentive package following a public hearing on December 30. Wal-Mart is expected to submit a sketch plan this month followed by an extensive review and public comment process through the summer. Final approval of the SuperCenter is expected in September.

CITY APPROVES FEE INCREASES
City Council approved a laundry list of fee increases in January that will yield an additional $1.4 million in revenue. More than 20 fees were increased, and some of the largest increases were on business licenses and commercial water taps. For example, the fee on a 3-inch commercial water tap is going from $16,380 to $83,226.