Build Lowe's or build more offices

Ballot box zoning is the term used when a city's residents decide to take important land use decisions into their own hands. When a city council is split over a major issue, such as the Lowe's home improvement store in Westlake Village, a public vote is sometimes the only way to go. We're glad that on Nov. 7 the Lowe's the issue will be decided once and for all.

Voters in Westlake are being asked to amend the city's general plan and allow for the development of a Lowe's retail center. The disputed 22-acre site near Costco will become a large office complex if Lowe's loses. If Costco weren't built, perhaps that site would be an office building, too. Despite noises to the contrary, most Westlake residents are glad Costco is a part of their community. Enough of the office buildings, many are saying. We want a place to gather on weekends where we can shop for the home and enjoy a meal with the family.

Traffic will be a part of the equation either way. We'd rather the city reap the financial benefits of Lowe's, which far outweigh those of an office complex.

The city was criticized heavily for allowing Costco, but the annual sales tax revenue from the big box store, coupled with the development fees garnered from other projects, allowed Westlake to become one of the most financially secure cities in Los Angeles County. But as the city grows up and those developer revenues diminish, or as the state makes good on its threat to usurp local monies, Westlake Village must seek other avenues of income. The estimated $750,000 a year in sales tax revenue from Lowe's will protect the city's pocketbook for years to come.

Then there's the issue of free enterprise. The opposition to Lowe's mainly has been bankrolled by Do It Center, which fears competition from a big box neighbor. But next month's vote is not about choosing one business over another, it's about which development will be the best for Westlake Village.

Now it's up to the voters to decide.

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