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Laurie L. Meador: The Emperor’s New ‘cLowe’s’

Laurie L. Meador
Silverthorne

I was unable to endure long enough to be heard at the Silverthorne Town Council meeting Sept. 8, so I’m writing this letter instead. Here are my questions and concerns.

1. Are the 99 parking spaces to be used for snow storage and the 33 parking spaces to be used for extra garden supplies in addition to the number of parking spaces required for the building, based on its occupancy and size?

2. Why use a current wetlands study rather than one that was five years old and then base their decision to build in Silverthorne on an economic feasibility study for 2007 that does not include a second big box home improvement retailer less than half a mile away?



3. A 25′ high retaining wall would exert 1,560 pounds per square foot of hydrostatic pressure at its base (acting perpendicular to its restraint). This concrete wall would be anchored into sandstone, the weakest form of rock. Plus, the anchors would be in the area most affected by the hydrostatic pressure. The wall would be built from the top down on unstable soil that had previously slid. We already have a full-scale study model of this exact condition a little farther up the hill.

4. Semi truck-trailers used for delivery require a turning radius of 50′. Lowe’s’ plan calls for delivery trucks to pull behind the building, unload (perpendicular to the loading dock?), then make a U-turn to exit. That’s 100′ minimum of space between the retaining wall and the building just for the trucks.



5. Lowe’s intends to relocate Buffalo Mountain Drive to intersect with Wildernest Road and Adams Avenue, leaving only one egress for all of Wildernest. (Two are required.) This could have devastating consequences.

6. How would the increased number of delivery trucks for Lowe’s affect Silverthorne, Summit County and I-70, especially with the proposed “zipper Lane?”

7. Lowe’s’ westbound delivery trucks would exit I-70, cross two lanes of traffic and enter the left turn lane in one block in order to be able to turn left onto Wildernest Road. This is an extremely busy exit off of I-70. It is the only exit for Arapahoe Basin, Keystone, Summit Cove, Dillon Reservoir, Dillon, Silverthorne, Wildernest, and northbound Hwy 9.

8. Traffic for Lowe’s could be backed up considerably on Hwy. 9 and I-70. As it is now, sometimes it takes two or three traffic light cycles to get through the intersection of Hwy 9 and Wildernest Road.

9. Could 11+ acres of impervious materials (including a 100,000+sf building) actually be sustainable? Can that much run-off really be effectively filtered?

10. The jobs that Lowe’s is proposing would pay an average of $10.50/hour, some with benefits.

I had hoped that this proposal would not pass, but, unfortunately, it did. I’ve got news for you folks, the Emperor is NAKED!


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