LAFAYETTE, Colo. (CBS4) – It’s one of the biggest churches in the state if not the country, but now the Flatirons Community Church is facing a legal battle.
Business owners across the street say the church is forcing them to shut their doors. Lafayette Music has been in business for 20 years. They most recently moved to the location two years ago after signing a five-year lease. Flatirons Community Church bought the commercial building and now wants to make the building into an office space.
“It not helping the local economy; it’s destroying the economy just to benefit a few people,” Mark Benassi said.
Mark and Janet Benassi have owned Lafayette Music since 2007. It was not long after that they started attending services at Flatirons Community Church. Then last fall they found out their church was going to become their new landlord.
“Flatirons Church wants us out of this space because they cannot even begin work on this multi-million dollar office project that they’ve been planning,” Mark Benassi said.
The Benassis are now fighting to keep their business open. They’ve started an online petition asking for community support.
“What it is doing is getting people talking about what’s going on here,” Mark Benassi said. “Not to communicate anything with the pastors of the church because they really don’t care.”
The Benassis say they’ve spent $20,000 in legal fees on their fight.
“If we give up and do what they want, we lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. If we fight it in court and lose, we lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. So what’s the difference? I might as well fight,” Mark Benassi said.
Lafayette Music boasts one of the largest selections of print music in the state. All the Benassis say they want is more time.
“Just let us stay here the next three years. A lot can happen in three years,” Mark Benassi said.
“The other good solution would be to get enough money to move to another location that covers all our expenses, not just the ones that the church wants to cover, but all our expenses. Because they’re the ones who want us out.”
The music store’s most profitable time is coming up at the end of summer when students head back to school. The Benassis say they hope to stay open through then.
CBS4 wanted to share the church’s side of this story but several of the top officials didn’t return requests for an interview.
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/06/07/music-store-owner-flatirons-church-wants-us-out/
Links:
Go Fund Me page: http://www.gofundme.com/t7y5dbs
Online petition: https://www.change.org/p/flatirons-community-church-flatirons-community-church-either-pay-lafayette-music-for-the-actual-costs-of-moving-its-business-or-leave-the-benassi-s-alone-for-the-3-years-remaining-on-their-lease?source_location=petition_footer&algorithm=promoted
[Story includes video and photos.]