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Urban Renewal urges faster demolition and replacement housing to address burned and blighted properties
Summary
Pueblo Urban Renewal Authority staff recommended an explicit, cross-department strategy to speed demolition of fire‑destroyed and abandoned properties, to avoid long-term neighborhood decline and legal risk, and to prioritize replacement housing through UR tools including condemnation in renewal areas.
Jerry Pacheco, executive director of the Pueblo Urban Renewal Authority (PURA), urged council on March 17 to adopt a clearer, quicker policy for dealing with houses and commercial buildings that have burned, are abandoned and lack insurance.
Pacheco said the community currently lacks a uniform, time-bound process for removing fire-damaged properties and pointed to long delays that allow vacant lots and hulks to linger for years. "What we're doing isn't working, and what we're doing is exposing the community and ultimately the taxpayers to liability," he said. He warned that prolonged inaction on widespread problem properties could prompt complaints to state or federal authorities alleging disparate impact.
Key elements of the staff recommendation
Pacheco presented a goal and four strategic priorities: (1) streamline and align interdepartmental procedures that…
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