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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 now live in different parts of city code; (2) create measurable objectives and accountable leads across PURA, the city’s building and health departments and public works; (3) prioritize funding for demolition and redevelopment as a public-health and police-power function; and (4) prioritize replacement housing so damaged parcels are repopulated rather than left vacant.
PURA’s suggested tools included using Urban Renewal condemnation authority for properties within renewal areas and a "spot blight removal" approach for single-property actions. Pacheco said urban renewal can acquire title and then facilitate redevelopment; because condemnation by URA requires a city council resolution, he asked council for policy direction and for lists of priority parcels to move to condemnation when needed.
Costs, capacity and existing inventory
City staff and Pacheco noted constraints and trade-offs. Mayor Graham said the city receives roughly $1.415 million annually in CDBG funds and that federal rules limit demolition spending to 15% of that allocation (roughly $200,000–$225,000 per year). Pacheco cited examples: the Albany commercial demolition used roughly $900,000 in city funds; a single house demolition presented to council was estimated at about $180,000; and PURA invested about $750,000 into two duplex replacement units on the East Side in a prior project.
Council and staff said PURA has four employees and that some problem properties lie outside existing urban renewal districts, complicating a single‑tool approach. Councilors urged a clearly documented policy so department heads know the process and budgets in advance: which pot of money to use for which property, who signs environmental reviews for HUD-funded parcels, and how quickly the city will act when a parcel poses an immediate health or safety threat.
Next steps recommended
Pacheco and city staff said they have already compiled an inventory of roughly 26 properties in renewal areas for prioritized action and asked council to consider a resolution authorizing URA to initiate condemnation for identified parcels. Councilors and the mayor said staff should craft an implementation program, identify funding priorities, and return with an MOU or resolution spelling out responsibilities and timelines.
Ending
Council members framed the problem as a long-standing structural issue that requires both funding and a clear municipal process. Pacheco asked for direction and authorization to begin targeted condemnation and redevelopment for priority properties within URA areas once council supplies the policy direction and any necessary resolutions.
