Neighbors in Superfund site want property taxes cut in half

Several people living in a Superfund site in Pueblo are petitioning for their property taxes to be cut in half.

Realtor David Webb said those who live in the Eilers and Bessemer neighborhoods are not able to get a loan because they live in a Superfund area. There are about 1,900 homes in the Superfund zone. Webb said he’s collecting signatures, asking Pueblo County Assessor Frank Beltran to cut their property taxes by 51 percent while their homes remain under the Superfund designation.

Webb, who rents a home in the Eilers neighborhood, said he tried to buy a property within the Superfund site but said banks wouldn’t loan him money.

“People may just walk away from their properties saying ‘I can’t get what I need for it. My loan is too high.’ Guess what bank? Now you’ve got a property that you can’t sell. Good luck,” Webb said.

Beltran told KRDO NewsChannel 13 he couldn’t comment on the petition because he hasn’t seen it. Beltran added that during the month of May taxpayers can challenge the value of their homes and taxes.

Webb said those interested in signing the petition can do so at Makita’s Floor Covering at 1200 S. Santa Fe Ave.

The Environmental Protection Agency found high levels of lead and arsenic in the neighborhood, and listed it under the National Priorities List of Superfund sites in December of 2014. The EPA has linked the contamination to the former Colorado Smelter, which began operating in 1883 and closed in 1908.