Urban renewal in Old Town Erie irks some longtime residents
“The Erie Board of Trustees this month will consider whether to adopt the Historic Old Town Erie Urban Renewal Plan, which would give the town a powerful tool — up to and including eminent domain — to push forward redevelopment and new development projects in the historic district.
The town will hold an open house on the proposed plan at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Erie Community Center.
Liz Fisher, an Old Town resident for a quarter-century, conceded that her part of Erie may not be as pristine as some of the town’s newer, more manicured neighborhoods, but it’s not the derelict community described in the urban renewal plan.
“It’s older, but it’s not blighted,” she said. “I feel they are stretching the intent of the definition of blight.”
The plan, drafted for the town by real estate advisory firm Ricker/Cunningham, identifies a series of blight conditions in Old Town, including deteriorating buildings, buildings without sprinklers, missing sidewalks, insufficient lighting and location in a floodplain.”
Aguilar, John. The Denver Post 4 November 2013.