SUPERIOR, Colo. — A group of Marshall Fire victims who live in the Sagamore neighborhood in Superior are speaking out against a new build on the block that is raising several concerns.
Neighbors contacted Denver7 claiming the builders for the new home are not being required to follow the same zoning laws and building codes that they were facing when rebuilding.
Matteo Rebeschini, a Marshall Fire victim who lives near the new house, said the home is causing negative impacts for those around it because the height and setback restrictions are not being met.
"Think about the neighboring properties, right? The shade they get," he said. "Also, for the neighbors that live across the street, they built and designed a house that was engineered thinking about solar gains that they will get from the sun, assuming the maximum height they will get from the house in the front, and now they find themselves with the house that is much closer to the street, providing more shade than it should."
Diana Leiker, who also lives near the new home, said all of the other houses in the neighborhood are the same height and width, except for this new one.
Leiker said they've expressed their concerns to the town but have not received much of a response.
"It's concerning. Setbacks really are here to protect all of us, not just one individual," she said. "With the wildfire risk we have in this area, you don't want to minimize like that space you have between houses, you know, the setbacks are there to help even with construction, right? If you build all the way up to your property line, it's going to be really hard not to do damage to your neighbor."
Denver7 took their concerns directly to town officials.
A spokesperson with the Town of Superior said the home was provided an accommodation for ADA accessibility for an elevator that exceeds the maximum height.
They said the building permit that was reviewed and approved by the town meets the remainder of the standards within the Sagamore regulations. The spokesperson added that if they were to find that they constructed the home out of compliance with those approved plans, the town would expect any errors to be corrected.
According to town officials, the accessibility accommodation for the elevator allowed for approximately six feet of additional height and said that the remainder of the home is within the height regulations.
They added that they understand that homeowners were surprised by this home and the ADA accessibility accommodation provided to the homeowner. They said those decisions are made without public input, out of consideration for federal laws on accessibility and medical privacy.
Additionally, Denver7 reporter Kristian Lopez spoke directly with the homeowner, who declined to provide an on-camera interview. The homeowner said she and her husband followed the town's specifications. She said their plans were approved right away and their home is expected to be finished in October.
Neighbors said they will keep fighting this until the town listens to their concerns.
"We're just asking them to follow procedure and to go ahead and stop work and give us a chance to talk about this in an open public hearing, and then work to bring this house back into compliance and hopefully remedy the issues and the damage they've done to their adjacent neighbors," Leiker added.
The construction of the home will continue since it was already given the town's approval.
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