Press Releases

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) reintroduced the Silver Cliff Community Act, which would restore the Town of Silver Cliff’s ZIP Code. 

In 1991, the Town of Silver Cliff lost its unique ZIP Code and was forced to use the ZIP Code of the neighboring town of Westcliffe, which has resulted in delays and extensive errors with postal delivery, as well as a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales tax revenue. This bill would reinstate the original ZIP Code to the Town of Silver Cliff, decoupling them from Westcliffe and alleviating these issues.

“Coloradans depend on reliable postal service for everything from prescription drugs and billing notices to food, clothing, and other necessary items,” said Pettersen. “However, because Silver Cliff lost their unique ZIP Code, there’s been delayed and lost deliveries, subpar postal service, as well as thousands of dollars lost in sales tax revenue. I will continue working with Mayor Wenzel to fix this issue and deliver solutions for the Town of Silver Cliff.” 

“I'm so appreciative of Congresswoman Pettersen's relentless and aggressive pursuit to restore our original ZIP Code - 81249 - to the Town of Silver Cliff,” said Mayor H.A. Buck Wenzel. “In 1991 the USPS arbitrarily, capriciously and without public hearing deactivated our ZIP Code and forced our town to use the ZIP Code of the neighboring Town of Westcliffe. The deactivation of our ZIP Code stole our identity and has caused the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in the loss of sales tax revenue from online, out of county and out of state sales.”

Pettersen first introduced the Silver Cliff Community Act last Congress. In December, the House passed H.R. 8753 which included Pettersen’s provision to restore the Town of Silver Cliff’s unique ZIP Code, but the legislation stalled in the Senate. 

As a founding member of the bipartisan Delivering Postal Solutions Caucus, Pettersen is committed to solving postal issues across her district. Since coming to Congress, Pettersen has sent several letters to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy urging USPS to take action to restore the Silver Cliff ZIP Code, as well as to address subpar service and delays in communities throughout Colorado. 

Full text of the bill can be found HERE.