Aurora Voters Face Packed Ballot with Proposal for New Downtown Authority

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado

AURORA–Voters in the the City of Aurora will decide on multiple charter amendments and city council seats this November, along with a referred measure asking residents to create a new tax-financed Downtown Development Authority (DDA).

Aurora, which borders Denver to the east, is Colorado’s third most populous city at a little over 414,000 residents, made up of portions of Arapahoe, Adams and Douglas counties.   

The DDA is a government entity whose purpose is to revitalize the downtown-area including businesses, infrastructure, and events. A governing board appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council would include one council member and 4-10 residents within the district.  

Aurora City Council approved the DDA question for the ballot in July, to be decided by those who live, own businesses, property, or represent businesses within the proposed district, which stretches between Yosemite and Peoria streets and two blocks north and south of Colfax Avenue.  

Residents withing the boundary will be asked two questions on the ballot: 1) should the DDA be created, and 2) should Tax Increment Financing be used, meaning the district would be financed through a controversial funding strategy utilizing an expected increase (or “increment”) in tax revenues over the current base, assumed to be generated due to the improvements.  

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman says the DDA is most important of all the measures on the city’s ballot, as he believes it will bring life back into a decaying area of town: “The establishment of a DDA, for this economically depressed and blighted area, will accelerate the process of redeveloping and revitalizing it by allowing the DDA to retain all revenues in excess of what we are currently getting from this area.”  

Coffman told Complete Colorado that the city plans to use the money for enhanced lighting for security purposes, hiring private security, picking up trash, power washing sidewalks, maintaining landscapes, as well as supporting businesses, housing, and neighborhood needs.

Multiple charter amendments    

Aurora voters will also decide on five charter amendments including Ballot Question 3F, which designates ward and at-large city council seats as separate offices concerning term limits.   

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