Aurora lawmakers will decide on Monday night whether to ask voters if the city should create an authority meant to help revitalize the Colfax Corridor after a vote in April to move forward with the new plan. 

Councilmembers will vote on an ordinance that would create an election for a downtown development authority along the East Colfax Avenue corridor.

Voters in November will still need to approve the creation of the Aurora Downtown Development Authority, according to council documents. The authority, as envisioned, seeks to revitalize the corridor. Monday’s ordinance is the first step in that process, proponents said. 

In April, councilmembers approved the next phase of the project to revitalize the Colfax Avenue corridor. The project began in April 2024, when Aurora’s Urban Renewal Authority board voted to approve an evaluation on how to improve downtown Aurora, with a focus on the areas between Colfax Avenue and Yosemite Street and 17th and 13th Streets.

After studying the needs of northwest Aurora, Brad Segal, the president of consulting company Progressive Urban Management Associates, recommended the city move forward with creating a downtown development authority and a community development corporation for the area. 

A downtown development authority is a body governed by state statute that includes commercial and residential properties and led by a council-appointed board, according to Segal. Funding for a DDA comes from tax increment financing, which uses future property and sales tax increases to pay for new infrastructure, he said.

A community development corporation is a nonprofit organization created to support and revitalize an area.

Unlike a DDA, a CDC relies on fundraising.

The combination of a downtown development authority and a community development corporation would allow for philanthropic support, while using the DDA as a “primary driver,” Segal said.

Also Monday night, councilmembers will vote on the continuation of an intergovernmental agreement with the State Department of Local Affairs to provide supportive services for housing voucher holders at the city’s future homeless navigation campus.

Councilmembers will also make a final vote on an ordinance authorizing the use of lease-purchase financing for the construction of a new animal shelter, an ordinance adding a new type of cabaret license for businesses, and consider an ordinance that would allow police in unmarked vehicles to chase vehicles. 

Monday night’s study session is open to the public via livestream at 5 p.m. There will not be a public comment session, per a vote by councilmembers at the last meeting.

The regular meeting of the council will follow starting at 6 p.m.

Livestreams are available at auroraTV.org, Youtube.com/TheAuroraChannel, and cable channels 8 and 880.