Old Colorado City businesses and residents propose tax hike to spruce up area

Some residents and business owners in Old Colorado City are proposing a property tax increase that will be used to spruce up the area.

Many Old Colorado City residents and business owners spoke in favor of the proposal during Tuesday's Colorado Springs City Council meeting. The plan would create a Downtown Development Authority in Old Colorado City and be funded partially by a mill levy increase for property owners along West Colorado Avenue.

Centro, Inc. and OCC Partnership

The tax would apply to residential and commercial property owners along West Colorado Avenue from I-25 to the Colorado Springs/Manitou Springs boundary. Jamie Giellis, President of Centro Incorporated, a consultant firm hired by the Old Colorado City Partnership, said the 5-mill increase would generate around $280,000 each year for the area.

Giellis said the average residential property owner would pay around $136 per year and the average commercial property owner would pay around $686 each year with the proposed tax.

Business owners in Old Colorado City said they have concerns about worn-down buildings, insufficient street lighting, an increase in homelessness, theft, depreciation of sidewalks and roads, and overall security.

"It is probably the most you'll ever see a group of people... directly advocating for their taxes to be increased because we see the point. We see the purpose," said Adam Stepan, who owns Dice Guys along Colorado Avenue.

The City of Colorado Springs formed its own Downtown Development Authority (DDA) in 2016, which created a 5-mill tax levy within the district and another mechanism called Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to capture increased property tax revenues. The OCC Downtown Development Authority would also use the TIF mechanism for more funding.

Colorado Springs City Council voted 7-1 to push the proposal to a second vote. If approved in a second vote, the proposal will need to be approved by voters on November's ballot.
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