Nineteen special district budgets are before a Council committee Tuesday. Here's what the Council is approving
Business improvement districts pay for the ambassadors, cleanup crews and safety patrols you see downtown, on Colfax and in RiNo. State law requires the Council to sign off on their budgets every year.
Two stories this weekend put Denver's special districts in the spotlight. Denverite's Oct. 26 report on homelessness outreach noted that business improvement district teams are part of the city's street-level response, and that outreach contacts by those teams grew from 1,226 in 2023 to 2,504 in 2025, according to public reports. And 9News reported on Oct. 24 that downtown office vacancy has topped 40%, according to CBRE.
Why it matters: these districts collect money from property owners within their boundaries and spend it on things like cleaning, security, marketing and street improvements. Their budgets for 2027 are on the Finance and Business Committee's agenda Tuesday, Oct. 27 (agenda).
Why the Council votes on them
State law requires the City Council to approve or disapprove each business improvement district's budget for the coming year, according to the city's request for the Downtown Denver BID. For general improvement districts, the Council itself sits as the board of directors and adopts the work plan and budget, as the Sun Valley district's request explains. Full plans are on file with the Clerk and Recorder.
What's on Tuesday's agenda
Business improvement districts (bills):
- Bluebird, 26-1587
- Cherry Creek North, 26-1589
- Cherry Creek Subarea, 26-1590
- Colfax, 26-1591
- Colfax Mayfair, 26-1592
- Downtown Denver, 26-1593, in Districts 9 and 10
- Federal Boulevard, 26-1596, in District 1
- Five Points, 26-1597
- Old South Gaylord, 26-1599
- RiNo, 26-1600
- Santa Fe, 26-1602
- West Colfax, 26-1604
- The Denver Tourism Improvement District, 26-1595
General improvement districts, with the Council as the board (resolutions):
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- Ballpark, 26-1586
- Broadway, 26-1588
- Denver 14th Street, 26-1594
- Gateway Village, 26-1598
- RiNo Denver, 26-1601, which includes capital and maintenance charges
- Sun Valley, 26-1603, which includes a mill levy
What our records add
Districts are part of other stories this week. The Federal Boulevard district covers a corridor where a $50 million state grant will help build bus rapid transit. The RiNo districts' budgets come as Alterra prepares to move its headquarters out of RiNo; at committee, Council member Darrell Watson said the neighborhood's improvement districts were not notified (video at 17:40). See our story on the Alterra lease.
More on Mayor-Council's list. The same week, the Mayor-Council agenda includes a petition to add property to the Colfax Mayfair district, 26-1536, and 2027 costs for eight local maintenance districts, including Skyline Park, Tennyson Street, West 38th Avenue and the Golden Triangle (agenda).
What's next
After committee, the bills need two readings by the full Council and the resolutions one vote. Committee members are listed on our committees page. Find your Council member on the district map.