After nearly a decade of attempts, downtown Denver business and property owners are closer to creating an improvement district around Coors Field.

On Monday, the Denver City Council approved a bill to create a Ballpark general improvement district — an area taxing both commercial and residential property owners — and put the issue on November’s ballot.

The tax district has to be approved by voters who are property owners and residents within the proposed district boundaries.

Local Ballpark Neighborhood leaders have been working on making the area an improvement district since 2016, but first as a business improvement district that only taxes commercial properties. After the bid failed, they tried again in 2019 as a general improvement district.

The pandemic halted those plans, but the area struggled with the rise in homelessness and violent crime.

District leaders said they’ve been frustrated by how past city leadership neglected the area for years. While Ballpark has improved amidst Mayor Mike Johnston’s  encampment sweeps and housing initiatives, they said, leaders also feel the need for a longer-lasting solution less dependent on city management.

“We cannot afford to make incremental progress only for momentum to take a step back when city funding or leadership changes,” Chris Payne, senior vice president of Riverside Development, told councilmembers Monday. “There needs to be a long term answer and hope that drives real and unwavering advancement.”

The area is surrounded by improvement districts such as Upper Downtown, RiNo and Five Points. Ballpark leaders felt left out as its problems exacerbated.

An improvement district allows the area to collect a tax based on the assessed value of properties to fund beautification projects or private security for the neighborhood.

But Ballpark is one of the most concentrated neighborhoods of social services in the state, making it a complicated district to set up due to the proliferation of tax-exempt properties in the area, including Coors Field.

But local leaders worked with the Colorado Rockies and nonprofits to help fund the district, on top of its proposed $1.3 million budget for 2025, and give them a seat on the district’s board.

“I can tell you without a doubt that this effort has been the most comprehensive and the most inclusive effort to date, and we're hoping that the third time is definitely the charm,” said Kevin Kahn, Rockies vice president of ballpark operations, at Monday’s public hearing.

He added that the Rockies “strongly believe” that the general improvement district will help make the area cleaner, safer and more family-friendly.

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Twelve City Council members voted for the measure, except for Shontel Lewis of District 8.

In its next steps, leaders will work on the "fine details," said Candice Pineda, owner of 65-year-old restaurant Mexico City Lounge and member of the proposed district board. 

"We're super excited that everything passed through City Council last night," Pineda said. "Now the board will really get to work on our intergovernmental agreements."

That includes solidifying the district's contracts with social services, security teams and how it will work with government agencies, Pineda said.

They also will begin work on a voter outreach strategy to start rolling out after Labor Day before ballots are mailed out to registered voters in October. 

Councilwoman Sarah Parady, who voted in favor of Ballpark’s district, expressed general concerns at Monday’s meeting over the city’s many improvement districts as another council member discussed potentially setting one up along South Broadway.

“We over rely on these small tax districts because of our general sort of tax-impoverished environment and the impacts of TABOR,” Parady said.

As district boards begin to have more power on who provides critical services, she said, the city begins to lose some of its say.

“What that results in is that when we have these small districts governed by boards and they start getting into the business of providing services like security or homeless outreach,” Parady said, “we as council have less oversight of that.”