Organization of Westside Neighbors — August 2026
Old Colorado City is watching two things happen at once. The development tool our own voters approved is being quietly and quickly dismantled without a replacement. And down the street, other parts of the city are locking in new, ongoing funding for problems we’re dealing with too, without any of it coming our way. Here’s what’s actually going on, with sources, so you can see for yourself.
What is the Old Colorado City DDA, and why does it matter?
A Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is a special governing structure that lets a business district raise its own funding, through mill levies and tax increment financing, to invest in itself: infrastructure, beautification, marketing, and long-term development. Old Colorado City voters created ours in November 2024 after years of community organizing concluded a DDA was the strongest tool available, stronger than a standard business improvement district, because it could draw on both commercial and residential funding sources and capture sales tax revenue from visitors. (Gazette: DDA ballot proposal, Pikes Peak Bulletin: proposal background)
Since then, an 11-member board was appointed to represent more than 400 Old Colorado City businesses. But the authority has yet to complete a development plan or begin spending on improvements, in part because the ballot measure that created it did not include the mill levy needed to fund it. (KOAA: board appointments)
Now the city wants to dissolve it
On August 25, 2026, City Council will vote on whether to dissolve the DDA entirely, before it has ever had the chance to spend a dollar on the corridor it was created to serve. Councilmember Brandy Williams, who represents Old Colorado City in District 3 and sits on the DDA board, has led the push, arguing the authority hasn’t shown enough progress in two years. (Gazette: dissolution coverage)
Board members, including Vice Chair Allison Daniell, disagree, and argue the authority is still the best long-term path for Old Colorado City’s stability and growth. No replacement funding mechanism has been proposed if the DDA is dissolved. Today, the only funding Old Colorado City receives is through a Special Improvement and Maintenance District, which covers basic upkeep like landscaping and snow removal, nothing close to what a DDA could provide. (Gazette: dissolution coverage)
Meanwhile, other corridors are getting new, ongoing funding
At the same time the city is moving to eliminate Old Colorado City’s development tool, it has approved substantial new security funding for two other business corridors, funded through the city’s retail marijuana sales tax:
South Nevada Avenue: On August 11, 2026, City Council approved a one-year, $758,000 security contract with private firm Fidelis Security, $458,000 of it from marijuana tax revenue, to station six guards and an overnight drone patrol along the corridor. This is not a one-time expense; it is structured to recur annually. Notably, Councilmember Ken Casey voted against the plan specifically because it includes no defined outcome metrics or performance standards. (Gazette: South Nevada security approval, KKTV: ordinance coverage, CPR: council debate)
Downtown Colorado Springs: The Downtown Partnership’s Clean and Safe program has received $700,000 in city marijuana-tax funding in 2026 alone, part of a broader $1.8 million effort that also draws on private and business funding. Unlike the South Nevada contract, this program tracks and reports detailed outcomes: 2,850 incidents handled in its first eleven months, 98% without police involvement, nearly 1,900 visitor contacts, and hundreds of connections made for people experiencing homelessness. (Gazette: Clean & Safe funding, Gazette: one-year progress report)
Old Colorado City: No comparable security funding. No marijuana-tax allocation. No new investment of any kind, at the same time our one dedicated development tool faces elimination.
Where does the money come from?
Colorado’s retail marijuana sales tax is a citywide revenue source, restricted by voters to public safety, mental health services, and PTSD treatment. As of the South Nevada vote, the fund had generated $6 million for the city, with $3.2 million budgeted for police and fire, $700,000 for Downtown’s Clean and Safe program, $200,000 for mental health and PTSD services, and now $458,000 for South Nevada. (Gazette: South Nevada funding request, Gazette: 2026 budget)
This is public money, generated citywide, and it is being allocated unevenly. Old Colorado City has not received a comparable share, even as it faces the same homelessness and safety pressures pushed outward from downtown and South Nevada.
What OWN is asking for
We’re not asking the city to abandon South Nevada or downtown. We’re asking for the same standard to apply everywhere. If marijuana tax revenue can fund ongoing security downtown and on South Nevada, it should be available to Old Colorado City too. And if the city has real concerns about how the DDA is run, we’re ready for that conversation, but dissolving it without offering any replacement is not a solution.
Have questions or want to get involved? Reach us at info@own-cos.org.
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