The city council unanimously approved the Littleton Downtown Development Authority’s plan of development, moving the quasi-governmental organization along in its formulation process.

In 2022, voters approved a ballot measure to allow the formation of the authority, and two financing mechanisms to pay for it.

The authority’s purpose is to “help facilitate partnerships between businesses, property owners and local governments to champion the beautification, development and improvements” of downtown Littleton, according to the authority's website.

The plan of development is a guiding document that works as a “menu of services” for the authority, Assistant City Manager Kathleen Osher said.

“It sort of governs the opportunity for the (authority) to say ‘These are the types of things that we have heard interest from, here's how we could think about short-term, middle-term and long-term projects that would fit within the type of work that the (authority) could do,’” she said.

Prior to being presented to council, the city’s planning commission unanimously recommended the plan for approval on April 24.

With the guidance of a consultant team, Progressive Urban Management Associates, and input from more than 850 downtown stakeholders and residents - a steering committee created a plan of development to focus on five main goals.

“It really boiled down to the consensus for five areas: an improved parking experience, a well-connected downtown, beautiful and welcoming downtown, clean and safe and … business-friendly and vibrant,” Osher said.

Within each goal area, the plan includes short- and long-term project ideas. Some of these include building a parking structure downtown, constructing a pedestrian bridge near Powers Avenue, starting a flower program with planters along Main Street, filling vacant storefronts and enhancing alleyways with lights and murals.

With the plan of development approved by city council, the authority will begin to create an operating plan and work with the Arapahoe County Assessor’s Office to determine projected revenues and formulate a 2024 budget, said Littleton Downtown Development Authority Director Jenny Starkey.

“We’re at a tipping point,” she said. “I think the community really wants to hear from the (authority) — what it is that we're up to, what it is that we foresee and forecast for the next couple of months and the next couple of years.”

There will also soon be a public hearing to amend the authority's current budget to reflect a city council’s April 4 decision to join an intergovernmental agreement with the authority, Osher wrote. This agreement provided $180,000 in American Rescue Plan funds to the authority to support its formation.

Formation activities will continue for the rest of the year, Osher wrote.

The tax increment financing and mill levy approved by voters to support the authority are anticipated to go into effect in the second quarter of 2024, according to city documents.