The special tax district created to raise money for a Front Range passenger rail system would be dramatically scaled back to Colorado’s urban — and more liberal — centers under a bill introduced Monday at the Capitol.
Senate Bill 172 would trim out more conservative parts of the state — like Castle Rock, Lone Tree, Monument, Greeley and most unincorporated areas — from the district, which was formed in 2021.
The measure comes as the district is preparing to ask its residents in November for a sales tax increase to pay for the train, recently named the Colorado Connector, or CoCo. The hope is to get the line chugging, first between Denver and Fort Collins, by 2029.
Sal Pace, general manager of the Front Range Passenger Rail District, said while it’s true that the new district would likely improve the chances of passing a sales tax increase to fund the train, because of its more Democratic-leaning electorate, that wasn’t the intent.
“That was not the driving criteria here,” he said. “We could have actually drawn a more liberal district.”
Pace said the new district was drawn with the train’s selected route in mind and in consultation with county clerks, who said the existing district’s boundaries — which include areas within a few miles of Interstate 25 — are too difficult to use for elections.
The district anticipates asking for a sales tax increase of up to a half-cent per dollar — or 5 cents per $10 — to fund the route.
As currently drawn, the Front Range Passenger Rail District runs along I-25 from the Wyoming border to the New Mexico border, widening out around Fort Collins, Boulder, Denver, Castle Rock, Colorado Springs and Pueblo.
A map of where the Front Range passenger rail taxation district currently is. (Handout)Under Senate Bill 172, the district would be limited to the following cities:
Arvada Boulder Bow Mar Broomfield Centennial Cherry Hills Village Colorado Springs Columbine Valley Denver Edgewater Englewood Federal Heights Fort Collins Glendale Greenwood Village Lafayette Lakeside Lakewood Littleton Longmont Louisville Loveland Manitou Springs Mountain View Northglenn Pueblo Sheridan Starkville Superior Trinidad WestminsterThe Sterling Ranch Metropolitan District, just southwest of Highlands Ranch, would also be in the district.
State Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, a Pueblo Democrat and main sponsor of the bill, said the new district was drawn to include cities for which at least 20% of their population is five miles from one of the train’s planned stations.
The planned stations are in Fort Collins, Loveland, Longmont, Boulder, Louisville, Westminster, Broomfield, Denver, Littleton, Sterling Ranch, Colorado Springs and Pueblo. While Trinidad has been cut out of Front Range passenger rail route plans, it’s expected to benefit from a sales tax increase in the form of money to rebuild its existing Amtrak station.
“We now know where the stops are,” Hinrichsen said in explaining the proposal. “That wasn’t a thing five years ago.”
Residential and commercial development in and around Boulder Junction. If or when a commuter train ever comes to Boulder and Longmont, this would be the Boulder stop. (Colorado Public Radio photo)Hinrichsen said municipalities and special districts would be incentivized to join the tax district because, under the bill, it would let them have a representative on the board, which in turn would let them advocate for a station. Additionally, the plan is to offer lower fares to residents of the district.
Senate Bill 172 would also let parts of the district form subdistricts that could ask voters for even bigger sales tax hikes for things like increased service, better stations or housing near stops.
“We don’t anticipate to utilize this in 2026,” Pace said, “but it’s another tool for the toolbox.”
Senate Bill 172 is scheduled to get its first hearing in the Senate Transportation and Energy Committee on Monday.
The other lead sponsors of the measure are state Sen. Cathy Kipp, D-Fort Collins, and state Reps. Andrew Boesenecker of Fort Collins and Amy Paschal of Colorado Springs.
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