Aurora Council Chambers to Receive $1.5 Million ADA Upgrade

Aurora City Council will receive an update Monday on a $1.5 million project to bring the council chambers into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The plan adds two ramps, expands the dais, installs new accessible seating throughout the chamber and replaces the existing lift that does not meet ADA standards.

Construction is slated to begin next year and finish in August. To prepare, the city will decommission the audio and visual equipment used to record and livestream meetings and transition to fully virtual meetings starting Dec. 7.

City Manager Jason Batchelor explained the shift to virtual as a baseline for accessibility. “Fully virtual is fully accessible so we want to make sure we start with that as a baseline,” Batchelor said at the July 27 study session. “We could look at doing it here with potentially folks in the lobby. There’s some options like that but recreating what we have in the chambers is not an option that we’ve been able to find.”

What this means for residents: the upgraded chamber will provide wheelchair‑friendly paths to the dais and assembly area, and future council meetings will be accessible online for anyone unable to attend in person.

What’s next: the council will move forward with the contractor awarded in October, begin construction next year, and hold fully virtual meetings beginning Dec. 7 while the upgrades are completed.