City Plan: A New Comprehensive Plan for Wheat Ridge

There have been three phases of public engagement for the City Plan. Each phase of engagement featured a public open house event, an online survey, a meeting of the project steering committee, a city council discussion, and a planning commission discussion.

Phase one occurred in April 2024 and solicited big-picture information from residents about their desired direction for the future of Wheat Ridge. There was an emerging consensus that Wheat Ridge residents know what is working well in the community today and also know what they want for a stronger community future.

Phase two occurred in June 2024 and ratified community Values, Principles, and Planning Priorities that will form the foundation of the City Plan.

Phase three occurred in September 2024 with the following public input opportunities:

• An online survey via What’s Up Wheat Ridge
• A public open house event at the Recreation Center
• City staff met with over 100 students at Wheat Ridge High School

Phase four focused on improving mobility in Wheat Ridge and achieving peaceful coexistence between new development and established residential areas. Below are takeaways for each of those topics.

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Topic #1: Improving mobility, especially for non-motorized users like pedestrians and cyclists.

In order to understand how the City Plan can best support future enhancements to the city’s mobility network, residents were asked to map important destinations and their desired routes for getting to the destinations on foot, on a bicycle, or in a car. Residents also submitted written comments. The input shared by the community through the mapping exercises highlighted key opportunities to improve mobility and safety in the area.

The feedback can be summarized into the following themes:

• Safety Concerns:
  • Approximately 70% of the comments mention safety as a concern
  • Over 20 mentions of unsafe crossings along Wadsworth, 32nd, and 44^th
  • Frequent mentions of vehicles exceeding speed limits on major roads like 38th and 44th
• Infrastructure:
  • Over 15 requests for improved bike infrastructure, particularly on 38th and 32^nd
  • Narrow or missing sidewalks reported across multiple streets, including 44th, Kipling, and Pierce
• Connectivity:
  • Clear Creek Trail and Crown Hill were frequently mentioned destinations for improved access

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Topic #2: Achieving peaceful coexistence between new development and established residential areas.

Because Wheat Ridge is largely built-out, most new development takes place in or near established residential neighborhoods. This new development should peacefully coexist with existing neighborhoods. Residents were asked to choose the three most important items that they think must be addressed when new development is proposed. They are listed in order based on the number of times they were selected. A summary of comments on each topic is listed below.

Resident Feedback on Peaceful Coexistence

PARKING AND TRAFFIC

• Provide adequate amounts of parking.
• Manage traffic impacts.
• Enhance pedestrian and bicycle access.

BUILDING HEIGHT

• Heights that match existing neighborhood character.
• Maintain views and privacy.

LANDSCAPE AND STREETSCAPE

• Maintain mature trees and encourage sustainable landscaping.
• Outdoor amenities like playgrounds and benches.

PHYSICAL AND VISUAL SEPARATION

• Buildings set back from each other and the street in a way that preserves the right feeling of openness.
• Trees and shrubs provide natural screening and noise reduction.

NOISE, LIGHTING, ARCHITECTURE, AND OTHER

• Business hours should be curtailed to avoid noise in residential areas at late hours.
• Lighting should be designed to avoid spillover onto other properties.
• Architecture should be compatible with its surroundings, including entrances facing the street.

Phase three public input was critical to shaping the information presented in phase four. To participate in phase four, please take our online survey here.

We know that we want to work towards a complete mobility network that allows people to more easily travel around Wheat Ridge, including on foot or by bicycle. You provided your feedback on the network in the previous engagement phase last fall, and that input informed updates.

Some of the mobility network shown below already exists, and some of it needs to be planned, designed, funded, and built. Incremental investment should work towards the complete network whenever opportunities arise. This could include public projects as well as private investment as development occurs.

Click here for a larger image.

Learn more about the tools the city can use to guide investment in our mobility network by taking the phase four survey.

The City Plan has identified five locations, or focus areas, within Wheat Ridge that can illustrate how the tools described in the City Plan could be applied to address various issues in real settings. These five focus areas are prototypes for other places within the city facing similar challenges. These areas were selected to illustrate this plan in action for several reasons:

• They address several hard-to-fix issues that are directly related to community priorities.
• The solutions developed in the focus area illustrations are exportable to other locations in Wheat Ridge.
• They are important locations within the community.

1. Wadsworth Shopping Center
2. 44th Avenue from Clear Creek to Independence Street
3. 38th Avenue from Upham Street to Harlan Street
4. 29th Avenue from Fenton Street to Chase Street
5. Ward Station

To learn more about these focus areas and the tools the city can use to address these issues, please take our phase four survey.

How Does Implementation Work?

After the City Plan is adopted, work will begin to implement the priorities and policies identified in the plan. The graphic provides an overview of what to expect after adoption. It doesn’t list every project or program going on in the city—instead, it illustrates the high-level next steps needed to advance key principles and priorities. The full City Plan document will include more detail on the items shown here. It will also provide a decision-making framework, based on community-driven core values and principles, to provide guidance around unforeseen challenges that arise in the future.

Because the City Plan is intended to provide direction across topics over the next 15 or so years, it will include both near-term actions as well as ambitious, long-term direction. These are shown in three phases: Near Term (the next three years), Mid-Term (approximately four to eight years from now), and Long-Term (approximately nine to 15 years from now). These timeframes are not exact, but they illustrate what to expect based on funding and staff capacity. Additionally, some actions can only happen after other steps have been taken. Instances that require specific sequencing of multiple steps are illustrated with a connecting arrow. Some of the recommended implementation actions are funded, and some are not and will require future community conversations about if and how we will fund them.

Click here for a larger image.

Want to provide comments on City Plan implementation and learn more about the tools the city can use to guide future investment? Take the phase four survey.

In phases one and two of the City Plan process, staff used public input to create and confirm our Core Values, Planning Principles, and Planning Priorities.

Core Values: Deeply-held, widely shared beliefs in Wheat Ridge that serve as building blocks for our vision of the future.

• Independent-Minded - We go our own way. - 72% Agreed or Mostly Agreed
• Inclusive - Our community is welcoming to all and is a good home for different kinds of people. - 82% Agreed or Mostly Agreed
• Forward-Looking - We are responsible to the future. - 87% Agreed or Mostly Agreed

Planning Principles: Criteria for public decision-making that ensure adherence to the community’s core values.

• Serve a mix of incomes - We will avoid the likelihood that new housing is only for those with high incomes. - 77% Agreed or Mostly Agreed
• Preserve our “patchwork quilt,” - We will celebrate and enhance the unique character of areas within Wheat Ridge. - 89% Agreed or Mostly Agreed
• Focus on sustainability - We will act as good stewards of the environment. 86% Agreed or Mostly Agreed
• Strengthen the City’s fiscal position - We will make decisions about public investments with an eye on the future. - 88% Agreed or Mostly Agreed

Planning Priorities: Important, long-term projects that must be done right in order for the community to be successful.

• Improved Retail and Business Environment – We will support the business community and cultivate the kinds of places where residents want to shop, dine, and visit. - 78% Agreed or Mostly Agreed
• 38th Ave. from Lutheran Legacy Campus to Harlan St. – We will continue shaping this section of 38th Avenue into Wheat Ridge’s Main Street corridor - 78% Agreed or Mostly Agreed
• Network of Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities Across the City – We will provide a system for pedestrians and cyclists to move between important locations more easily. - 86% Agreed or Mostly Agreed
• Proactive Infrastructure Management – We will catch up on deferred infrastructure maintenance and keep pace into the future. - 95% Agreed or Mostly Agreed