City Plan: A New Comprehensive Plan for Wheat Ridge

Phase Three Background Information

The second phase of community engagement began the at the end of May and continued through the end of June and featured the following:

• Open house event at the Recreation Center on June 6, with approximately 140 attendees
• Project Steering Committee meeting on June 4
• Online survey offered via What’s Up Wheat Ridge from May 24 through June 30, with over 390 responses
• Intercept events at Performance at the Park on June 26 and Ridgefest on June 29
• Meetings with City Council on June 4 and 6
• Planning Commission discussion at a Study Session on July 18

During these opportunities, the community confirmed three Core Values, four Planning Principles, and four Planning Priorities which now set the foundation for everything else in the City Plan.

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

This round of engagement uses the community confirmed Core Values, Planning Principles, and Planning Priorities to envision the future of Wheat Ridge through;

• an initial draft of the Place Type Framework including a map and description of character areas, or place types, that make up the patchwork quilt of Wheat Ridge.
• an initial draft of the Mobility Framework which describes the desired future state of the city’s mobility network, which determines how people get around town.

These components will continue to be refined throughout the rest of the City Plan process.

What is a Place Type Framework?

The Wheat Ridge City Plan will include a map of character areas, or place types, that make up the patchwork quilt of Wheat Ridge. The draft Place Types Framework anticipates that Wheat Ridge’s fundamental “Place of Places” character should not change significantly during the next decade. The initial draft of the Place Type Framework is illustrated below, and it will be refined throughout the rest of the City Plan process. The Place Type Framework that is included in the final plan will help guide decisions about what kind of development will go where.

Residential Places

The residential neighborhoods are what many people experience of the city, and they define much of Wheat Ridge’s character and community. Each residential neighborhood has a distinct feel. To capture both current conditions and to inform a compatible and appropriate future, the draft Place Type Framework categorizes distinct neighborhoods into categories based on the variety of housing found in parts of the city:

For larger image, click here.

• Lower Variety Neighborhood
  • General Character - A residential neighborhood that may have either a suburban development pattern on uniform lots (e.g., cul-de-sacs) or a traditional development pattern (e.g., gridded streets) with a lower degree of housing variety that is predominately comprised of a single housing type. In most neighborhoods, this is single-unit housing. Determining features are the dominance of single-unit detached housing with many intact blocks, or groups of blocks, where houses were built in the same era.
  • Primary Uses - Medium to large lot single-unit detached housing or the predominant existing housing type.
  • Secondary Uses - Accessory dwelling units (ADU), duplex units, places of worship, schools, day care centers, home offices.
• Moderate Variety Neighborhood
  • General Character - A residential neighborhood with a moderate degree of housing choice, where single-unit housing is less dominant than in Lower Variety areas, but still a sizable portion of the housing supply. A determining feature is that no single housing type is overly dominant. These neighborhoods generally have a gridded development pattern with some winding streets and cul-de-sacs.
  • Primary Uses - Single-unit detached housing, duplex units, townhomes
  • Secondary Uses - Limited multi-unit properties (generally with limited massing up to four units per building), ADUs, other housing types, places of worship, schools, day care centers, home offices.
• Higher Variety Neighborhood
  • General Character - A residential neighborhood with a generally traditional gridded development pattern, with the highest degree of housing choice. A determining feature is the substantial presence of 20th Century multi-unit properties as well as variety in construction eras.
  • Primary Uses - Small to medium lot single-unit housing, cottages, duplex units, multi-unit properties.
  • Secondary Uses - ADUs, other housing types, places of worship, schools, day care centers, home offices.
• Transit Village
  • General Character - Higher-density residential buildings clustered around a rail station, designed to promote walkability and convenience with nearby neighborhood commercial amenities.
  • Primary Uses - Multi-unit residential, including apartments, townhomes, live-work space, home offices
  • Secondary Uses - Neighborhood commercial, services, office

Mixed Use and Commercial Places

In between these residential neighborhoods are the other places that define Wheat Ridge, including where we shop, eat, visit the doctor, go to work, recreate, or meet up with friends. This initial draft of the Place Type Framework categorizes these places as districts and centers:

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• Main Street Mixed Use District
  • General Character - The core of the community, featuring a mix of local businesses, eateries, and cultural landmarks. It is a central gathering place where residents connect, shop, and celebrate, reflecting the unique character and spirit of the community.
  • Primary Uses - Retail, entertainment, bars, cultural, office, service commercial, government, civic, gathering spaces and multi-unit residential.
  • Secondary Uses - Mixed use commercial uses that support the primary uses and do not detract from the quality of place and economic vitality of 38th Avenue.
• Neighborhood Mixed Use District
  • General Character - Smaller-scale mixed use buildings with commercial uses that have a limited market geography. Parking is located behind the buildings and pedestrian access is emphasized where feasible.
  • Primary Uses - Small scale commercial/retail, restaurants/bars, services, offices
  • Secondary Uses - Upper-story residential
• Community Mixed Use District
  • General Character - Mixed-use buildings (variable in size) that accommodate commercial development, office and flex space, and/or residential development (generally multi-unit buildings). Some auto-oriented development exists and/or is appropriate.
  • Primary Uses - Commercial/retail, offices, services, flex buildings, upper story multi-unit residential
  • Secondary Uses - Townhomes, multi-unit residential, flex commercial
• Regional Mixed Use District
  • General Character - Development is characterized by a concentration of businesses that have a large market geography including major educational and medical centers with campus style development patterns. Buildings often designed to cater to motorists. This type of development often prioritizes convenience and visibility for travelers and commuters.
  • Primary Uses - Large scale commercial business, offices, educational, medical, auto-intensive businesses
  • Secondary Uses - Multi-unit residential, warehousing, wholesaling, distribution
• General Production Center
  • General Character - Active industrial districts that support a variety of fabrication, processing, production, warehousing, and manufacturing uses.
  • Primary Uses - Light and general industrial, flex warehouse, makerspace
  • Secondary Uses - Commercial uses specifically related to the primary uses

A Draft Place Type Framework

When we look at all of the Place Types together, we can see the full patchwork quilt that makes up Wheat Ridge. And we can also see that the seams and edges often aren’t clearly defined, nor do the place type categories tell us exactly what should go where.

For larger image, click here.

Instead, it acknowledges some key realities about our community:

• It recognizes that boundaries between different places can be fuzzy. The transitional areas where two different types of places meet can become areas for conflict if not handled thoughtfully. Future regulations should be sensitive to this reality.
• It acknowledges that different types of residential neighborhoods have different levels of housing variety, with implications for future residential redevelopment. New housing fits differently in different neighborhoods. Some kinds of housing might fit more easily in high-variety places, and less easily in low-variety places. Future regulations should be sensitive to this reality.
• It acknowledges that because Wheat Ridge is largely built-out, most development takes place in or near established residential neighborhoods. But peaceful coexistence of new development with established residential neighborhoods can be achieved through regulatory tools that manage development.

Knowing exactly where potential transition or friction points exist can help the City improve its tools for shaping new development to be sensitive to its surrounding context. Take the survey and help us understand what are the most important things to get right to achieve peaceful coexistence in two different types of situations:

• When new residential development occurs in established residential areas.
• When commercial development occurs in close proximity to established residential areas.

How we get around Wheat Ridge

The desire for improved walking and biking options in Wheat Ridge has been a prominent topic in recent years. This enthusiasm is evident through various initiatives, such as the 2017 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, the Let’s Talk Resident Engagement Program, the 2023 Open Space Management Plan, and the 38th Avenue West End Improvement Project, among others. The successful 2J ballot initiative last fall further demonstrated our community's commitment to non-motorized travel. Despite this strong support, our list of desired improvements continues to exceed available resources, highlighting the ongoing need for financial investment. Including mobility discussions in the City Plan will solidify it as a priority and help steer future decisions.

The City Plan is responsible for describing the desired future state of the city’s mobility network, which determines how people get around town. The fundamental structure of travel in Wheat Ridge is already determined by the nature of the street network, which carries motor vehicles primarily, but also RTD busses, pedestrians, cyclists, and other modes of transportation. The Mobility Framework, illustrated here as a map, envisions how the existing network can be incrementally improved to help meet community goals in a practical manner.

For larger image, click here.

What are the major components of the Mobility system in Wheat Ridge?

Corridors are the backbone of the mobility system in Wheat Ridge. They are the main routes across the city.

• Regional Corridors feature the highest traffic volumes and speeds. Pedestrians and cyclists are best served by dedicated infrastructure that separates them from vehicular traffic.
• Community Corridors feature lower traffic volumes and speeds than regional corridors and have no more than four lanes. Sidewalks and bike lanes should be typical where the right-of-way is of sufficient size.
• District Corridors carry the lowest corridor traffic volumes and speeds. Sidewalks should be typical and while bike lanes may be a feature, low traffic volumes and speeds often mean that cyclists can share the roadway.

Low-Stress Bicycle Corridors are main routes in Wheat Ridge for cyclists looking to avoid the highest-traffic corridors. These primarily exist on District Corridors and the Clear Creek trail which is an important east-west route for bikes.

Neighborhood Bike Connectors are streets internal to the large blocks between Corridors and offer additional low-stress options.

Sidewalks should be typical on all streets, though Wheat Ridge’s development history as a more rural community means that was not always the case. Sidewalk inconsistency is regularly identified as a mobility and quality of life challenge. The City continues to identify priority gaps for investment, and recently approved 2J funds are assisting in this endeavor.

A toolkit approach

Enhancing mobility options in Wheat Ridge, especially for non-motorized users as the community has prioritized, will be an opportunistic undertaking. Space constraints in rights-of-way, private property considerations, funding limitations, and the unpredictability of private development all play a role in the speed at which the City can improve the mobility network, and the form the improvements can take in any given location. Making the most of these opportunities where and when they occur will require flexibility and creativity, and this is best supported by a toolkit approach to improvements in the public right-of-way. A toolkit approach allows the City to pick the tools that work for each specific location when improvement opportunities arise.

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How would this mobility framework work for you?

When we think about this kind of incremental, practical investment in our mobility network, we want to make sure that the network we are working towards works well for the community. How would the draft mobility framework work for you? Click here to give your input about getting to your preferred destinations around town.