[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6619978,"mediaKeyId","2825706-b3d53f94c70ad1afa5ab0fb62cbdeb7b","parentId",2825706,"title","HCA HealthONE Rose seeks zoning change for health park and freestanding emergency department at 30th & Wadsworth","audioSeconds",2677,"startMs",8503000,"endMs",11180000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2825706-b3d53f94c70ad1afa5ab0fb62cbdeb7b&start=8503&end=11180","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2825706-b3d53f94c70ad1afa5ab0fb62cbdeb7b/thumbnail_8503000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6619978/Wheat-Ridge-City/Jefferson-County/Colorado/HCA-HealthONE-Rose-seeks-zoning-change-for-health-park-and-freestanding-emergency-department-at-30th-Wadsworth","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6619978-635e1182a7005a0ec65cd9082308da1b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770907855&Signature=cUHUx8UsY-m5ALgfDRKIUJx5BkaBtg9udgIvOGytwG3GAHuizHps~vhK2wQs7~IxkomDP-8FrbdsI5hrGtzF8oq8IaC1GObggfQjOb2G8UPQwyy~S3bCb85VJ8hYYvGoJN7mhCWPqjmo8fRq6N06SPk7c5emYWQcoMHGshLr4BlnW6EU-yTRJAe~uBt9Kg~XHvVJGODR8yEyWl~AOtVHlJtRlq6GqS~H4yrgJ0HEH8gu-KSx0jYM0O8EQG6VXLHyqu53WaJzWW~hDnw6ueTq5ymp~Vt4lVe0tSBF9THz3YWRXTm783weaWnNDuN8U7QQveMnD-CWbeVtA9zPrQgIxg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Wheat Ridge City, CO","date","2025-03-31T17:26:25.827Z","article","HCA HealthONE Rose representatives asked the Wheat Ridge City Council on March 3 to reconsider the city's 2018 prohibition on freestanding emergency departments and to allow a physician-staffed freestanding emergency department as part of a larger health park at the northwest corner of 30th Avenue and Wadsworth.

Casey Goober, president and CEO for HCA HealthONE Rose, told council the system is offering a plan that would place a freestanding ED and medical office space on a city-owned shopping-center parcel. Goober said HCA has an existing letter of intent for roughly 5.5 acres at that corner, and described the project as a \"health park\" combining a freestanding ED with specialty outpatient services. He said the freestanding ED would be physician-staffed and estimated the facility would handle roughly 15 to 30 ED visits per day. Goober argued the site would restore local access for many Wheat Ridge residents after Lutheran Hospital moved west and said, \"I'm asking for the opportunity for choice in terms of health care.\"

Why this matters: the city adopted a moratorium and later a code prohibition in 2018 amid concerns about patient confusion, predatory operators and opaque billing practices. Since then, state licensing for freestanding EDs and federal price-transparency regulations have changed the regulatory landscape. The proposed code change would not automatically approve a development; staff recommended an amendment that would allow emergency departments only in two contexts: attached to a hospital already allowed in the code, or as part of a medical campus (minimum five acres) in the mixed-use commercial (MUC) zone, subject to a conditional use permit.

Staff recommendation and council response: Lauren Michalacker (staff) recommended a narrowly tailored approach: allow EDs only when they are part of a medical campus or attached to an existing hospital, require a minimum site size (staff proposed 5 acres) and require conditional-use review to assess circulation, noise, lighting and other operating characteristics. Council discussed adding mixed-use interstate zones as another possible location; several councilors said they supported moving the proposed code amendment to planning commission for public hearings. Council members voiced both support and caution: some praised Rose for offering choice and restoring local access, others asked for explicit analysis of ambulance and siren impacts on nearby residential properties and for public notifications targeted to adjacent neighbors.

Public comment and industry presentations: the meeting included numerous supporters from Rose who spoke during the public comment period, including clinical leaders and hospital staff describing Rose's experience operating freestanding EDs in the metro area and emphasizing rounds of quality and staffing metrics. Rose staff described faster treatment times at freestanding EDs for lower-acuity cases and said the system pays for transfers when patients require hospital admission. Lutheran Medical Center's president, Andrea Birch, testified during public comment she appreciated the city's past support for Lutheran, made herself available for follow-up on regulatory questions and noted changes in the local hospital landscape.

Next steps: council signaled consensus to direct staff to prepare a code amendment for planning commission consideration; that amendment would require public notice and hearings before planning commission and then city council. Councilors asked staff to include neighborhood notification and to address questions about ambulance operations, noise and night-time impacts as part of the conditional-use review. If council approves the code amendment after hearings, future development applications that meet the criteria would be subject to the administrative conditional-use process rather than a separate public hearing.

Key numbers and clarifications from the record: Rose said about 25% of births from Wheat Ridge residents occur at Rose Medical Center today; the proposed health park LOI covers about 5.5 acres; Rose estimated 15-30 freestanding ED visits per day at the proposed site; staff proposed a minimum 5-acre threshold for any medical campus-based ED in the MUC zone.

What to watch: the formal planning commission hearing on any proposed code amendment, staff analysis of ambulance/siren impacts and the project's circulation plan. Council members signaled they want robust neighborhood notification and asked staff to prepare technical analysis to accompany any zoning amendment.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Wheat Ridge Council Study Session 3-3-25","oneSentenceSummary","HCA HealthONE Rose asked the Wheat Ridge City Council on March 3 to reconsider the city's 2018 ban on freestanding emergency departments and to permit a physician-staffed freestanding ED as part of a health park at the northwest corner of 30th Avenue and Wadsworth.","taxTitle","Wheat Ridge City, Jefferson County, Colorado","taxId",52815,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6619988,"Wheat Ridge advances city plan framework, prioritizes mobility and ‘‘place’’ investments",3271,1957000,5228000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2825706-b3d53f94c70ad1afa5ab0fb62cbdeb7b&start=1957&end=5228","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2825706-b3d53f94c70ad1afa5ab0fb62cbdeb7b/thumbnail_1957000.jpg","/articles/6619988/Wheat-Ridge-City/Jefferson-County/Colorado/Wheat-Ridge-advances-city-plan-framework-prioritizes-mobility-and-place-investments","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6619988-25ef7f6da4afeaeaf93ac923f09f9ba5/orig.mp4?Expires=1770907855&Signature=Xf4vsVOK0NL0Xm0oh3WPhJVGqCJr-qNovQvTkGB1qLhqxBBsq6e6~vCXto3RG0RcJkjbcg1mwHR2H-31Do5aTWhie~soE2ClnqM8YHTtBU1Qhc5BQ4FOwEOS58w7z9dPjsVJR0RokMDiP8bPwG~C9cpxBsmv62KuayDzPk1nxI6Z19Q4DHhccNjJ2vLFVgUGOtp4CZvrIwROwyJweE8BzJgf4wC6HAJFOwh6QERbyQ9jf0Xaajck5C97YXx05SQMVgOSgbRlZCySs~22yPsCrS-L4ffbQfRn~76GCNcBHWdUbDVanSBIiN60~tJSsbIyvcz~1srYJOefGzWg-cZW3Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City staff and consultants gave the Wheat Ridge City Council a fourth public update on the city'wide comprehensive plan on March 3, 2025, saying the draft will be released for public review in late spring or early summer.

The update explained how a new decision framework '2tools kit''''''''''''(uses, physical form, \"going places\" mobility tools and \"staying places\" place-making tools)''''''''''' would guide future street and development choices and prioritized a short list of gateway and gathering locations where investments in sidewalks, street trees, on-street parking and public space should be emphasized. Ella Stevie, senior planner, told the council, \"The city plan should articulate the community's vision and shared values.\" The plan will include a near-, mid- and long-term implementation schedule and specific pilots for corridors such as 30th Avenue.

Why this matters: the city plan is intended to guide zoning, capital investment and design expectations for years. Staff said the framework will help the city make trade-off decisions where limited right-of-way or funding prevents doing everything at once. Consultants said the plan aims to preserve the city's \"patchwork quilt\" character while allowing incremental, context-sensitive change.

What staff presented: the update summarized public engagement to date and the themes that emerged over three prior phases. Staff reported more than 170 attendees at an open house in the fall and roughly 230 online responses to outreach conducted earlier in the process. The consultants walked council through four tool sets: use tools (what goes where), form tools (height, setbacks, parking), going-places tools (bike lanes, cross-section choices) and staying-places tools (wider sidewalks, on-street parking, street trees and parklets). They showed two 66-foot right-of-way examples to illustrate different trade-offs: a narrower, travel-priority section designed to move people through the corridor and a place-priority section designed for pedestrian activity and on-street parking.

Council members probed specifics. Councilor Scott Hoppe asked why the recreation center and some parks were not identified on the draft map of gateway and gathering locations; staff replied the draft map is preliminary and can be revised to include additional destinations. Councilor Holten asked how the framework accounts for small clusters or \"sticky districts\" of civic infrastructure (for example a rec center adjacent to schools) and whether the mobility network will be overlaid with these places; staff agreed that an overlay showing destinations and mobility connections will be provided in the draft plan. Multiple councilors requested a separate, deeper review of the mobility framework before final adoption so they can review how the proposed street and bicycle network aligns with the proposed destination map.

Implementation priorities highlighted in the presentation included a near-term pilot for frontage improvements on commercial corridors (notably 30th Avenue), code edits to reduce barriers for temporary and short-term commercial uses, study of a potential business improvement district on 30th Avenue, and coordination with Public Works on repaving windows to include striping and bike facilities. Staff also listed longer-term items such as a possible mobility plan update and system-wide funding priorities tied to the capital improvements program.

Next steps and public input: staff said the phase 4 online engagement remains open through March 25, and that the planning commission will consider the plan at an upcoming meeting. The consultant team intends to produce a draft plan for public review in late spring or early summer. Councilors requested that staff ensure the mobility network and destination-overlay are available for a council-level review before the plan returns for final action.

Community reaction at the meeting included both support and requests for more detail; several council members stressed the need to pair street-design choices with a clear funding and capital-prioritization strategy.

What to watch: the draft plan release, the mobility-network overlay requested by council, and the proposed frontage-improvement pilot for 30th Avenue. Staff advised that some implementation items will require additional funding conversations during future budget cycles.

","City staff and consultants gave the Wheat Ridge City Council a fourth public update on the city'wide comprehensive plan on March 3, 2025, saying the draft will be released for public review in late spring or early summer.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6619983,"Wheat Ridge council backs final design for 1.75-mile 30th Avenue West overhaul; staff to pursue utility undergrounding",4827,3243000,8070000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2825706-b3d53f94c70ad1afa5ab0fb62cbdeb7b&start=3243&end=8070","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2825706-b3d53f94c70ad1afa5ab0fb62cbdeb7b/thumbnail_3243000.jpg","/articles/6619983/Wheat-Ridge-City/Jefferson-County/Colorado/Wheat-Ridge-council-backs-final-design-for-175-mile-30th-Avenue-West-overhaul-staff-to-pursue-utility-undergrounding","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6619983-c4da30d48e0f69b72d35bbb60de92d8f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770907855&Signature=B5xlaRz0tIQXCtfkXQjVU0FQrE~ZKdo17z07coII0bwg7O0oD0rDroLxKVOi1UWwSznHZKw7bbVit5j9PFSkGkgkhMQ2G8DzBLsINSddTikKw3ocmM6n6XRo-yaBelOyLxtZxsxZmodDo5x4w~BFCzkwxP0utfLR51jnjCRJbf5fhA5gWlBgFR27CdPQba6L6atBINpLLdt69F-PYCifE0yFhFKXKfEPHYEJ8QbnQkWLxCnjKIcy8t4CLVcG7Ftgk3~zZYzQvc~sWkxx15cNRyJWDCkJg1oRuO50-Naof1z1LEPz2raCGw~fSEmMhA8gpFZm9v5DjC4vYrEGIo2XAw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Wheat Ridge City Council on March 3, 2025 gave staff consensus to proceed to final design on a 1.75-mile overhaul of West 30th Avenue between Youngfield Street and Kipling Street that will add continuous sidewalks, buffered on-street bike lanes, three roundabouts and a coordinated stormwater system.

Maria Deandre, the city's director of public works, summarized roughly 18 months of study and outreach and said the project's goals were to \"improve the roadway to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists\" and to \"improv[e] stormwater drainage all along that entire stretch.\" The consultant cost estimate presented to council showed a construction figure of just over $19 million (including a 30% contingency at this early design stage); staff said burying overhead utilities would add about $7 million more.

Why this matters: 30th Avenue is a key east-west corridor with sidewalk gaps, drainage problems and safety concerns. The proposed design narrows travel lanes to psychological effect, adds buffer zones between vehicles and bike lanes, upgrades bus stops and installs three urban roundabouts at Tabor Court, Parfette Street (an existing signalized intersection) and Miller Street to reduce speeds. City staff said the Parfette roundabout would require acquiring portions of adjacent property and that acquisition would follow the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act (the Uniform Act) with appraisal and offers of fair market value.

Community concerns and outreach: public outreach in July-August 2024 included block-by-block meetings and an open house; staff reported 922 visitors to the project webpage and 13 survey responses in the most recent round (11 said they supported the project). Several nearby residents, particularly from the Cambridge Park homeowners association, raised questions about vehicle turning radii for long vehicles, whether the circle would require any private land, and how queuing to the gated Cambridge Park entrance would operate. Resident Julie Pellegrin said she and her neighbors were concerned about safety and disruption, noting that \"There are a hundred and 7 homes in Cambridge Park, and at this point, between 85 and 90 residents have signed on, in opposition to the traffic circle.\" City staff said they will meet with the HOA to explain how the roundabout would function and ensure the gate would not back traffic into the circle.

Design details and safety trade-offs: Deandre explained the proposed travel lanes would be narrowed to 10 feet where acceptable (the team said this meets national standards) and that the roundabouts would be mountable for large vehicles like fire trucks and buses. She said West Metro Fire had reviewed the design and indicated emergency vehicles could navigate the roundabouts. The Parfette roundabout would remove the existing traffic signal; city staff said roundabouts typically reduce crash severity because they eliminate right-angle collisions and reduce idling time and vehicle emissions compared with a signalized intersection.

Costs and funding: the preliminary construction estimate presented to council was about $19.0 million including design and a 30% contingency; Xcel Energy undergrounding costs were separately estimated at roughly $7.0 million. Deandre said Xcel manages a local \"1%\" community fund (from customer payments) and the city could request up to three years of that funding in advance; staff said the Xcel account currently held roughly $2.0 million and that annual collections are about $0.5 million per year. Council discussion expressed support for pursuing undergrounding but also concern about depleting the Xcel account.

Schedule and next steps: final design work has been initiated and staff estimated about 12 months for final design and 18 to 24 months for construction, with traffic maintained on 30th in staged construction. Council signaled consensus to move forward with final design as presented and directed staff to explore funding options for undergrounding and to continue detailed coordination with affected property owners and the Cambridge Park HOA.

What to watch: whether the city secures additional funding for undergrounding and how the final 12-month design resolves property-take needs at Parfette and any other constrained locations. Staff will return with final design documents and refined cost estimates prior to seeking construction authorization.

","Council gave staff consensus to proceed to final design for the 1.75-mile 30th Avenue West project from Youngfield to Kipling, which will add continuous sidewalks, buffered bike lanes, three roundabouts and major stormwater upgrades. Staff reported a construction estimate of about $19 million and an additional estimated $7 million to underground","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

HCA HealthONE Rose seeks zoning change for health park and freestanding emergency department at 30th & Wadsworth

Wheat Ridge advances city plan framework, prioritizes mobility and ‘‘place’’ investments

Wheat Ridge council backs final design for 1.75-mile 30th Avenue West overhaul; staff to pursue utility undergrounding