Wheat Ridge council approves metropolitan districts to finance Lutheran Legacy campus redevelopment

WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — The Wheat Ridge City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve a service plan and intergovernmental agreement authorizing the creation of Legacy Metropolitan Districts Nos. 1–12 to finance public infrastructure for the redevelopment of the former Lutheran Legacy campus.

The districts, proposed by Intermountain Health, would cover not-for-profit and private development within the roughly 100-acre campus and would allow the developer to issue debt to pay for public improvements identified for the site.

Megan Murphy, an attorney with White Bear Ankele Tanaka & Waldron speaking for Intermountain Health, told the council the service plan limits taxable property to the campus boundary and includes “a maximum debt issuance ... a hundred and 10 million” and a maximum debt mill levy of 67 mills, with a 40-year maximum imposition period after the first debt mill levy. Murphy said the plan also adds consumer disclosures at sales centers, including signed acknowledgements at purchase-and-sale contract time and prominent notices at model/sales offices.

Why it matters: The metropolitan district structure allows developers to finance major public infrastructure without up-front city funding. City staff said the districts also would maintain infrastructure rather than immediately transferring the roads and similar improvements to the city, reducing long-term costs for Wheat Ridge taxpayers.

Council members asked how the district limits affect adjacent property owners and whether maintenance standards would match city standards. City staff said boundaries are limited to the campus and that districts must meet city standards as a minimum; staff added districts could adopt higher standards if desired.

One resident, Elise Brougham of Allison Court, urged council to vote against forming the districts, calling metropolitan districts “another level of government” and expressing concern that future residents could be “trapped” by ongoing levies and pay higher property taxes than other Wheat Ridge residents. Brougham also asked whether historic structures on the campus had been excluded from the district; staff responded that the only properties to be included are within the campus boundary and that specific property inquiries would be handled through the development and preservation review processes.

Mayor Pro Tem Corey Stites moved approval of Resolution No. 14-2025. The motion carried on a voice poll recorded as all ayes and no nays.

What the council approved: The service plan and intergovernmental agreement establishing up to 12 metropolitan districts covering only properties within the Lutheran Legacy campus boundaries, with specified maximum debt and mill-levy limits and a requirement for public disclosures to prospective buyers.

Councilors and staff said they will monitor disclosures and compliance with the terms set in the service plan during future development approvals.

Looking ahead: The district formation is an initial step; actual imposition of debt and the timing of infrastructure construction will depend on developer phasing and later approvals.