Wheat Ridge adopts new 15-year City Plan after year-and-a-half public process
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Summary
The Wheat Ridge City Council voted unanimously Sept. 8 to adopt the City Plan as the city's comprehensive plan, after 16 months of public engagement. The plan sets priorities for infrastructure, placemaking and business growth and provides a targeted implementation timeline.
WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — The Wheat Ridge City Council adopted Resolution 43-20-25 Monday, making the newly completed City Plan the municipality's comprehensive plan for the next 15 years.
The council voted on a motion by Councilor Leah Dozeman, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Corey Stites; the motion carried with eight ayes. The plan replaces the 2009 Envision Wheat Ridge document and establishes shared values, planning priorities and a focused set of implementation steps.
Senior planner and project manager Ella Steebe told the council the document is the product of roughly 16 months of work and multiple public-engagement phases. "We had about 515 people come out in person to our open houses," Steebe said during the presentation, and more than 1,000 online submissions were recorded. Ashley Holland, the city's community engagement specialist, described a steering committee, neighborhood champions and youth engagement as core components of the outreach.
The plan organizes implementation around three goals: modern infrastructure, thoughtful placemaking and thriving businesses and neighborhoods. Steebe highlighted a shorter list of prioritized actions rather than a long laundry list, saying the implementation chapter includes a timeline that staff will use to track near- and mid-term work. "I will be bringing that up in budget conversations as we're trying to figure out...," Steebe told council, explaining staff intends to align budgets with the plan's priorities.
Council members commended staff and the consultant team (CZB) for an implementable and community-driven product. Several councilors said the plan is deliberately concise compared with many comprehensive plans and that they intend to use it during budget and capital-improvement discussions.
The plan identifies planning priorities including improving retail and the business environment, establishing 38th Avenue as a main street, expanding pedestrian and bicycle connectivity and proactive infrastructure management. Steebe said the plan seeks "peaceful coexistence between new development and existing neighborhoods," and aims to allow change while retaining Wheat Ridge's character.
Adoption is a legislative action; it does not itself impose regulatory requirements, staff noted, but will guide future regulatory changes and capital decisions. Council members asked about next steps and staff described an implementation program that will bring specific zoning tweaks and other actions forward for council consideration.
The City Plan will be posted on the city's public portal and used as the guiding document for future land-use and capital discussions.
