Wheat Ridge planning commission unanimously recommends City Plan, forwards resolution to council

Wheat Ridge, Colo. — On Aug. 21, 2025, the Wheat Ridge City Planning Commission voted 6-0 to recommend adoption of the City Plan (WPA-25-1) and forwarded Resolution 012025 to the Wheat Ridge City Council.

The City Plan, described by staff as the city’s comprehensive plan for the next 15 years, lays out core values, planning principles, priorities and three implementation goals intended to guide land use, transportation, housing and economic decisions across Wheat Ridge.

Ella Stevie, senior planner and project manager for the City Plan, told the commission the plan reflects a multiyear engagement process that began in early 2024. “We have had four phases of engagement,” Stevie said, and staff recorded “approximately 515 attendees” at four open-house events and “over a thousand submissions” through online surveys contributed by about 623 unique participants. Stevie said comment-period edits, including typo corrections, were incorporated into the adoption version provided to the commission.

Stevie summarized the plan’s organizing elements: three core values—independent-minded, inclusive and forward-looking—planning principles such as serving a mix of incomes and focusing on sustainability, and planning priorities that include improving the retail and business environment, expanding pedestrian and bicycle networks and proactive infrastructure management. The plan’s three implementation goals are modern infrastructure, thoughtful placemaking and thriving businesses and neighborhoods.

Commissioners who spoke during the public hearing generally praised staff and the plan’s clarity. Commissioner Daniel Gravy commended city staff and consultant CZB, calling the document “functional and visually appealing” and saying it will help facilitate decision-making. Gravy also urged close attention to implementation, noting a “healthy tension” between preserving traditional neighborhood character and responding to demographic and housing cost changes; “the plan struggles with that a little bit,” he said.

Commissioner Christine Disney said she had served the city as a volunteer for 13 years and called the plan “by far the very best thing that we’ve produced,” praising the staff’s community engagement. Commissioner Anna Sparks, the commission’s newest member, acknowledged the 18-person steering committee and thanked volunteers for their contributions. Commissioner Michael Moore thanked staff and said he was “excited” to see the plan move forward.

After brief discussion the commission voted to recommend adoption of the plan by forwarding Resolution 012025 to the Wheat Ridge City Council. The motion passed 6-0. The recommendation now goes to the City Council for its consideration; no council hearing date was specified in the meeting record.

Staff and commissioners repeatedly said implementation will be the next critical phase, including identifying “quick wins” the city can accomplish soon and longer-term actions that will require sustained staff capacity and funding. The adoption packet and staff report note that the plan is intended to shape decisions on land use, mobility, housing access and local economic support over a 15-year horizon.