Wheat Ridge planning commissioners recommend allowing freestanding emergency departments on 5-acre medical campuses along Wadsworth

The Wheat Ridge Planning Commission on April 17 voted to recommend an ordinance that would change the city’s zoning code to permit freestanding emergency departments (FSEDs) as part of a medical campus in Mixed Use Commercial (MUC) zones, provided the site is at least 5 acres and includes other medical uses such as offices, clinics or laboratories.

Planning Manager Gianna Aisley said the city’s code currently prohibits freestanding emergency departments and that the prohibition dated to a 2015 interpretation and a 2018 ordinance (code section 26-643) adopted after Lutheran Hospital was the city’s only ER. Aisley said staff reconsidered the prohibition after Lutheran moved to the city’s west side and because of state action on licensure. “With Lutheran moved to the West Side of the city, state legislation around regulating and licensing freestanding emergency departments … staff believes it is an appropriate time to reevaluate the prohibition,” Aisley said.

The proposal would allow FSEDs only as conditionally permitted uses within an MUC district and only if they are part of a medical campus on at least 5 acres. Aisley said the acreage requirement is intended to ensure space for integrated medical offices, laboratories and buffering from adjacent uses and that the city’s table of medical uses and terminology would be updated to reflect the state’s term “freestanding emergency department” (FSED), as used in state licensure law referenced by staff.

Casey Guber, president and CEO of Rose Medical Center, said Rose is seeking to develop a medical campus on the old Midas property and adjacent Wilmore Center at the northwest corner of 30th Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard. Guber described FSEDs as a local safety net staffed 24/7 with on-site CT, x-ray, ultrasound and labs. “Freestanding emergency departments are a great safety net for a community because we can treat the life‑threatening care needs of heart attacks, stroke, broken bones, etc.,” Guber said. He added that Rose’s data show ambulance arrivals at existing FSEDs are rare and that most patients arrive by private vehicle: “We average 12 to 16 patients a day. About 1 of those is an ambulance patient.”

Commissioners pressed staff on compatibility with the MUC district’s pedestrian and mixed‑use goals and on operational impacts. Commissioner Cody Hedges asked whether adding ambulance service fits the corridor’s walkable, street‑oriented vision; Aisley replied the MUC district is intended for major arterials such as Wadsworth and that the proposed use would be limited to arterial locations where higher traffic already exists. Commissioner Susan Wood and others asked when traffic and ambulance impacts would be studied; Aisley said a traffic‑impact study would be required at site‑plan review.

Rose representatives said the proposed campus would include a drive‑through portico for ambulance transfer and that Rose would pay ambulance transfer costs when patients require transport to a hospital. Guber also said Rose plans to bring additional services to the campus, including women’s health and pediatric partnerships, and that state price‑transparency requirements and signage would reduce patient confusion between urgent care and emergency care.

The commission made a motion to recommend approval of the ordinance. The motion was moved by Commissioner Michael Moore; a second was recorded. The motion carried 5 to 1. Two commissioners were absent from the meeting.

The recommendation now goes to Wheat Ridge City Council for consideration. If council approves a zoning text amendment and the city adopts the updated table of uses, any specific FSED would still require site‑plan review and required studies, such as traffic analysis and design review.