Wheat Ridge council approves Mixed Use Lutheran Legacy Campus zoning rules

Wheat Ridge City Council on Jan. 27 approved an ordinance amending Chapter 26 of the Wheat Ridge Code of Laws to create a new Mixed Use Lutheran Legacy Campus (MU LLC) zoning district for the former Lutheran Hospital campus. Council voted unanimously to adopt the regulations on second reading; the ordinance will allow the city to rezone the campus in a later, separate action.

The new rules implement the Lutheran Legacy Campus Master Plan (adopted 2021) and reflect a November charter amendment voters approved as ballot question 2C. Staff said the ordinance requires 20% publicly accessible open space across the campus and establishes a low-density overlay that lowers building heights along the edges of the site to improve compatibility with existing neighborhoods. "We're proud to be including a requirement for 20% publicly accessible open space, which is unprecedented for this scale of development," said staff member Scott Cutler during the presentation.

The ordinance also adds a tree-preservation requirement that incentivizes keeping existing healthy trees over 4 inches in caliper and requires a tree canopy analysis during concept plan review. After additional market analysis and public comment, staff added a minimum 10,000 square feet of commercial space in subdistricts near 30 Eighth Avenue to ensure neighborhood-serving or tax-generating uses materialize close to the street.

Councilors asked about lot size flexibility, compatibility with pending state land-use legislation (including possible changes to parking rules), and how existing platted lots on the campus might be treated. Staff said the MU LLC rules do not prescribe minimum lot sizes inside the development (except within the low-density overlay) and that statewide changes would be addressed in a future, citywide code update if needed. Staff also described the public-engagement record: notices were sent to 3,708 recipients, 285 opened the notice and 81 clicked a link to related information.

The ordinance was moved by Councilor Amanda Weaver and seconded by Councilor Scott Ohmes; the clerk polled the council and recorded "all ayes, no nays." With the regulations adopted, the next step is to apply the MU LLC zoning to the campus through a legislative rezoning process: staff expects a Planning Commission recommendation hearing in mid-February and a final public hearing at council in April.

The council-mandated regulations aim to balance denser development in the campus center (enabled by the recent charter amendment) with lower-height edges, design controls in the overlay, dedicated public open space, and requirements intended to produce neighborhood-supporting commercial uses.

Details clarified in council discussion: the 20% open-space requirement covers parks, plazas and trails and must be publicly accessible; the low-density overlay reduces edge heights to 30 feet (from a previous 35 feet in some areas); tree preservation is measured by caliper (trees above 4 inches); and the 10,000-square-foot commercial minimum applies to subdistricts closer to 30 Eighth Avenue. Staff said rezoning of the campus will apply to parcels already platted on the site and that final lotting decisions will be left to prospective developers within the adopted regulations.

By adopting the MU LLC regulations, council set the zoning framework that will shape detailed development proposals, with further approvals required for specific site plans and rezonings.