Planning commission studies draft City Plan toolkit for character, mobility and neighborhood-scale change

The Wheat Ridge City Planning Commission met March 6, 2025, for a study session on a draft comprehensive plan called the City Plan, hearing a presentation by city planning staff and consultants on tools to shape the city’s future character and mobility.

The presentation framed physical “character” as four tool categories — use, form, going places and staying places — and illustrated how those tools might be applied in nine focus areas including Wadsworth Boulevard, 40 Fourth Avenue, 30 Eighth Avenue, 20 Ninth Avenue and Ward Station. Alice Stevie, senior planner, opened the presentation: “I’m Alice Stevie. I’m a senior planner, and I am joined by my colleagues from our consultant CZB online.” Commissioners were told the meeting was a study session and that “we do not have any cases to be heard tonight. This is a study session, and we'll have a presentation about the city plan.”

Why it matters: the City Plan will guide zoning, public investments and capital projects across Wheat Ridge for years. Staff and consultants said the plan is intended to help manage incremental change so different parts of the city keep their distinct character while making places safer and easier to reach by walking and biking.

Presentation highlights and examples: CZB consultant Eric Amy summarized the plan’s focus on physical character and the four tool categories. Examples shown to the commission included: moving buildings closer to sidewalks and pushing parking behind storefronts on Wadsworth Boulevard; prioritizing trail‑oriented design and a future bridge replacement on 40 Fourth Avenue to improve pedestrian and bicycle access; temporary activation of underused parking lots (farmer’s markets, food carts) along 30 Eighth; narrower lane striping, on‑street parking and mini medians as low‑cost traffic calming on 20 Ninth; and small‑scale commercial activation and pedestrian plazas at Ward Station to support the existing residential growth.

Commission discussion: commissioners asked how the plan would prioritize locations for ‘staying places’ tools versus ‘going places’ tools, and how the plan will be implemented through code changes and public projects. Topics raised included recent and potential bus‑priority investments, the growth of e‑bikes and other electric devices on trails and sidewalks, and how to encourage commercial tenants at Ward Station where residential development has outpaced ground‑floor retail. Commissioner Daniel Gravy noted concerns about electric micromobility: "the rise in ebikes... has had a pretty big impact on the use of trails, unfortunately, oftentimes, sidewalks." (comment paraphrased from transcript for clarity). Commissioners also pressed staff on coordination with the parks department’s upcoming Pathway parks and recreation master plan and on who maintains sidewalks and amenities on CDOT rights of way.

Implementation and next steps: staff said the City Plan will include an implementation matrix with near‑term, mid‑term and long‑term actions. Near‑term steps will include a “quick pass” to identify code updates that could be implemented quickly (for example to allow temporary commercial uses) and a mid‑term, deeper code revision where needed. Staff emphasized the plan is not itself a code change: existing code remains in effect until formal amendments are adopted. A public survey (“What’s Up Wheat Ridge”) remains open through March 21 at 5 p.m., and staff said a public draft will be released for review in late spring or early summer, with formal adoption anticipated over the summer.

Formal actions on the agenda: commissioners approved minutes from Feb. 20, 2025 (vote recorded in the minutes as 4 yes, 0 no, 3 abstaining); the commission conducted secret‑ballot elections for chair and vice chair, announcing Patrick Quinn as chair and Christine Disney as vice chair; and the meeting adjourned on a recorded 7‑0 vote.

What the plan does not yet resolve: staff and consultants said the City Plan will present a toolkit but will not itself specify exact lane changes, parcel‑level redevelopment, or capital funding. They noted some elements — for example a bridge replacement on 40 Fourth Avenue and any bus‑only lanes on regional corridors — will require separate traffic studies, funding decisions and coordination with CDOT or other agencies.

The commission will see a public draft of the City Plan in the coming months and the staff requested feedback via the survey and through future study sessions; staff said they will first do an internal review of the draft to confirm feasibility and funding implications before public release.