Council rezones 10.9-acre property at 10285 Ridge Road for 200 affordable units, Red Rocks expansion

Wheat Ridge city council on Friday approved an ordinance on second reading rezoning a 10.89-acre parcel at 10285 Ridge Road from Agricultural A-1 to Mixed Use Commercial Transit-Oriented Development (MUCTOD). The rezoning enables redevelopment by Foothills Regional Housing and includes a concept plan that limits density to roughly 20 dwelling units per acre — about 200 total units — with building heights generally limited to two to four stories depending on the edge.

Senior planner Stephanie Stevens told council the site was formerly part of a larger state-owned group-home campus and has been vacant and deteriorating for decades. She said the proposed MUCTOD zoning and the applicant’s voluntary concept plan respond to the city plan and the adopted affordable-housing strategy, and that planning commission recommended approval after public hearings.

Nut graf: The rezoning clears an important land‑use step for an affordable‑housing project focused on transit access and supportive services, while including design constraints and buffers to reduce impacts on adjacent lower-density neighborhoods.

Applicant Marcus Pachner and Foothills Regional Housing (FRH) described outreach that included more than 150 participants and three neighborhood meetings; the applicant said neighborhood input shaped limits on height along the northern edge, stepped building massing and expanded landscape buffering. Pachner said the project will serve an average household at about 60% area median income: “we’ll have an average across the site of 60% AMI,” he said in the public presentation. The concept plan also shows a northeast parcel anticipated for Red Rocks Community College to expand nursing education and a southeast parcel for supportive services.

Public comment and review: Planning staff said required neighborhood notification was completed, a neighborhood meeting drew 41 attendees and the online community forum collected 15 comments, all supportive; one comment raised traffic concerns. Kim Calomino, a Wheat Ridge resident who spoke in support at the council hearing, said the rezoning “brings new life to this property.” Staff indicated a traffic study and necessary roadway and sidewalk improvements will be required if the site moves to a formal site plan.

Vote and implementation: On second reading council approved the ordinance; the clerk recorded “all ayes, no nays.” The rezoning includes a concept plan with self-imposed limits on height and density, and staff said additional applications (a concept-plan review and site-plan approvals) will follow if the applicant proceeds. The council’s final motion ordered the ordinance published and noted it takes effect 15 days after final publication as provided by City Charter section 5.11.

Ending: The rezoning is intended to clear title and zoning constraints so remediation and redevelopment activities can proceed; Foothills Regional Housing and city staff will return for detailed site and infrastructure approvals and required traffic and utility coordination before construction.