Wheat Ridge City Council reviews draft Prosperity Plan, gives consensus to advance

Wheat Ridge City Council on Monday studied a draft Prosperity Plan that lays out four goals to boost local economic vitality, then signaled consensus to move the document toward formal adoption.

Consultant Brad Siegel of Puma and project manager Andrea presented the plan, which the team said reflects nearly a year of analysis, interdepartmental input and revisions. "Goal 1 focuses on promoting the vitality of the city's commercial corridors," Andrea said, outlining tactics to make corridors such as West 38th and 44th more walkable, activate vacant storefronts and target redevelopment areas near I‑70 and the Urban Renewal area.

The plan groups recommendations under four goals: (1) corridor- and node-based redevelopment, (2) jobs, innovation and light manufacturing, (3) attainability and quality of life (linking housing and sustainability strategies), and (4) delivery and implementation — including permitting improvements and coordinating external partners.

Siegel described a geographic framework distinguishing north–south corridors, which tend to be regional and sales-tax generators, from east–west corridors, which are more neighborhood-serving. He said the plan also includes tactics to improve permitting, noting current local permitting timelines "can take, oh, 6 to 9 months," a contrast the consultant drew to longer delays in neighboring Denver.

Councilors focused questions on incentives and implementation. Councilor Hoppe asked about the BDZ program and when it was last used; staff recalled prior uses, including an interior-improvement project near I‑70 and a King Soopers remodel, and described a plan recommendation to revisit and possibly redesign BDZ eligibility and the program’s geographic application. Hoppe also questioned STIP thresholds and whether they return sufficient funds for smaller projects.

Several councilors urged clearer cross-references to the City Plan and the recently adopted sustainability plan. Councilor Holteyn asked how the Prosperity Plan's tactics would fold into the City Plan; staff said the City Plan will reference the Prosperity Plan and that sustainability tactics can be pulled into the Prosperity Plan once the sustainability plan is finalized.

Other discussion topics included coordination among multiple business-support organizations (LocalWorks, the Wheat Ridge Business Association and the chamber), strategies for recruiting and supporting flex-space and small-scale manufacturing uses, traffic and transportation constraints on north–south corridors, and stepped actions that do not require major funding. The consultant team said tactics in the appendix are coded for approximate investment levels to help prioritize short-term, low-cost actions.

After questions and commentary from council, staff asked for council direction; the mayor reported council consensus to advance the draft with no major changes. Staff said the Prosperity Plan could be put on the council agenda for approval by resolution on January 13, with a study session on January 6 to prepare if changes are minor.

The council’s next steps are to finalize language and any minor edits identified during this meeting, incorporate sustainability-plan tactics where appropriate, and return the draft for formal consideration in January.