Wheat Ridge council agrees to move Zoom public‑comment sign‑up to 5 p.m.; schedules study session on noisy special‑use businesses

Summary

Council supported a staff proposal to move the virtual public‑comment sign‑up deadline to 5:00 p.m. on meeting days to give staff time to verify speakers; council also agreed to schedule a study session to review special‑use permit businesses that cause noise and businesses operating without on‑site operators.

The Wheat Ridge City Council reached consensus on Dec. 8 to shift the online sign‑up deadline for virtual public comment from 6:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on meeting nights to give staff more time to verify speakers and prepare the list for the mayor. Deputy City Clerk explained the current 6:00 p.m. deadline left only a 30‑minute window before the 6:30 p.m. meeting to extract and verify Zoom registrations; she asked the council to move the cutoff to 5:00 p.m. to allow a more reliable 90‑minute buffer.

Councilors debated whether 5 p.m. would be enough time and some suggested earlier cutoffs if the 5 p.m. change proves insufficient. Councilor Holteyn urged starting with 5 p.m. and bringing it back for revision if needed. The council reached consensus to implement the 5 p.m. cutoff for now.

Separately, Councilor Holteyn requested a study session to evaluate special‑use permit categories that are particularly susceptible to noise impacts and to consider restricting businesses that operate without on‑site personnel (for example, 24‑hour car washes) to specific hours. Council agreed to place that review on a future study session agenda.