The City Plan is the culmination of 16 months of input from the Wheat Ridge community. The purpose of the City Plan is to supersede the 2009 Envision Wheat Ridge as the new comprehensive plan for the city. It articulates the community’s vision for the next 15 years, establishes shared values, and identifies priorities for the future.

The City of Wheat Ridge has received an allocation of $2,080,116 for the purpose of issuing Private Activity Bonds (PABs) in 2025 under the state ceiling imposed by the Tax Reform Act of 1987. Staff recommends assigning the City’s allocation to Foothills Regional Housing which has agreed to issue PABs for housing on the Ives Campus and Ridge Road Campus.

Jefferson County Open Space (JCOS) Trails Partnership Program allows communities within the County to apply for funding in the amount of up to 50% of the cost of projects related to regional trails. A City Council Resolution of Support is required as part of the application. Staff would like to apply for this funding to support mill and overlay work at the parking lots within Anderson and Prospect Parks in 2026, which both serve as trailheads for the Clear Creek Trail.

The City Charter calls for a municipal election in every odd year to coincide with the elected terms for the Offices of the Mayor, Clerk, Treasurer and Council. City Council will refer one ballot question to the electorate of the City of Wheat Ridge for the November 4, 2025, Regular Municipal Election. Therefore, per Section 16.8 of the City Charter, the City of Wheat Ridge is required to formally call a Regular Municipal Election for this date.

A recommendation from the Facilities Master Plan (FMP) is to co-locate and expand the Public Works and Parks Operations Facilities at one site. The recommended direction is to acquire a parcel adjacent to the existing Public Works Operations Facility to make this expansion possible. The City was contacted by the owner of the property at 4593 Parfet Street to determine if the City would be interested in purchasing the property. City Council entered into a contract to purchase this property for $1,100,000 on July 28, 2025. Renewal Wheat Ridge has approved a loan in the amount of $1,200,000 to assist the City in purchasing this property including appropriate due diligence and closing costs.

A stormwater line unexpectantly failed and resulted in a large sinkhole near the intersection of 39th Avenue and Hoyt Court. American West Construction had previously done emergency stormwater work for the City and staff solicited them to complete this work.

The applicant is requesting approval of a zone change from Agricultural-One (A-1) to Planned Residential Development (PRD) with an Outline Development Plan (ODP) for a 39-unit cohousing community with a common house and shared amenities located at 11571 and 11581 W. 44th Avenue.

Chapter III of the City’s Charter establishes that there shall be an elected City Clerk (Sec. 3.7-3.8) and an elected City Treasurer (Sec. 3.9-3.10). Council is proposing a charter amendment to the Wheat Ridge electorate that eliminates the elected roles of Clerk and Treasurer at the November 4, 2025, municipal election.

The City has the opportunity to sell a property known as Town Center Park located at 4084 Wadsworth Boulevard. Town Center Park, a 0.7-acre parcel purchased in 1982, was closed in 2020 due to safety concerns when it became a magnet for unwelcome behavior and was no longer serving as its intended use as a gathering space for the shopping center. The sale of this parcel, combined with another 0.5-acre site acquired as part of the Wadsworth Improvement Project, has long been the City’s intention once the Wadsworth construction was nearing completion. Section 16.5 of the City Charter states that “Unanimous approval of the entire council, by ordinance, shall be necessary for sale or disposition of designated park land.”

The City has the opportunity to sell property acquired through the Improve Wadsworth Project known as the former Raliberto’s site. This commercial property, located at 4084 Wadsworth Boulevard, is approximately 0.5 acres. It was purchased by the City in order to facilitate the widening of Wadsworth Boulevard. The sale of this parcel, combined with another 0.7-acre former parkland site, has long been the City’s intention once the Wadsworth construction was nearing completion. Section 16.5 of the City Charter states that “The City shall not sell or dispose of municipally owned buildings or real property for a public purpose, without first obtaining the approval, by ordinance, of three-fourths of the entire council.”

Section 10.15 of the Municipal Charter for the City of Wheat Ridge requires that an independent audit be performed annually of all City accounts. In 2024, the City received more than $750,000 in federal funds for Wadsworth Boulevard which also triggered a “single audit” of all federal funds. The CPA firm Haynie & Co (Haynie) performed both the City and federal audits of the City’s financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2024. Once again, this year, the City received an unmodified opinion indicating that the City’s financial statements are fairly and appropriately presented. A representative from Haynie will be at the August 25, 2025, City Council meeting to present the 2024 Financial Statements to Council for acceptance.

The Youngfield Street Beautification project includes funding for public art. The process for selecting public art is defined in the Public Art Management Plan. Per this process, a public art piece called “Wild Beauty” has been commissioned. The proposal submitted by Alexandrea Pangburn, Julia Williams, and AJ Davis was selected by an appointed committee for recommendation to the Cultural Commission. The Cultural Commission reviewed the proposal and per the defined process would like to make a recommendation to City Council for acceptance and purchase. The purchase price of $240,000 includes design, construction, installation, and documentation.

The City of Wheat Ridge has received an allocation of $2,080,116 for the purpose of issuing Private Activity Bonds (PABs) in 2025 under the state ceiling imposed by the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Staff recommends assigning the City’s allocation to Foothills Regional Housing (FRH) which has agreed to issue PABs for the Ridge affordable housing mixed-use project at approximately Ridge Road and Miller Street.

In 2022, Colorado voters approved Proposition 123, creating a statewide affordable housing fund. In October 2023, the city filed a commitment with the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) to increase the supply of affordable housing by 3% annually or 218 units within 3 years. To maintain eligibility in the second cycle (2027-2029) for Proposition 123 funding, local governments must establish an expedited review process for qualifying affordable housing projects. This memo provides updates on the city’s unit commitments and awarded grant funds during the first cycle, as well as progress toward meeting the expedited review requirement. Staff are seeking council direction on implementing an expedited review process for affordable housing developments to maintain eligibility for Proposition 123 and to secure grant funding of $50,000 from DOLA to assist with allowable planning activities under the Local Planning Capacity grant guidelines.

On May 30, 2024, Governor Polis signed Senate Bill (SB) 24-174, the Sustainable Affordable Housing Assistance Act, into law. The bill requires local governments to perform a Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) that complies with the state methodology and baseline components specified by DOLA by December 31, 2026. However, local governments are exempt from this requirement if they participate in a state-compliant Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA). While the city already has an HNA as part of its Affordable Housing Strategy and Action Plan (AHS), this plan does not meet all the requirements of the state bill. To meet the state requirements, the city has two options: 1. Revise and update the AHS by 2026, or 2. Participate in DRCOG’s RHNA. The goals of the August 18 study session are to review the requirements of SB24-174, review DRCOG’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), and seek Council direction on participating in DRCOG’s RHNA to comply with SB24-174.

The State of Colorado Legislature passed several bills in the 2024 session aimed at addressing affordability and increasing housing supply across the state. Since March 2025, City Council has taken action to comply with three of these bills: HB24-1007 (Residential Occupancy Limits), HB24-1304 (Minimum Parking Requirements), and HB24-1152 (Accessory Dwelling Units). The purpose of this memo is to provide a status update on the city’s progress toward compliance with state housing legislation, including an informational update on HB24-1313 (Housing in Transit-Oriented Communities), and preview future discussions related to the Housing Fund. No council direction or discussion is necessary on these topics at this time; this memo is for informational purposes only.