When Citizen Petitions Go Bad

So I’m walking into my local branch of the Jefferson County Public Library last week, and just outside the entrance there’s a man collecting signatures for four separate proposed citizens’ initiatives for the November ballot. READ MORE

Education Excellence in Wheat Ridge

Fifteen years ago when my children approached kindergarten age I asked friends and neighbors about the local school. Some comments were, “Don’t choose that school, you need to go to this school (two miles away),” and “No, that school is bad, you need to go here (three miles away).” READ MORE

Vegetables, To Grow Or Not To Grow!

Every year I have good intentions to have a fabulous vegetable garden, and here it is mid-July and I still haven’t done what I had hoped. Just recently I was researching to see if it was too late. Guess what? There is always time to plant something! READ MORE

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FIREWORKS WILL GRACE THE SKY FOR TWO NIGHTS OVER THE 45TH ANNUAL WHEAT RIDGE CARNATION FESTIVAL. The festival will take place on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 15 and 16, 4-11 p.m., at Anderson Park, 44th Avenue and Field Street. Festival admission is free. New features include an expanded beer garden and food court with new varieties of eats and drinks, lots of new vendors and artisans, and an upgraded Kids Zone with carnival games, inflatables, kids crafts, a magician, balloon artist, petting zoo and a Bike Safety Rodeo. See the special insert, beginning on page 5 of this issue of the Neighborhood Gazette, for complete details, or visitwww.thecarnationfestival.com.

July Community Meetings To Take Pulse Of The Public

By J. Patrick O’Leary

The City of Wheat Ridge will host five community outreach meetings to gather additional public feedback on what the community should be focusing its resources on. The meetings will be held:

• Saturday, July 19, 10-11:30 a.m., at Hayward Park, 7500 W. 29th Ave.

• Wednesday, July 23, 6-7:30 p.m., at the Active Adult Center, 6363 W. 35th Ave.

• Thursday, July 24, 10-11:30 a.m., at Anderson Park, 4355 Field St.

The first two meetings were held Wednesday, July 16, at the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center and Colorado Plus.

The questions posed to the public will include:

• Where do you feel Wheat Ridge is going as a city?

• What are the needs and priorities of the city?

• What are the immediate and future needs of the city?

• How can services and infrastructure be improved to meet those needs?

• How will the city finance these needs?

Patio Homes Pending at 32nd & Wadsworth, Final Hearing Aug. 11

By J. Patrick O’Leary

It’s refreshing when a developer, neighbors and the city all agree on the future use of a property. Twenty single family patio homes will be built on two parcels with abandoned homes northwest of West 32nd Avenue and Wadsworth Boulevard, provided City Council approves rezoning from R-2 Residential to Planned Residential Development (PRD) at a Aug. 11 public hearing. The alternative, turned down by neighbors several years ago, was high-density, subsidized housing.

The Planning Commission recommended approval PRD zoning and an Outline Development Plan of the Grove 21 at Wheat Ridge Planned Residential Development on June 17, and City Council presented the first reading of the resolution at its July 14 regular meeting.

The two parcels, located at 7671 W. 32nd Ave. and 3299 Wadsworth Boulevard, total approximately 3.48 acres.

The development calls for smaller lots sizes, 3,500 to 7,000 square feet, than allowed under current zoning, but otherwise calls for single-family homes, ranging in size from 1,500 to 2,000 finished square feet, with basements. Pricing is expected to start in the low $300,000s.

38th Ave. Goes To Citywide Vote

By Cyndy Beal

The future of 38th Avenue is now in the hands of the people.

On July 14 Wheat Ridge City Council unanimously (8-0) voted to put the question of establishing a street width/flowline for 38th Avenue between Upham and Marshall Streets on the November ballot.

“I was pleased it was unanimous,” said Mayor Joyce Jay.

The public hearing, prior to the council vote, attracted approximately 75 people, a full room; around 25 people spoke before council, with eight people either in opposition or with questions on how the city would afford the estimated $9.3 million price tag for the 38th Avenue construction project.

Around 19 property owners, on or adjacent to 38th Avenue sent a written protest to council regarding changing the street width designation.

Per Wheat Ridge city charter 5.20, street width can only be determined by council or in an election, or more specifically flowline. The charter states, “Flowline is defined as the measurement from the inside edge of one (1) curb to the inside edge of the opposite curb.”

The 2012 lane reconfiguration is a pilot program and didn’t change the flowline.