In 2005, Wheat Ridge City Council adopted the Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy (NRS) Report, Repositioning Wheat Ridge, and adopted its findings and recommendations as guiding principles for revitalizing the city.
One of two primary recommendations from the 2019 NRS Update was to develop neighborhood engagement in order to better understand what issues and opportunities are most important to residents at the neighborhood level. We know every Wheat Ridge neighborhood is unique, and the Let’s Talk program is designed to learn more about what’s important to neighbors in 10 neighborhoods across the city. The process starts with a resident survey followed by in-person and/or virtual events to identify what’s most important to those living in specific neighborhoods.
To find information and provide input, each Let’s Talk neighborhood gets a What’s Up Wheat Ridge project page, at https://whatsupwheatridge.com/lets-talk. East Wheat Ridge, Bel Aire, Applewood and Leppla Manor are now complete and to start the new year, current blitzes are taking place in Fruitdale and Anderson Park.
The current Let’s Talk neighborhoods line up nicely with another program that focuses on West 44th Avenue, between Youngfield Street and Clear Creek. The City of Wheat Ridge has hired a planning consultant, MIG. Inc, to assist with developing the West 44th Avenue Subarea Plan.
Community members who provided input through the recently updated Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy and the ongoing Let’s Talk Resident Engagement program have made it clear that they want to see improvements made to the aesthetics of West 44th as one of the city’s primary corridors. With the current focus on Let’s Talk Fruitdale and Anderson Park, neighbors along West 44th Avenue have the unique opportunity to provide input on current issues of interest in addition to the long-term vision of West 44th. What’s Up Wheat Ridge has project pages for both programs and public meetings will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 23, at the Wheat Ridge Recreation Center, 4005 Kipling St. Neighbors can attend the public meeting for the West 44th Subarea Plan and then walk down the hall to the open house for Let’s Talk Fruitdale and Anderson Park.
These two programs offer ways in which the community can provide input and help make decisions about what improvements are made and where. As you consider how you want to kick off a brand-new year, why not share your ideas, thoughts, and concerns, and help the city make decisions about your quality of life and the legacy those decisions will leave for generations to come?
More ways to get involved in your city include:
• Join a board, commission or committee, https://bit.ly/WRboardscommissions,
• Subscribe to monthly Mayor’s Matters e-newsletter, https://bit.ly/WRMayorsMatters,
• Register for Traffic Alerts, https://bit.ly/WRNotifyMe, and
• Provide public comment at a City Council Meeting or Study Session in person, virtually or at WheatRidgeSpeaks.org.
Read more about Let’s Talk at https://whatsupwheatridge.com/lets-talk and for the West 44th Subarea Plan at https://www.ci.wheatridge.co.us/1821/44th-Avenue or at https://whatsupwheatridge.com/44th-avenue
Contact Wheat Ridge Mayor Bud Starker at 303-235-2800 or bstarker@ci.wheatridge.co.us
