N NORTHWEST SUBAREA PLAN Update Adopted October 2013 | Originally Adopted June 2006 NORTHWESTW SUBAREA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2013 UPDATE City of Wheat Ridge City Council The City of Wheat Ridge would like to thank the numerous residents, property Mayor Jerry DiTullio owners, and business owners who participated in planning meetings for the District I William Starker Davis Reinhart update of the Northwest Subarea Plan. District II Joyce Jay Kristi Davis District III Mike Stites George Pond District IV Joseph DeMott Tracy Langworthy City of Wheat Ridge Planning Commission District I Anne Brinkman Alan Bucknam District II Steve Timms Scott Ohm District III Richard Matthews Amanda Weaver District IV Monica Duran Tracy Guildner City of Wheat Ridge Staff Patrick Goff, City Manager Community Development Department Public Works Department Kenneth Johnstone Scott Brink Sally Payne Steve Nguyen Meredith Reckert Mark Westberg Sarah Showalter Lauren Mikulak Parks and Recreation Department Wade Sanner Joyce Manwaring Economic Development Steve Art N NORTHWEST SUBAREA PLAN 1 W TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 | Introduction 5 Chapter 2 | Planning Process 10 Chapter 3 | Existing Conditions 12 Chapter 4 | Future Subarea Character 18 Chapter 5 | Future Land Use 20 Chapter 6 | Future Transportation 24 Chapter 7 | Infrastructure and Amenities 27 Chapter 8 | Economic Development 30 Chapter 9 | Implementation 32 2 NORTHWEST SUBAREA PLAN N W TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1 | Northwest Subarea Boundaries 6 Figure 2 | Gold Line Map 7 Figure 3 | RTD Station Design 9 Figure 4 | Existing Land Use 15 Figure 5 | Existing Zoning 16 Figure 6 | Existing Transportation 17 Figure 7 | Future Land Use 21 Figure 8 | Proposed Bicycle and Pedestrian Circulation 26 N NORTHWEST SUBAREA PLAN 3 W This page intentionally left blank 4 NORTHWEST SUBAREA PLAN N W CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION The purpose of the Northwest Subarea Plan is to establish a vision that will guide future RTD Station Design development around the Ward Road commuter rail station in Wheat Ridge. As part of As mentioned above, the final Gold Line alignment was established through RTD’s the FasTracks Program, the Regional Transportation District (RTD) will build the Gold completion of the EIS process in 2009. Shortly thereafter, RTD worked to refine the Line, an 11.2-mile electric commuter rail transit line connecting Wheat Ridge to Union design for each station along the Gold Line. In 2011, the City of Wheat Ridge and Station in downtown Denver. The end-of-line station will be Ward Road Station, located RTD executed an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) that included parameters for the near Ward Road and W. 50th Place in the northwest corner of the city. Riders will be Ward Road Station design. As part of the IGA, RTD committed to construct a variety of able to travel between Ward Road Station and Union Station in 25 minutes, creating improvements with the transit station, including: the opportunity to attract not only commuters, but also reverse commuters coming from downtown Denver to Wheat Ridge. RTD started construction on the Gold Line in 2012 • A newly-constructed intersection at Tabor Street and Ridge Road connecting and it is expected to open in 2016. The area that is covered by the Northwest Subarea with W. 50th Place and creating a through east-west route to station. Plan is generally bounded by W. 52nd Avenue to the north, Tabor Street to the east, • The extension of W. 50th Place east to connect to the station and to the newly- Interstate-70 to the south, and Ward Road to the west. Figure 1 shows the location and constructed intersection of Ridge Road and Tabor Street. The new portion of boundaries of the subarea. 50th Place will include detached sidewalks, on-street parking, and bike lanes. • The extension of Taft Court, south of W. 52nd Avenue, to intersect with W. 50th 2006 PLAN Place. The new Taft Court will include detached sidewalks and on-street parking. In 2006, the City of Wheat Ridge adopted the Northwest Subarea Plan. The plan • A surface parking lot with just under 290 parking spaces which may be expanded called for mixed use, pedestrian-friendly development - often called transit-oriented after opening day based on levels of parking utilization. development (TOD) - to be developed over time around Ward Road Station. It set goals and policies related to land use, urban design, and infrastructure to achieve that vision. Envision Wheat Ridge The City of Wheat Ridge adopted a new comprehensive plan, Envision Wheat Ridge, One purpose of the 2006 plan was to inform the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in 2009. Envision Wheat Ridge establishes the Northwest Subarea as one of five that RTD would be required to complete prior to the Gold Line’s construction. The EIS priority redevelopment areas in the City. It reinforces the vision established in the 2006 process occurred from 2007 to 2009. The process, which involved stakeholder input subarea plan for higher density, mixed use development around the transit station. along the entire Gold Line, analyzed a variety of alternatives and eventually determined It refined that vision, however, by calling for a focus on employment-supporting land a final alignment for the Gold Line corridor, including all eight station locations in Denver, uses in the area. Envision Wheat Ridge also calls for the development of mixed use Adams County, Arvada, and Wheat Ridge. zoning that supports transit-oriented development (TOD), including design standards, to promote quality development in the Northwest Subarea. 2013 UPDATE The Northwest Subarea Plan is adopted as an amendment to Envision Wheat Ridge. Many milestones have been reached since the original adoption of the Northwest Subarea Plan, so in 2013 the City initiated an update to incorporate important changes and to bring the plan document up-to-date. The purpose of this update is not to revisit Urban Renewal Designation and City Charter Exemption the overall vision and major policy goals established in the 2006 plan. Instead, the In 2009, the entire Northwest Subarea became part of the I-70/Kipling Corridors Urban updated plan furthers the original vision for transit-oriented development by refining Renewal Area. Renewal Wheat Ridge, the City’s urban renewal authority, adopted the and clarifying the goals and strategies to realize that vision. The following is a summary I-70/Kipling Corridors Plan in May 2009. The formation of the urban renewal area is of major milestones, plans, and policies that have been incorporated into the 2013 plan. significant because it enables the use of certain financing tools, such as tax increment N NORTHWEST SUBAREA PLAN INTRODUCTION 5 W FIGURE 1 | NORTHWEST SUBAREA BOUNDARIES 53RD AVE YANK WAY YANK YANK WAY YANK VIVIAN ST VIVIAN ST UNION CTUNION CT CT CT TAFT TAFT ST ST TABOR TABOR XENON ST Arvada 52ND AVE 52ND AVE QUAIL ST QUAIL QUAIL ST QUAIL SIMMS PL SWADLEY ST SWADLEY RIDGE RD Jefferson 50TH PL County WARD RD WARD WARD RD WARD 49TH PL TABOR ST TABOR TABOR ST TABOR 49TH AVE 49TH AVE PARFET ST PARFET ROBB ST ROBB ST VAN GORDON ST VAN I-70 FRONTAGE RD N I-70 FRONTAGE RDI-70 N Ward Road Station 47TH AVE Gold Line City Boundaries 46TH PL NW Subarea SIMMS ST SIMMS ST ROBB ST ROBB ST TABOR ST TABOR TABOR ST TABOR The Northwest Subarea is generally bounded by W. 52nd Avenue, Tabor Street, Interstate-70, and Ward Road. The boundary has been modified slightly since the 2006 plan was adopted: the established residential neighborhood to the northeast is removed and the area west of Tabor Street, south of Ridge Road is added. 6 INTRODUCTION NORTHWEST SUBAREA PLAN N W FIGURE 2 | GOLD LINE MAP This map, provided by RTD, illustrates the Gold Line in relation to other FasTracks transit lines. Ward Road Station is the end-of-line station for the Gold Line. N NORTHWEST SUBAREA PLAN INTRODUCTION 7 W financing (TIF), that could help to fund future development and/or infrastructure It requires that all new streets serving commercial or mixed-use development have improvements in the subarea. a minimum 8-foot wide detached sidewalk with minimum 6-foot wide amenity zone. All new streets serving residential development must include a minimum 6-foot wide Shortly after the formation of the urban renewal area, Wheat Ridge voters exempted detached sidewalk and 6-foot amenity zone. The manual also includes guidelines for the I-70/Kipling urban renewal area from the height and density restrictions in the City benches, pedestrian lights, and plant material within the amenity zone. Charter. When the original Northwest Subarea Plan was adopted in 2006, the subarea was subject to restrictions in the charter that limit development to 50 feet in height EPA Smart Growth Implementation Grant for commercial buildings, 35 feet for buildings with residential use, and a maximum The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Sustainable Communities residential density of 21 units per acre. These restrictions no longer apply to the offers communities assistance in implementing smart growth through its Smart Growth subarea, which creates new opportunity for the mixed-use, higher-density development Implementation Assistance (SGIA) program. The City of Wheat Ridge was selected that is common to TOD. for this implementation assistance program in 2010-2011. The SGIA team developed recommendations for financing infrastructure improvements needed in the Northwest Mixed Use Zoning Subarea, including new streets, stormwater facilities, and structured parking. The 2006 Northwest Subarea Plan, along with Envision Wheat Ridge, recognized the need for zoning that would encourage the type of urban, mixed-use development The final report produced by EPA recommends that Wheat Ridge prioritize stormwater envisioned for the station area. In 2010, the City adopted four new mixed use zoning and street improvements.