HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 1799 - Building height at former Lutheran campusCITY OF WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO
INTRODUCED BY COUNCIL MEMBER STITES
COUNCIL BILL NO. 14
ORDINANCE NO. 1799
Series of 2024
TITLE: AN ORDINANCE SUBMITTING A BALLOT QUESTION TO
THE VOTERS OF THE CITY AT THE NOVEMBER 5, 2024
SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION, TO AMEND THE WHEAT
RIDGE HOME RULE CHARTER RELATED TO BUILDING
HEIGHT AT THE FORMER LUTHERAN HOSPITAL CAMPUS
WHEREAS, pursuant to Charter Section 16.8 and C.R.S. 31-2-210, the City
Council of the City of Wheat Ridge, Colorado has the authority to refer ballot questions
amending the City’s Home Rule Charter to the electorate; and
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted the Lutheran Legacy Campus Master Plan
(“Master Plan”) after a public hearing on October 25, 2021; and
WHEREAS, the Master Plan documents extensive public input and community
goals and describes a vision for the future of the campus that includes public open
spaces, a mix of housing options, multi-modal amenities, and the repurposing of
structures with historical value; and
WHEREAS, the Lutheran Legacy Campus is currently subject to the height
restrictions of the City Charter which limit residential development to 35 feet and
commercial development to 50 feet both of which are significantly shorter than the existing
91-foot hospital; and
WHEREAS, the Master Plan vision for the Lutheran Legacy Campus cannot be
realized without amending the height limitations on the campus; and
WHEREAS, the amended height limitations would restrict heights on the perimeter
of the campus to 30 feet in exchange for allowing heights of 5 stories or 70 feet in the
interior of the site; and
WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to refer a ballot question amending the
Charter to modify such height limitations on the campus; and
WHEREAS, the Council wishes to set a ballot title for the same.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
WHEAT RIDGE, COLORADO:
Ballot Question Referred and Ballot Title Set.
The following ballot question is hereby referred to the electorate of the City at the
November 5, 2024, special municipal election:
CITY-INITIATED
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT
In order to implement the City’s 2021 Lutheran Legacy Campus Master Plan, shall
the Home Rule Charter of the City of Wheat Ridge, specifically Section 5.10.1 regarding
building height, be amended for the former Lutheran Hospital campus:
To lower the maximum allowed height for residential structures to 30 feet
(2.5 stories) when in proximity to adjacent residential neighborhoods east,
west, and south of the campus; and
To limit all structures to a maximum height of 70 feet (5 stories) in the
interior portion of the campus south of 38th Avenue between Lutheran
Parkway and Lutheran Parkway West, and including an area southeast of
Lutheran Parkway?
Yes/For: __________ No/Against: ___________
Full Text of Amendment. The full text of the amendment referred to
the electorate is the addition of subsection (h) to Section 5.10.1 of the City Charter:
Sec. 5.10.1. - Building height and density limitations.
(a) Height limitations. The city shall not, by ordinance, resolution, motion, permit, or
other action, or variance except as provided in subsection (e), allow the construction
of buildings or other structures which exceed the following maximum heights:
(1) Thirty-five (35) feet for the following: All residential, planned residential and
agricultural districts, including any created after passage of this amendment;
residential buildings when built in nonresidential districts; the hospital-one district;
and the restricted commercial-one district.
(2) Fifty (50) feet for the following: Any other commercial, planned commercial,
industrial or planned industrial districts; the public buildings and facilities district;
commercial and office buildings constructed in the hospital-two district; and any
nonresidential district created after passage of this amendment.
(3) Sixty-five (65) feet, but in no event more than six (6) stories above grade, for new
hospitals in the hospital-two district, on a minimum lot area of fifty (50) acres;
however, additions attached to existing hospitals in this district may be built to a
height not to exceed the height of the existing building.
The height limitations established shall not apply to the following: Church steeples,
silos, decorative domes and cupolas not used for human occupancy or any
commercial, business or industrial use, nor to windmills, chimneys, ventilators,
transmission towers, solar heating and cooling devices, water towers, antennas, or
necessary mechanical appurtenances normally carried above the roofline, but the
city council may, by ordinance, establish height limitations for these structures.
(b) […]
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section 5.10.1, the limitations
upon building height contained herein shall be amended for the former
Lutheran Hospital campus to restrict residential structures to a maximum
height of 30 feet (2.5 stories) when in proximity to adjacent residential
neighborhoods east, west, and south of the campus and to limit all structures
to a maximum height of 70 feet (5 stories) in the interior portion of the campus
south of 38th Avenue between Lutheran Parkway and Lutheran Parkway West
including an area southeast of Lutheran Parkway (as shown as “Mixed-Use”
on page 51 of the Lutheran Legacy Campus Master Plan, adopted October 25,
2021). This shall not modify any current zoning on any property and shall
preserve existing height and density limitations in the Wheat Ridge Code of
Laws unless and until modified through future ordinances approved by city
council after public hearings.
Safety Clause. The City Council hereby finds, determines, and
declares that this Ordinance is promulgated under the general police power of the City of
Wheat Ridge, that it is promulgated for the health, safety, and welfare of the public and
that this Ordinance is necessary for the preservation of health and safety and for the
protection of public convenience and welfare. The City Council further determines that
the Ordinance bears a rational relation to the proper legislative object sought to be
attained.
Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon
adoption at second reading and signature by the Mayor as permitted by Section 5.11 of
the Charter.
INTRODUCED, READ, AND ADOPTED by a vote of 8 to 0 on the 12th day of
August 2024 and ordered published by title and in full on the City’s website as provided
by the Home Rule Charter, and Public Hearing and consideration on final passage set for
Monday, August 26, 2024 at 6:30 p.m., as a virtual meeting and in the Council Chambers,
7500 W. 29th Avenue, Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
READ, ADOPTED AND ORDERED PUBLISHED on second and final reading by
a vote of 8 to 0, this 26th day of August 2024.
SIGNED by the Mayor on this 27th day of August 2024.
Bud Starker, Mayor
ATTEST:
Margy Greer, Sr. Deputy City Clerk
Approved As To Form
Gerald E. Dahl, City Attorney
First Publication: August 13, 2024
Second Publication: August 27, 2024
Effective Date: August 26, 2024
Published:
Jeffco Transcript and www.ci.wheatridge.co.us