After four classes and a site tour to a local development, over 25 participants in the Wheat Ridge 2020 Planning & Development Academy have learned quite a bit about the planning and development process.
Marycate Lumpp, a Wheat Ridge resident and WR2020 member, said, "It [the planning academy] was constructive. Identifying smaller scale issues of Wheat Ridge within a larger context was helpful. It was an interesting and positive experience."
The Wheat Ridge 2020 Planning & Development Academy was designed and led by Director of Real Estate,
Denise Balkas. "The academy is designed to educate and debate the choices Wheat Ridge has concerning its future. Participants are learning about city planning and development concepts, processes and tools that could be used to implement a future vision for the community," explained Ms. Balkas.
Class speakers included
Fernando DePaolis, regional economist with the Denver Regional Council of Governments;
Mike Rinner, vice president for the Genesis Group; Jim Sullivan, developer and former Wheat Ridge resident;
Peter Pollock, Ronald Smith Fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy;
Malcolm Murray and
Jerry Dahl, partners in the law firm Murray Dahl Kuechenmeister & Renaud LLP;
Alan White, community development director for the City of Wheat Ridge;
Dick Farley, principal at Civitas;
Bill Mosher, developer with Trammel Crowe and a former Wheat Ridge resident; and
Chuck Perry, developer of Highlands Gardens (old Elitch's site).
"The speakers had a good depth of knowledge and great background information. They shared the perspective of many years of doing this," stated
Jim Chilvers, a member of the Wheat Ridge Planning Commission.
The classes covered demographics and markets of an inner-ring suburb, community planning concepts, urban design, and economic development and deal making. The class concluded with a tour of Highlands' GardenVillage conducted by developer Chuck Perry.
Stephanie Walter, a WR2020 member, remarked, "This is the most comprehensive and detailed class about planning I've ever taken. As a resident, it has given me a lot to think about. I want to know, as a young person in the community, how to make change happen."
The Wheat Ridge 2020 Planning and Development Academy was sponsored in part by the Jefferson County Association of Realtors.
Participants in this first academy class included:
Susan Aldretti, Terry Amalfitano, Mike Baran, Gretchen Cerveny, Jim Chilvers, Odarka Figlus, Britta Fisher, Keith Gray, Kevin Hood, George Jorgensen, Fran Langdon, George Langdon, Larry Linker, Nick Loecher, Roger Loecher, Marycate Lumpp, Nicholas Lumpp, Beth McBride, Gene Pastor, Tom Radigan, Lena Rotola, Jerry Scezney, Don Seyfer, Suzanne Teale, Stephanie Walter, and
Terrell Williams.
The planning academy will take place again in the fall of 2007. Go to www.WheatRidge2020.org for future information on the academy.