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September 30, 2021
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
JeffcoTranscript.com
VOLUME 38 | ISSUE 10
County gets injunction against school Court order requires mask wearing, health inspections at Faith Christian Academy BY RYAN DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
place, with results — what people said they want to see take shape — being taken into consideration as the process moved forward. Public amenities, diversity of housing types and mixed-use zoning all polled well with the public when surveyed about what they’d like to see. Open space and quality bicycling and walking accessibility were also high on that list. Low height and low-density, particularly around the edges of the site were also top of mind for community members who weighed in, although they were more willing to accept taller structures toward the middle of the development. Another thing people are passionate about is retaining the Blue House and Chapel.
Jefferson County Public Health was granted a preliminary injunction against Faith Christian Academy by First Judicial District Judge Randall Arp after three days in court on Sept. 23. The injunction requires students, faculty and administrators to follow JCPH’s mask guidelines and allows the department to conduct health inspections at the Arvada-based school. The lawsuit was initially filed by JCPH against FCA and two other schools, Augustine Classical Academy and Beth Eden Baptist School, who were all found to have violated JCPH’s guidelines on masking or contested the department’s impromptu inspections. Augustine Classical and Beth Eden settled with JCPH on Sept. 22, agreeing to allow the department to conduct checks. FCA’s counsel claimed on Sept. 23 that the school would require a few hours’ notice to allow for an administrator to become available to lead a health inspector around the school. FCA Superintendent Andrew Hasz said in his testimony that the school had been complying with JCPH’s mandates, but could not ensure that a faculty member would be available to meet a health inspector without prior notice. JCPH’s counsel argued that giving such notice would undermine the
SEE LUTHERAN, P9
SEE INJUNCTION, P9
Plans for what to do with the Lutheran Medical Campus in Wheat Ridge were revealed to community members during an open PHOTO BY BOB WOOLEY house event last week.
Rough plans for Lutheran Legacy Campus revealed Wheat Ridge open house draws big crowd to see what’s next BY BOB WOOLEY BWOOLEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
With SCL Health’s Lutheran Campus moving to Clear Creek Crossing in the near future, Lutheran Medical Center’s Legacy Campus located at 8300 W. 38th Avenue will be transitioning to something else. But what? The short answer, taken straight from the slides shown at the open house on Sept. 22. “The major components include flexible mixed-use development in the center of the site, buffers and transitions to existing neighbor-
hoods abutting the Campus, and integration of existing natural and manmade assets,” the city’s slide read. “Allowing for additional height and density at the center of the center of the site creates more opportunities for affordability and open space.” The longer answer requires some context. How it started Home to a tuberculosis sanitarium beginning in 1905, the site has served the medical needs of Wheat Ridge and surrounding communities in one way or another for 116 years. In early 2021 the City started the process of writing the next chapter for this spot. Public engagement in the form of meetings, focus groups, study sessions and surveys took
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 24
BRIDGES TO THE ARTS
Communities are creating centers to boost local culture
P16