Wheat Ridge Transcript 0702

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July 2, 2020

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

WheatRidgeTranscript.com

VOLUME 36 | ISSUE 51

Jeffco Schools make an early call on inperson classes Union requesting greater teacher involvement in future decisions BY CASEY VAN DIVIER CVANDIVIER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

plication is being considered by the county because the property is located just outside of Golden city limits, although it has a Golden address. That meeting began with a presentation from the developer, Phoenixbased NextMetro Communities, whose representative said it has built about 30 such communities throughout the U.S. He said such rented homes have proven a popular option for people who want a suburban-feeling neighborhood environment without having to take on the burdens of homeownership.

For months, district leaders at Jeffco Public Schools have been discussing what next year’s balance of in-person and remote learning will look like. That conversation has included the entire community, with individuals weighing in at school board meetings and through an online survey, which has been open since late May. The survey was scheduled to remain open through the end of June, with the district planning to release its final Restart Jeffco plan on July 8. But on June 19, the district announced that while the survey would continue as scheduled, one element of next year’s plan had officially been determined: Elementary students would have the option to return for full-time in-person learning in the 2020-2021 school year. “Because we operate in a competitive school environment where families have options, we felt it in the best interest of our schools to not delay the announcement at the elementary level,” Superintendent Jason Glass said. By June 18, the district had already received more than 16,000 survey responses, he said. In the days leading up to that, the survey was receiving less than 100 responses per day. The overwhelming majority of existing and new

SEE PROJECT, P4

SEE SCHOOLS, P4

A view of the property that developer NextMetro communities wants to rezone in order to develop an apartment community there. PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO

Developer wants 236-unit rental development near North Table Mountain Community group vows to fight 26-acre project BY PAUL ALBANI-BURGIO PALBANIBURGIO@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A Phoenix developer has submitted an application to Jefferson County to rezone about 26 acres of land on the north flank of North Table Mountain near Golden in hopes of eventually constructing a community of 236 rentable homes. The project could help to address the “missing middle” affordability

challenges that currently plague Golden, the developer says. In response, a group of residents from the surrounding area have formed a group called No Rezone North Table Mountain that promises to fight the rezoning and potential development. The group says the project would be incompatible with the existing character of the area and have negative impacts on their health and welfare. Both the developer and members of the opposition group got their first chance to weigh in on the proposed rezoning at a virtual community meeting held on June 25. The ap-

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 10

DOCUMENTING A PANDEMIC

PERIODICAL

A new effort underway at History Colorado is tracing COVID-19’s impact on the state with material from unexpected places P10


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