Planning commission recommends approval of Woodbury Leadership Academy expansion, adds sidewalk condition

Woodbury Planning Commission on June 2 recommended approval of a conditional use permit for Woodbury Leadership Academy to expand its campus at 8147 Globe Drive, potentially adding grades 9–12 and increasing campus enrollment by 300–400 students to about 1,300 total.

The commission’s recommendation included the standard conditions identified in the draft resolution and one additional condition: that staff work with the applicant to consider adding a sidewalk segment connecting the existing Globe Drive sidewalk to the proposed classroom expansion building. The commission voted by voice to forward the project to the City Council public hearing scheduled for June 11, 2025; no nays were recorded during the voice vote.

Why it matters: The expansion would centralize the charter school’s operations in a single former Globe College corporate campus building and change daily traffic, drop-off/pickup and busing patterns at a private drive serving multiple tenants. Commissioners focused questions on pedestrian safety, staggered pickups, parking sufficiency and secure building access for students while commercial tenants remain on site.

City planning staff presented background, noting the site was originally developed for the Minnesota School of Business/Globe University as a roughly 70,000-square-foot, three-story corporate and postsecondary facility. A 2021 addition included a multipurpose gym. The applicant seeks a conditional use permit under Woodbury City Code (cited in the presentation as section 24-43) to allow expanded K–12 use in the existing building at 8147 Globe Drive; staff said the…