Woodbury council approves rezoning and three‑lot Ranch Road subdivision after resident objections

The Woodbury City Council on Aug. 27 approved rezoning a five‑acre parcel at 8040 Ranch Road from R‑1 (Urban Reserve) to R‑4 (Urban Residential) and approved a preliminary and final plat to create three new single‑family lots, voting 4–1 to pass both the ordinance and the plat.

The decisions follow a continuation of a public hearing that drew neighbors concerned about stormwater, the condition of Ranch Road (a gravel private drive), and loss of the area’s rural character. Council members adopted conditions that require the applicant to pave and slightly widen Ranch Road, provide construction staging areas, and enter a developer agreement; council also accepted staff’s proposed modifications to the grading and drainage plan and added a clarified security requirement to address post‑construction drainage impacts.

Why it matters: The vote lets an individual landowner proceed with subdivision and development in an area the city’s 2040 comprehensive plan anticipates for higher‑density residential use, but neighbors said piecemeal approvals risk changing the character of an otherwise rural corridor and shifting maintenance costs and stormwater impacts onto adjacent homeowners.

City planning summary and key project details City planner Eric Searls told council the 5‑acre site is guided as low‑density residential on the comprehensive plan and can be served by municipal utilities stubbed north of Ranch Road. The application requests four dwelling units in total (the existing homestead plus three new lots), equal to about 0.8…