Woodbury council approves Bailey West plat, limits plotted right‑of‑way and orders street‑naming review after residents raise safety concerns

The Woodbury City Council on July 8 approved a comprehensive plan amendment, rezoning ordinance and preliminary/final plat for the Bailey West development while adding conditions to restrict plotted right‑of‑way and require a street‑naming review.

City planner Eric Searls told the council Bailey Nurseries’ Bailey West application covers roughly 185 acres in Woodbury and proposes a mixed‑use development that includes retail, public/semi‑public uses tied to New Life Academy, light industrial and multifamily areas. Searls said the plat shows a Phase 1 stub of Century Avenue that would terminate at a designated point; any further extension or alternative alignment will be evaluated through the city’s 2050 comprehensive plan in partnership with Ramsey and Washington counties.

The move came after more than a dozen residents from nearby Century Avenue South and Bailey Road urged the council to remove or relabel the Century Avenue connection on plat maps and to study traffic, pedestrian safety and stormwater impacts more thoroughly. "Even if I'm half wrong, this extension would destroy our neighborhood and endanger lives," said resident Johnny DeMay, who gave the council a numerical critique of the traffic study the city used.

Several speakers pointed out that traffic counts cited in the environmental assessment relied on 2019–20 data and did not reflect recent nearby development. "The traffic study is using data from 6 to 8 years ago," said Johnny DeMay, who described planned dwelling units and retail that he said would roughly double the trips assumed in the original study. Resident Janelle Erickson urged the council to replace the Century Avenue label on phase‑2 visuals with neutral language so the public understands that alignment and naming remain undecided.

Staff and the applicant’s engineers answered technical questions on utilities and stormwater. Mark Carmichael of Alliance Engineering said drainage for the Woodbury and Newport portions of the site will route to a large regional stormwater pond and wetlands and that the work has been reviewed by city engineering staff and the Ramsey Washington Watershed District.

Council members pressed staff on why the plat currently shows right‑of‑way. Searls said some right‑of‑way annotations were included to document utility corridors and that the council could vacate right‑of‑way later if an alternate alignment is selected. After discussion, councilmembers added conditions requiring the final plat be amended to include only necessary drainage and utility easements north of the stub and directing staff to work with public safety to establish an alternate street name for the roadway now shown as Century Avenue.

Council then voted to adopt the comprehensive plan amendment (places‑to‑work → mixed‑use), enact the rezoning ordinance to implement the land‑use change and approve the preliminary and final plat (project number 19‑2025‑00600) with the amendments and conditions described above. The motions included language authorizing the mayor and city administrator to execute the developer agreement subject to those conditions.

The council also noted the longer planning timeline: Searls said the 2050 comprehensive plan process will evaluate transportation alternatives, and that partners including Ramsey and Washington counties will participate in future decisions about any extension or alignment beyond the parcel’s stub.

The council’s action allows the Bailey West project to proceed to future review stages — including conditional‑use and site/building plans for specific outlots — while reserving decisions about a through roadway and its name until the city completes additional study and interjurisdictional consultation.