Officials of North Lakes Academy Charter School will ask the Forest Lake City Council on Monday to consider the sale of land in the city-owned Headwaters Development for a new school site. The school, because of steady growth in enrollment since its start in 1999 and a waiting list of potential students, wants to move from its current home in the Flyaways Gymnastics Building, 255 NW 7th St.

The school passed a key hurdle on Wednesday when the city's advisory planning commission voted 8-0 to inform the city council that there is unanimous consensus by the commission to amend the current zoning ordinance to allow school use in the Headwaters Development under a conditional use permit. Current zoning regulations in that area do not allow school use. If the city council agrees during its regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, the school and city will begin purchase negotiations.

School leader Jackie Saunders said Wednesday North Lakes Academy has plans that will expand the current middle school concept to create a new middle school-high school, serving students in grades 5-12. She said the school's goal is to secure a new site and move forward with construction later this year. That would allow the school to open in the fall of 2009. The school would expand its current enrollment of 260 students to 420 students, she said.

The site sought by North Lakes Academy, a public charter school, would be next door to the Forest Lake Sports Complex site and near the new athletic field complex that the city began constructing last summer. The proposal received strong endorsement from city staff and planning commission members on Wednesday. "The school seems to be a nice fit," said Doug Borglund, community development director for the city. 

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