Document - process/ work product - Guide to the Land Planning Act--Introduction - 1/1/1976I INTRODUCTION
A. Setting
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The City of Eagan is a second tier suburb in the Twin City
Metropolitan Area of Minneapolis/St. Paul,Minnesota. Geo-
graphically, Eagan is located approximately 10 miles south
of the downtown areas of the Twin Cities. Time wise, Eagan
is located about 20 minutes driving time from these down-
town areas. As such, Eagan is significantly influenced by
activities and trends in the Twin Cities area. However,
unlike many second tier suburbs, Eagan employs a very sub-
stantial number of its' citizens within the corporate limits
of the City. In total, Eagan is estimated to employ 14,000
persons in 1980.
Vehicular accessibility to other parts of the Metropolitan
area is not adequately developed. The only facility pro-
viding freeway -level service from northern Dakota County
to the downtown Twin Cities area is Interstate 35W. 'Other
major Minnesota River crossings occur at the Mendota Bridge
and the Cedar Avenue Bridge, however, both of these facili-
ties are substandard for the volumes of traffic they accom-
modate. These inadequate routes are expected to be im-
proved and the problems created rectified in the 1980's in
that a new Cedar Avenue Bridge has been constructed
which will be open to traffic in 1980 and a new Interstate
494 Bridge is expected to be constructed across the Minne-
sota River and open to traffic by 1984.
The major employment centers that have developed within
the general geographic area of Eagan are the Eagandale In-
dustrial Center which is located in north -central Eagan,
the new regional shopping center, which was opened in
1977, to the southwest in the City of Burnsville, and the
Airlake Industrial Park, located approximately 10 miles to
the south, in the City of Lakeville. Other major areas of
employment are the Minnesota Zoological Garden, Blue Cross,
Univac and the numerous commercial developments within
Eagan and the surrounding area; most of which have been
developed to provide goods and services to residents.
Eagan has always prided itself in being in many ways a
self-sustaining community in that the City provides for
most of the needs of its' citizens such as employment,
recreation, and commercial goods and services. Eagan is
unique in its' ability, as a second-tier suburb, to pro -
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