A service station, depicted in the artist's rendering above, was part of a development proposal rejected by the Eden Prairie City Council in 2021. The developers sued the City of Eden Prairie and have now appealed a court’s dismissal of the lawsuit. Rendering from city documents, 2021
Hennepin County District Court’s recent dismissal of a development-related lawsuit against the City of Eden Prairie is being appealed.
In petitioning the Minnesota Court of Appeals for relief, plaintiffs EP Land, LLC and Auto Care World, LLC say the district court ruling on April 4 in the city’s favor failed to acknowledge that the development plan rejected by the city in 2021 proposed land uses that were permitted by city code.
The plaintiffs had proposed to build a 24-hour, 16-pump Holiday service station and 10-bay Auto Care World auto-repair business on four acres near the intersection of County Road 1 (Pioneer Trail) and Hennepin Town Road in southeastern Eden Prairie.
The Eden Prairie City Council concluded that the project was oversized, given its close proximity to adjacent homes and reliance on neighborhood streets. A final city council denial of the project in September 2021 was followed by the lawsuit the following December.
On April 4, 2023, district court Judge Thomas J. Conley dismissed the lawsuit, saying the city’s 2021 denial of the project was reasonable and did not constitute a “regulatory taking” because alternative development options remain.
The appeal by EP Land and Auto Care World was filed on April 14. A specific date for oral arguments has not been set.