Eagle Brook withdraws proposal to build megachurch in Minnetonka neighborhood

Eagle Brook Church has announced that it's dropping a proposal to build its latest megachurch in a residential neighborhood in Minnetonka.

In a statement released Wednesday night, church leaders said the decision was due to a "variety of known and unknown variables," but failed to mention vocal and widespread pushback from hundreds of residents who didn't want a 60,000-square-foot church with a two-story parking structure in their neighborhood.

"Although we would have loved to become a part of the community, we have made the difficult decision to not pursue the development at this time," wrote Steph Hauber, Eagle Brook's expansion director.

A review of the building and project details, initially scheduled for mid-February, was to go before the Minnetonka City Council on Monday.

At a recent planning commission meeting, dozens of residents submitted letters and spoke of their concerns that the project would increase traffic on a narrow street, destroy a nearby wetland and disrupt their quiet neighborhood. Most said the site — off Wayzata Boulevard, west of Interstate 494 — was not suited for a church that would draw thousands of congregants to fill a 1,200-seat auditorium.

More than 1,240 people signed an online petition objecting to the project. The petition was launched by resident Kristen Gildemeister, who thanked everyone for their support after the city planner emailed news of Eagle Brook's decision to residents who had provided feedback on the project.

"I think it was the right decision to make," Gildemeister said. "The two services Saturdays and Sundays, 1,100 cars coming and going during a 45-minute window, would have just made living here awful."

Eagle Brook leaders have long wanted a west metro location for its congregation, which each weekend averages more than 22,000 across nine metro sites. Their attempts to build a megachurch in Corcoran were rejected by the City Council in 2020 when neighbors there lobbied against the proposal. It currently holds mobile Sunday services at Wayzata High School in Plymouth.

The church delivers a live video service from its Lino Lake campus to its satellite campuses on Saturday evenings and Sundays mornings. It expanded to Rochester in 2019, and will add another location later this year at the former Menards in Apple Valley.

Gildemeister said Eagle Brook deserves a west metro location, but added that her neighborhood wasn't the right fit and church leaders didn't seem open to residents' suggestions to modify the size of the proposed development.

"Their growth speaks for the fact that they've got a great following, and I hope they find an appropriate location," she said.