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2 <br /> <br />3. Commercial, industrial, and higher-density residential districts generate substantially more tax <br />revenue per acre than lower-density residential districts. <br /> <br />4. R-1 zoning occupies a disproportionate share of buildable land relative to its tax contribution. <br /> <br />5. Smaller single-family lots generate substantially more tax revenue per acre than larger lots. <br /> <br />6. Class 4A apartment properties generate more than double the tax revenue per acre and <br />approximately four times the tax revenue per unit compared to Class 4D properties. <br /> <br />7. The highest individual tax contributors are concentrated in higher-intensity residential, <br />industrial, and corridor-based commercial properties. <br /> <br />8. Retail sales exceed expectations overall, though leakage persists in key everyday categories. <br />Employment and commuting data in this report come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Longitudinal <br />Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) dataset. These figures are derived from administrative wage <br />records and statistical estimation methods. They are useful for identifying broad trends and <br />comparative positioning, but they are not precise enough to function as performance targets. Small <br />year-to-year changes should not be interpreted as evidence of policy success or failure. <br /> <br />Local programming, especially in small suburban communities, can influence outcomes at the margins. <br />It can reduce friction in getting projects off the ground, support additional reinvestment, and help <br />structure complex redevelopment deals. However, it does not override metropolitan economic health, <br />regional trends, or structural conditions. Municipal strategy operates within those constraints. <br /> <br />For example, Shoreview has historically invested substantially more time and financial resources into <br />formal economic development programming, branding, and outreach. Yet over the 20-year period <br />examined in this report, Little Canada experienced stronger overall job growth. This comparison is not <br />intended as criticism of Shoreview but is evidence that municipal economic outcomes are shaped <br />largely by regional labor markets, infrastructure access, land availability, and private market decisions. <br /> <br />Strategic Goals <br />Local programming is neither fruitless nor unnecessary. The question is how it should be structured <br />and what it is intended to accomplish. <br /> <br />For a built-out, first-ring suburb like Little Canada, economic development does not need to be framed <br />solely as job maximization or recruitment of large employers. A more realistic, actionable, and durable <br />framing could be: <br /> <br />How should the EDA support a stable and resilient tax base, encourage reinvestment in aging <br />commercial and industrial areas, and maintain a high quality of life for residents, while ensuring Little <br />Canada remains competitive within the broader metropolitan economy? <br /> <br />Some potential areas of focus for the EDA could be: <br />