Mound Minnesota on Lake Minnetonka Blog.MoundWestonka.com
Development
This entry was posted on 8/25/2007 3:00 PM and is filed under uncategorized.
From the Laker: "Unfortunately, this developer has taught the citizens of Minnetrista an important lesson about anti-growth activists, the misuse of regulation, private property rights and leadership." The above was written by Kory Banning of Minnetrista. He was writing about a developer's efforts to change the trailer park on County Road 110 west into typical residential housing. Bigger image
I am reminded of what I'll call entry barriers. In Minnetrista, and to be fair other cities as well, city councils can make it difficult to get houses built. Regulations and established procedures do raise the cost of housing and as we can see locally, the housing that does eventually get built seems expensive. It is true that it's not just the city level of government that causes the problem. I've been told there can be over 5 separate divisions of government to make happy before one can start construction, and all this costs money that goes into the price of the final product.
This leads me to predict that Westonka's primary source of new housing, which is Minnetrista, will be in substance for the middle class and above. Will Minnetrista be the rich suburb of the central city Mound? Not likely since Mound with all its lake shore properties has its own upper middle class.
Minnetrista is (using a simple analysis), a small affluent market. With less government restrictions, it would be a bigger somewhat less affluent market. I think it's an example of government changing and influencing markets.
I wish the Council of Minnetrista well in dealing with their growth issues, and I suppose I'd like to see a few less imposed barriers effecting the market.
In the recent Laker, BJ Johnson of Minnetrista responds to Banning: Johnson
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Lake Minnetonka Facts
Lake Minnetonka was formed by melting ice blocks in glacial moraines 15,000 years ago. The Lake is 929.4 feet above sea level at its outlet, Grays Bay dam. Its greatest length is 10.9 miles (Halsteds Bay to Grays Bay). 30 feet is its average depth. April 12 - 17 is the range of its average ice-out dates. - from the Hennepin County Library.
Fact of the Day:
Lake Minnetonka Cities
There are 14 cities on Lake Minnetonka. They are: Deephaven, Excelsior, Greenwood, Minnetonka, Minnetonka Beach, Minnetrista, Mound, Orono, Shorewood, Spring Park, Tonka Bay, Victoria, Wayzata, and Woodland.
Mound Minnesota's name
"Mound derived its name from the Indian mounds once found within the present day limits. They were not built by the Dakota Indians but were made by prehistoric Indians...." - Melvin Gimmestad, from the book, Historical Backgrounds of Mound, Minnesota.
Tonka Toys
Mound was known as the "Trucking Capital of the World." Tonka Toys was once located in the present day Balboa building near the intersection of Shoreline and Wilshire.
Lois Lane and Hercules
Lois Lane and Hercules both once lived in Mound. Noel Neill appeared in the TV show "Superman". Kevin Sorbo starred as Hercules in the TV show of the same name in the 1990s.
Saint Bonifacius
This city was named for its Catholic church. Saint Boniface was the Apostle of the Germans. Bonifacius in Latin means, of good fate or fortune.
City of Minnetrista
"The City of Minnetrista is located on the western bays of Lake Minnetonka and the agricultural rich plains and idyllic woodlands of southwestern Hennepin County.....The 32 square miles is home to 5,250 residents who enjoy the rural residential and lakeside settings." - from the City's web page.
Busy Corners
The corner of Lake and Central Avenues used to be the center of Mound. Lake Avenue is now called Bartlett Boulevard and Central changed to Commerce Boulevard. Kirby's Bait Shop is located on Busy Corners.
The Island
Island Park is also known as Phelps Island, and once was called North Shore Park. Phelps is the largest island on Lake Minnetonka, and some say it was originally a peninsula. There was a lot of dredging done in Lake Minnetonka's past. It lies East of Cook's Bay and West of Spring Park Bay. Island Park merged with Mound in 1960. It is still called "The Island".
Early Lake Minnetonka
In 1822 Joe Brown, a drummer boy at Fort Snelling and the Commandant's son Will Snelling discover Lake Minnetonka. The two 14 year old boys canoed up Minnehaha Creek and found its source. It appears that relations with the Dakota Sioux at the time required that the Lake remain off limits. It wasn't until the 1850s that its existence becomes general knowledge. In 1852 Simon Stevens and Calvin Tuttle built a dam and sawmill on Minnehaha Creek some distance East of Lake Minnetonka. The next year a hotel is built nearby. In 1854 the Cook House is built in Mound. The 1850s are the beginning of significant settlement around Lake Minnetonka.
From the Laker: "Unfortunately, this developer has taught the citizens of Minnetrista an important lesson about anti-growth activists, the misuse of regulation, private property rights and leadership." The above was written by 
