Concept 1: Entertainment Favor/Opposed Pros Cons Favor: 56 Opposed: 7 Really like the roundabouts. Like a small hotel. I think a lower ramp would be important. Museum excellent. This could be best use of land and develop Excelsior s assets as long as it s done with Excelsior Character, and parking needs are addressed. Maynard s needs to stay. This is the least invasive. Museum great idea. Four story or less on buildings. Less near water. Like hotel idea combined with event center. Love the lakefront year-round district of fun and history. I like the pier, boat museum, boutique hotel, waterfront restaurant. Great stuff. Roundabout at 5 corners too bad exit from 7 couldn t beat mill street. I like the round about to help with the 5 corners issue. I want Maynard s to stay. Do like the idea of creating some more affordable housing for young families/professions. Houses here, even the new townhouse, are way out of the price range of that demographic. Combine hotel with event center not separate. Like offering affordable housing units across from Maynard s for young professions, single parents, etc. but would prefer that 810 should not have more residential space. Like the idea that the docks remain public access and iconic Maynard s space remains accessible. What happened to the hotel downtown? Should be addressed here in comprehensive plan. Concept #1 is the only concept that maintains the public space that is Maynard s and Bayside that is so valued as a space that is accessible to all to enjoy. We don t want condos and residential docks. No Wayzata. Round about near old folks home will mean people run over. Build small houses for families. No more condos. A hotel is a place where people sleep and not the highest and best use for the land (waterfront). Also, hotel will be empty most nights of the year. Four-story parking ramp don t like. Too tall. Bayview park, Lake Minnetonka museum. If Maynard s is downsized and Bayside goes, so goes the reason to come by boat. High density housing is a negative. This is what ruined Wayzata entering into a canyon of buildings. Don t let residential be too high. Limit # of stories. Keep multi-family residences to a minimum. Consider additional traffic on Excelsior Blvd. Traffic problem already with people who don t stop at Minnetonka Blvd before turning. Like some entertainment value in area. Have sufficient parking. The roundabout is not conducive to pedestrian safety. Being from south of Hwy 7 and walking most days seeing young families walk in it is hard to cross 5 corners now with stop signs. Having traffic not required to stop would be even more hazardous. Please don t put one (or 2) in.
Concept 2: Mixed-Use Neighborhood Favor/Opposed Pros Cons Favor: 5 Opposed: 37 Residential with stores on first floor. I like the setbacks, sidewalks added to East Town. This will give the area more breathing space for pedestrians and enjoyment. I agree with the above statement. Let s just tear down all the current buildings. No! too much traffic. Too many people. Headlights will come directly into our home bedroom with proposed new road. There are diminishing reasons to traverse by boat to dining locations. This proposal mostly eliminates ability to boat to Excelsior to dine. A sad option. Sets back economic development. Keep lakeshore public/commercial access so all can enjoy. Don t move Hidden Lane. Too much additional traffic on Excelsior Blvd with only access to Hwy 7 at Christmas Lake Rd. I would like to see Maynard s stay on the waterfront. It s an Excelsior icon. High density housing is a negative. Roundabouts restrict foot traffic. These plans increase traffic way too much in this area. Rerouting Hidden Lane is a negative. Too dense. Residential way too much no magnetism. Don t need more park. Keep Maynard s but find parking for it. Housing does not draw commerce. Restaurants do. No housing on our shore. Enough already. Keep Maynard s. Do we need more park space? I think our current park area is great. This is what ruined Wayzata. Entering Excelsior through a canyon of buildings. Concept 3: Mixed-Use Neighborhood Favor/Opposed Pros Cons
Favor: 0 Opposed: 45 One small hotel would be a good fit in the area. 810 okay to be some houses. I like the idea of re-looking at traffic flow into town from Hwy 7. Can we see more concepts with this element? Some of this is great. But it is a traffic disaster. Like single-family homes. Like views concept to add hang-out area for bikes /pedestrians to enjoy ice cream. Do like the detached townhomes. Relocation of the road is a good idea. I do like increasing the tax base. Keep waterfront restaurants. Don t like moving the road. Enough is enough. No more stores. Traffic too much. Absolutely no. Retail is not the trend and cannot be supported. Parking ramp seems to be iun a floodplain. This seems like the same thing we have by Kowalski s don t need a repeat. Doesn t really benefit anyone or draw anyone in. I feel we have enough residnts already. I don t twant the population to get too dense. City hall to old police station. Sell downtown office, library and fire station. This is what ruined Wayzata. Entering Excelsior through a canyon of buildings. Don t move Hidden Lane. Putting commercial aera near cemetery seems bizarre. Excelsior Blvd will not support all of this additional traffic and Christmas Lake being only exit to Hwy 7. No new access Road to Hidden Lane. Unfair to those residetns. Headlights will come directly into our home bedroom with proposed new road. Useless to move Hidden Lane. More retail will bring more traffic though 5 corners and more parking problems in Excelsior. Too dense. Don t need more stores.
East Town Small Area Plan Comment Card - results 1) Which Concept Addresses Your Vision for the Future of Housing in the East Town Study Area? Why? #1 (5 responses) Parking ramp under housing across from Maynard s currently. We need a ramp and it is a good place under living. None. They all involve high density housing. People didn t pay premium real estate prices to live by high density apartments. Do not support high density housing. There is no infrastructure to support the additional capacity. None. Too dense. More traffic will be expensive. Lake of affordable housing for young families as it is. None. Don t need more housing. Too many apartments and condos already in Excelsior. Single family homes are fine if the market dictates. #1 is least offensive. Would prefer to keep some entertainment along the lake, especially restaurants and minimize multi-family housing. Be conscious of the impact on those of us who own single-family homes and are paying exorbitant property taxes already. Don t decrease our value. None. All proposal present too large and dense development. I don t believe the infrastructure (especially traffic systems) can support this degree of development. Concept 3 or 2: very important to have a mixed use and also sufficient parking. Mostly #1 but concerned about roundabout. Need to close exit to 5 corners from post office (only entry) also there is entry from Wyre Pierce. #1 least intrusive, best fit for scale of homes. Single-family town-homes option of 810 low density, not tall structures. 2) Which Concept Addresses Your Vision for the Future of Entertainment, Commercial, or Retail Options in the East Town Study Area? Why? #1 (6 responses) I do not live on the lake, but I feel very connected to the lake by all of what Excelsior has offered me. I use the Commons almost daily and I frequent all the lakeshore dining establishments. I have been to numerous events at the event center as well. I would be so disappointed if all our entertainment area as it is now turns into office and condos. Please do not let this happen. It will turn into a big wall for only the select few to enjoy. Wayzata is going through a huge waterfront plan to have the public enjoy. Why would we do the opposite. Entertainment district would support existing business and provide public use of waterfront. Additional housing development would prevent the rest of the existing residents use of the lake. #2 (1 response) but still have density and traffic concerns. None. Still important to keep a restaurant on the lake in the East Town area. Brings in lots of boat traffic from lake spending money in Excelsior. #1 is least offensive make sure there is sufficient parking for any changes. Keep some lakeside restaurant. Establishment of a retail area in East Town will be widely separated from the downtown business area. New retail in his location would likely draw away from the existing business area. Concept 2 and Concept 3: mixed use will be the most successful with almost 300 new residents this will help support new and existing businesses. Keep entertainment we have. No retail at East Town. That brings more traffic into Excelsior and not enough parking. #1 best use of water front. Museum not a profitable venture. #2 with recreational tie-ins. Need to tie-in trail, make pedestrian friendly/walkable and add a small parking ramp.
3) Which Concept Addresses Your Vision for the Future of Trails, Pedestrian Safety, Biking, and Outdoor Recreation and Gathering Spaces in the East Town Study Area? Why? #1 (5 responses) I like the boat museum for the Minnehaha near the marina. Good place for it where it is close to water but does not block lake views. None. The roundabouts restrict pedestrian traffic, and all plans considerably increase traffic and congestion on Excelsior Boulevard. Entertainment concept would promote outdoor recreation for residents. Additional housing would only prevent lake access. I like the parks added to #1 and #2. Can t tell in #1 if used only by restaurant patrons. I would want total public areas and access. Besides the sunset pier there really wasn t any other recreation additions. Need more greenery instead of aging parking lots. Keep the bike/lrt trail make sure crossing is safe. Parking is crucial to any future development. Don t move Hidden Lane. More park, trials, should be planned for this area. Small scale, much lower residential density. Tall, large scale buildings are not in keeping with Excelsior s identity. Concept 2 and Concept 3: have all the elements of a successful addition to community. Fine as is. No need for radical changes. 4) What Other Comments, Ideas, or Suggestions do You Have? Large Hotel in area with Maynard s, Bayview parking across street. Overall like #1 but keep single family home by cemetery (Excelsior Blvd) keep that area neighborhood feel. Like 3 story single-family detached townhomes. Not in favor of moving Hidden Lane. Like detached single family homes. Dislike changing street on Hidden Lane. Leave as is. Low density housing. More bike paths, bike racks, and wider walking paths to cut down on all the car traffic in the town and make it safer for all. Parking rap on east end of town is a great idea but would need to deal with wider roads and traffic flow to make it happen. Great concern about making the mistake that Wayzata made. Please keep Excelsior quaint. All of these plans increase density too much. Strongly would support keeping an event center to have a public gathering area on the lake. Try and find a way to add more affordable housing smaller units perhaps? Rentals? If there is more housing, smaller homes, more affordable. Utilize the old police station for the new City Hall. Invite the USPS and DMV to relocate there as well. Excelsior Blvd is not currently equipped to handle a huge increase in traffic. It is already dangerous turning onto Minnetonka Blvd from Hidden Lane because people don t come to a complete stop and so much traffic by marina blocks sight lines. Access to Hwy 7 is so limited and hard to get to. No variances from current height restrictions. Will some low-lying areas require expensive civil engineering? I like the idea of moving Minnetonka Blvd slightly great idea. Where will Maynard s patrons park? They are already all over Excelsior with staff too. Anything bring in more visitor will create major problems. 3-story detached homes would be best family friendly, look, style for East Town development. Streets improvement. A mess. How can you develop more when current infrastructure is weak? Please announce that comprehensive plan for street improvement.
810 Excelsior Site (ranked by the percentage in favor) Proposal Favor/Opposed Comments Favor: 31 3 Story house design is not attractive or practical especially Opposed: 7 for seniors or people with special needs. % in favor: 82% I think we have enough townhomes/price point in Excelsior. I think we have enough row houses. Also not very good for elderly. Please make affordable/middle market, support with parking. Single Family Detached Homes Favor: 12 Opposed: 3 % in favor: 80% Need more parking within design for residents of the building. Three-Story Condominiums Move City Hall Favor: 26 Opposed: 10 % in favor: 72% Great location for City Hall. Less costly than rebuilding. Add post office and DMV. Don t necessarily want City Hall to move here but definitely don t want more residential space. Sell the valuable downtown property for retail. Save tax dollars by moving City Hall to less valuable property. No residential housing on this location. City Hall would be better relocated to this parcel to allow for the redevelopment of the City parcel in downtown. Keep City Hall in town. If not City Hall, then single family homes. If not a City Hall, put hotel here. A hotel is a destination. A waster of water front.
Favor: 5 Opposed: 9 % in favor: 36% Don t want huge buildings. Don t like more multi-family housing in this area. Too much traffic. Large scale apartment/condos look like St Louis Park or Excelsior & Grand area, not Excelsior. Keep it small town, family and pedestrian friendly. Three-Story Apartments Favor: 6 Opposed: 24 % in favor: 20% Too much high-density development subtracts from charm of Excelsior. We do not need/want huge apartment/condo buildings in our very small town. We can use our assets better than this. Don t want huge buildings many more residents. Too many units. Too dense. Don t like more multi-family housing in this area. Excelsior Blvd not equipped. Four-Story Apartments Favor: 1 Opposed: 26 % in favor: 4% We don t need more senior housing in the area. Already have two huge ones in the works. Senior housing need safe routes to lakeshore to cross street. Four-Story Senior Housing