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Drafts maps are ready – Share your feedback in person or online!
Karen Kurt, July 10, 2012 | Posted in Name Your Neighborhood
After a couple of meetings and a lot of hard work, our volunteer committee has developed draft map options with possible neighborhood names and boundaries. You can see one of the maps for the southwest quadrant of the city to the right. Now we need your feedback! We are hoping that everyone will join us for our second Name Your Neighborhood community meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 11 at the Edina Senior Center.
If you can’t make the meeting, you can still view the maps on our website and offer your comments online using a new civic engagement tool called “Speak Up, Edina.” You can also see what other community members are saying about the maps.
Whether in person or online, we hope that you will join in the discussion!
19 Responses to Drafts maps are ready – Share your feedback in person or online!
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The City of Edina
4801 W. 50th St., Edina, MN 55424
mail@EdinaMN.gov 952-927-8861
Nice maps. I suggest the northern boundary of the Country Club be drawn through the backyard lot lines and not on West 44th Street as this map seems to show. (This would be like the line between Arden and Maple Road, where the neighborhood line goes through the backyards and not a street). Homes on both sides of Sunnyside are part of the historic CC district, while the odd side addresses on West 44th Street simply are not. This small long triangle could be Brookside. It is along the historic Brookside route of the Como Harriet streetcar line and later the 6N of MTC, the bus id that went through this neighborhood was “Brookside” and was always a welcome sight to those living along this former bus/street car line. Another reasonable name would be Browndale. This area really is not part of Morningside, and never was. It would be strange to identify it as Morningside, because it is not. Where existing identified neighborhoods are located (Country Club and Morningside) with long established, historical boundaries, it seems best to retain these boundaries – because they actually are the boundaries.
It seems to me Northeast Option 2, referring specifically to South Harriet and Bucewood make eminently more sense than NE Option 1, Minnehaha Woods both in terms of the natural boundaries with the Minnehaha Creek as well as the way the neighborhoods interact independent of one another. As an already established “Brucewood” neighborhood, we have the adhoc Brucewood Social Club and the Minnehaha book clubs as well as a men’s politics discussion group. I am aware that the folks on the west side of the creek, the proposed “South Harriet” neighborhood are tight-nit too.
Re the Grandview neighborhood in the NW quadrant – I like option 2 because option 2
1)includes the library and Grandview within Grandview, 2)uses the RR track as a boundary, which is an actual “natural” boundary, and 3) better balances the relative sizes between Grandview and the adjoining Melody Lake/Richmond Hills area.
I like Northeast map 2 that keeps the Morningside Neighborhood geographically connected – that other little section in map 1 should be connected geographically to it’s neighbors and its neighborhood.
Formal neighborhood names are a bad idea and impacts property values in negative ways. (Look at Minneapolis- Powderhorn, Phillips, Harrison, etc.) Neighborhood associations are always dominated by a small agressive vocal minority that generally get their way and push everyone else around. My family has lived in Edina since 1950 and we respectfully oppose this whole project. It will divide Edina, not bring it together. If this is what the city spend money, time, and human resources on our taxes are to high. I will keep an open mind, but it is a solution in search of a problem. BTW, Map 1 for the North of Edina culturally makes some sense.
Northeast #1 makes some sense.
NE map 2 better mainly because of the title. Edina East reminds me of the old high school and it also has a negative connotation used by many to refer to the “poorer” side of Edina. All the other neighborhoods have a reference to something to do with the area..I can relate to Chowen Park and also Minnehaha Creek where I used to play as a child.
I agree with Michael Burg’s comment about the negative impact of assigning names to neighborhoods. As other comments indicate, this has been going on in Edina in way or another. I’ve even heard real estate agents disparage some unofficially names Edina neighborhoods.
Initially, I supported this project; however, after following the process closely and attending several meetings, it seems that for many folks their neighborhood is Edina and Edina is their neighborhood. Having spent my childhood in an urban neighborhood, I can tell you that “my” neighborhood was no more than a few square city blocks. Given the large geographical areas designated on the current maps, I can’t see how families will relate to one another beyond a few streets. Mr. Burg makes a good point: what’s the problem that needs officially designated neighborhoods?
In starting this project, the city council made it clear that after completion, residents in each designated neighborhood can decide what to do as a neighborhood; however, some council members pointed out that this process should not lead to city funding to specific neighborhood as they did in Minneapolis.
Finally, we all owe those on the committee a sincere appreciation for their hard work in moving the process forward. Obviously, they have raised many important issues.
Susan makes a good suggestion to draw neighborhood boundaries through backyards. I’d go even further: why not draw the lines around the properties of specific undesirable neighbors to make sure they don’t get included in “our” neighborhood. This is SOOO Edina. I thought red-lining was illegal. And if history should be the guide, let’s not forget that Country Club initially excluded families of certain ethnic or racial backgrounds. Unfortunately for some folks, this was determined as unconstitutional. NE Option 2 looks good; however, I suggest assigning properties west of Hwy 100 to NW quadrant with the small segment remaining east of 100 be included in the (Greater) Country Club.
This whole idea/project is a Loser. Not a single person will agree. Our family has been here since the 1950′s, we know the neighborhood names. Anyone who has lived in Edina for a time already knows the informal neighborhood names. The whole matter should be dropped because it will create hard feeling between folks. Who’s idea was this anyway?
We totally agree with Michael Scott Burg. Who decided this is a good way to spend our taxpayer money? The entire idea makes no sense and only causes confusion. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
By the way our street has many potholes that need fixing.
In a recent Sun Current article, the West 44th Street corridor between Wooddale Ave and Brookside, on the south border of St. Louis Park, west of Morningside and just north of Country Club was called “No Man’s Land.”
At one time, this corridor served as the right-of-way for the streetcar line that served as the primary commuter system and basis for the upscale Country Club development. Given the exclusivity of the Country Club Association and the long-time history of the Morningside Assoiation, I suggest that this “No Man’s Land” be designated WEST MORNINGSIDE since many of the residents in this area have similar demographics and orientation toward the NE corner of Edina. Good luck to the committee in trying to reconcile what has turned into a quagmire of self-serving interests.
After talking with people in our neighborhood, I have not talked to one person who has even heard about this project. If there were mailings sent, none of us got them or they may have looked like junk mail and gotten thrown out.
The very small numbers who have shown up at the meetings indicates to me that the majority of residents will only learn about this after all is said and done. Nobody will agree on the outcome. Right now you cannot get option 2 in southwest Edina to load up.
We live in the neighborhood behind St. Peter’s Church. I have spoken with several neighbors on different blocks. We would like to be our own separate neighborhood east of France, divided by the creek to the South and 54th Street to the North. We already have a book club and an annual block party. We have met to discuss names but haven’t finalized anything. Please consider this when finalizing the neighborhood maps.
I feel taht this project is divisive and will not benefit the ciitizens of Edina. Why is this necessary? I have lived here for 10 years and this is the first time I am ashamed of this city.
Both NW quadrant options list Brookside, but I think Brookside Heights might be more appropriate since it is a smaller portion of the bigger area which was once Brookside. Additionally, my property information states that the addition is Brookside Heights. I like the addition of “Heights” in that it is geographically accurate, and it has a nice sound to it. Finally, Skyline Drive is only accessible via Interlachen Blvd, and although it is a small area, it really has its own identity. Thanks for reading my comments.
I agree with many of the blog posts questioning the need for such a project to begin with. That being said, option 2 for the northwest corner makes more sense to me. The name Carson Hills reminds me of a Cemetary name. The name HIGHWOOD sounds good, with the road winding through, and Parkwood Knolls and Highlands on either side.
Is there any way to stop this??
You are NEVER going to get anyone to agree. How many realtors are pushing this?
BTW, what is with the signs saying Edina ‘football or cheer’ lives here? How do the kids who don’t make the team feel? This is sooo Edina. Living here for
28 years, there are times it is a bit embarrassing.
I’d like to congratulate the committee for its hard work on this project. The latest maps reflect flexibility in response to feedback from those residents who expressed their opinions on the project. Going forward, the guidelines set by the City Council clearly delineate parameters for each civic neighborhood, giving residents a range of options from doing nothing to full acceptance of the council’s goals. While some residents have expressed concern or disapproval of the project’s outcome to date, we should realize that giving each neighborhood an opportunity to come together will only strengthen the City of Edina as a vibrant community where residents have an opportunity to be involved in the well-being of their immediate neighborhood.