Orono Community Management Plan 2020-2040

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CMP Part 2. Community Management Plan Foundation City of Orono Community Management Plan 2020-2040 Part 2, Page 3 CMP PART 2 COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT PLAN FOUNDATION HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Every community has a unique character arising from its location, natural resources, history and population. Orono is no exception to this rule. But Orono's plan for the future may be exceptional, because its basic premise is the maintenance and furtherance of our very own unique features. Orono's corporate history dates to 1858 when Minnesota became a state, and western Hennepin County was surveyed and divided into townships. All of Orono south of Watertown Road was located in Excelsior Township, with the area north of Watertown Road being located in Medina Township. But the citizens of Orono, few as they were, found the going difficult in having to negotiate the lake in order to transact business in far-away Excelsior. So, in 1868, the townships were realigned with everything north of the Narrows becoming part of Medina. The separate Township of Orono was created out of the southern half of Medina on April 9, 1889. The name Orono was brought to the area by Major George Brackett, a native of Orono, Maine, who first used it to designate the area now known as Brackett's Point. Orono Township once included areas now part of neighboring cities. Minnetonka Beach was incorporated out of Medina Township in 1884. Long Lake was incorporated from Orono Township in 1906. Long Lake expanded, Wayzata grew westward, and then Spring Park was incorporated in 1952. Finally, effective January 1, 1955, Orono Village was incorporated encompassing all the remaining parts of the township including the settlements of Navarre, Crystal Bay, Orono and Bederwood (Stubbs Bay). A number of minor boundary changes have occurred since then, including detachment of the tip of Three Points Peninsula to Mound in 1963; annexation of small strip from Minnetrista in 1980 for McCulley Road; detachment of the Fleming Trail Addition to Long Lake in 1993; and annexation of property along North Ferndale and West Ferndale Roads from Wayzata in 1994 in exchange for detachment of a property along Highway 12 to accommodate Wayzata's public works facilities. The history of Orono's development is one of conversions: conversion of the Lake Minnetonka shoreline from Big Woods to summer homes in the late 1800's and early 1900's, a second conversion from lakeshore summer homes to year round residences since WWII; and conversion of the off-lake woods and prairie openings into farmland in the 19th century, with a more recent conversion from farms to low-density residential homesites beginning in the 1950's. Orono's first Township zoning regulations were adopted in 1950, and grew progressively more strict through the next two decades. Several residential and commercial zones were initially established, requiring minimum lot area and width standards, and defining allowable uses. The first wetland protection ordinance was established in 1963, about the same time that municipal sewers were first provided to the Navarre area.