Shorewood's first 2050 survey asked respondents where they live, and 171 of them answered. Ninety-five said Central Shorewood. Six said Enchanted and Shady Islands. Those figures come from the city's Phase 1 Community Engagement Summary, which Planning Director Jake Griffiths brought to the City Council on September 28, 2026. Once the current phase of input wraps up, the city will start drafting, beginning with a chapter it says will shape every chapter after it. Right now that chapter rests on input that leans heavily toward one part of the city.
The city has already noticed. The engagement plan first called for three neighborhood open houses. After the early pop-up events went well, the city added two more "to help provide better geographic representation of the community." If you live on the islands, in the northeast, or anywhere outside the middle of town, this winter is when your input can still change the draft.
Who answered the first survey
The survey ran from May 3 to September 1, 2026. It drew 232 responses in total, and the city promoted it through the website, pop-up events, the ShoreReport newsletter, utility bills, flyers and social media. The neighborhood question got 171 answers. Here is how they split across the five areas the city uses for the plan:
| Plan neighborhood | Survey responses, May 3 to Sept. 1, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Central | 95 |
| Southeast and West, combined | 57 |
| Northeast | 13 |
| Enchanted and Shady Islands | 6 |
| Total | 171 |
That means Central Shorewood gave more than half of all the location-tagged answers. The islands and the northeast together gave 19. Among the open comments, one respondent wrote that "it's difficult to feel connected to the city on the islands." The fall open houses were partly meant to close that gap. The Enchanted and Shady Islands open house was held September 23 and hosted by the Upper Minnetonka Yacht Club. The others followed at Silverwood Park on September 29, Manor Park on September 30, Badger Park on October 6, and Freeman Park on October 7.
What the 232 mostly agreed on
The city sums up the survey this way: residents "overwhelmingly supported preserving Shorewood's character while planning responsibly for the future." Five priorities came out on top.
- Affordability
- Development management
- Transportation safety
- Greenspace preservation
- Environmental responsibility
Asked what they like most about the city, respondents described a place that feels "more like a small lake town than a typical suburb of Minneapolis." They mentioned being close to Excelsior and Lake Minnetonka, and they named trees, trails, lakes and natural areas again and again. Asked about the biggest challenge, they named three themes most often: managing growth and development, transportation and infrastructure, and affordability. The report says Highway 7 "was a major consideration."
Shorewood is a short drive from one of the best-loved small downtowns on the lake, and that showed up in the answers. When the survey asked what residents had seen elsewhere and wanted at home, the top answers were sidewalks and bike trails, followed by park facilities like splash pads, pickleball courts, pools and gathering spaces. Some people asked for more businesses, but the report says "most acknowledged that downtown Excelsior serves this function well." The statement "Shorewood needs a greater variety of commercial businesses or services" got mixed results. Many respondents were neutral, and slightly more disagreed than agreed. On "Shorewood needs more housing variety," most were neutral or disagreed.
So the clearest request in the survey is easier walking and biking around the city as it already exists. Very few responses asked for new things to be built.
Where the map got specific
The survey also had an interactive map where respondents could pin comments to exact places. The pins grouped around a few spots: development opportunities around Smithtown and Manitou Roads, traffic safety on Eureka Road and Highway 7, conservation ideas at Freeman Park and on undeveloped sites, bike and pedestrian links along city streets, and city water access.
Freeman Park drew the most detailed comment. One respondent listed every road they think a traffic fix should consider: "Highway 7, Eureka Road, Smithtown Road, Mann Ln., Seamans Dr., Yellowstone Trail, and County Road 19." They described the hardest part as getting most of the park's traffic onto eastbound Highway 7 "without funneling it north on Eureka and back into the abutting residential neighborhoods." Other pins were smaller and closer to home. One asked for a softer playground surface at Manitou Park, like the one at Badger Park. Another asked when the path along Galpin Lake and Highway 7 would start and finish. A third respondent wrote that they are "very interested in following the future redevelopment of the Xcel Energy campus on Manitou Rd." That came from one resident and is not a city proposal.
Most of these pins sit in the middle of town, on roads people from every neighborhood drive. That makes sense given who answered the survey. It also leaves the roads and shoreline in the northeast and on the islands with very few comments so far.
Why the next chapter carries the most weight
Phase 1 is done. Phase 2, which the city calls "Community Vision," is under way, and drafting comes after it. The report says the Land Use chapter comes first "as the contents of that chapter will significantly impact all other portions of the plan." After it come the chapters on housing, transportation, climate, water supply, wastewater, surface water, natural resources, parks and trails, and implementation.
Drafting is expected to start later in 2026 and continue into 2027, with the final plan due toward the end of 2027. The city reports it is on track. That puts it well ahead of the Metropolitan Council's December 31, 2028 deadline for planning-assistance grantees to receive the full base grant. The budget shows how far along the work is. On February 9, 2026, the council approved a contract with SRF Consulting Group for up to $149,894. As of the September update, $51,565.18 had been billed, about 34 percent of the total. So most of the project's work, and most of its spending, is still ahead.
Land use is where the plan decides what each area of the city is meant to be over the next 20 years. A neighborhood with only six or thirteen survey answers will have the least say in that chapter unless more people from there speak up before it is drafted.
Where to weigh in between now and the first draft
The city has already set several ways to give input:
- The Pumpkin Drop pop-up, Thursday, November 5, 2026, at South Shore Park. The 2050 schedule lists it as an engagement stop. Last year's version was called Pumpkin Stop, Drop & Roll and ran at the city's Organics Drop-off Site at South Shore Park, 5335 St. Alban's Bay Road. Residents broke up their jack-o'-lanterns there, and the city's organics contractor, Republic, composted them. Painted pumpkins, candles, decorations and glitter were not accepted. People could also recycle old string lights, donate gently used winter coats, and roll a pumpkin in a lawn-bowling contest for a prize. The 2025 Recycling Committee minutes name ResourceWest as the group that received the coats. Check the city's Pumpkin Drop page for this year's hours and accepted items before you load the car.
- Planning Commission meetings. Anyone interested in the plan can speak during "Matters From the Floor" at any Planning Commission meeting.
- A one-on-one with city staff. Staff will meet by appointment with any resident or community group that wants to get involved.
- Arctic Fever, early 2027. The city lists this winter event as a pop-up stop, with the date still to be announced.
- More surveys and a group activity you can run yourself. The report promises more online surveys, more pop-ups and virtual meetings while drafting is under way. It also describes a step-by-step guide that friends or neighbors can work through together and then send their ideas back to the city.
The city's Comprehensive Plan page is the main hub for updates. In its July 2, 2026 announcement, the city said the plan will guide future decisions on housing, transportation and land use, and that community input is essential. If your household is on the islands or in the northeast, a neighborhood group using that guide could add more voices than the six or thirteen your area sent in the first round.
At The Weinstock Group, we follow Shorewood's planning process the way our neighbors do, one meeting and one draft at a time. If you'd like to talk through what the Land Use chapter might mean for your street, your shoreline or your plans for the next few years, schedule a complimentary consultation with Kristi and the team.
