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City of Mounds View 12040 Comprehensive Plan DRAFT November 27, 2019 CITY BACKGROUND Mounds View is located in the northwest corner of Ramsey County and is adjacent to Anoka County. It is neighbored by the cities of Blaine, Shoreview, Arden Hills, New Brighton, Fridley, and Spring Lake Park. Mounds View lies north and west of a large range of lakes and Rice Creek which drains into the Mississippi River, about 7'/2 miles to the west. The City is bordered by US Highway 10 to the north, and Interstate 35W to the east, supporting travel to Minneapolis and St. Paul, Duluth, and St. Cloud. Mounds View Boulevard (formerly the Anoka Cutoff, Trunk Highway 10, and County Road 10) runs diagonally through the City and defines the character of the community. The Boulevard is a four -lane divided highway with a mix of uses, from single-family residential to office -warehouse and auto -oriented retail. The Boulevard has always been auto dependent. After the Trunk Highway (TN) 610 bridge was completed across the Mississippi River in 1999, the average daily traffic (ADT) on the Boulevard declined from 43,000 ADT to 21,000 ADT in 2015. With this decline, many auto -dependent businesses moved, leaving many commercial buildings empty and properties blighted. This challenge, addressing appearance and redevelopment of the Boulevard, is a reoccurring topic throughout this plan. HISTORY Mounds View Township consisted of the northwest quadrant of Ramsey County, including present-day Mounds View, Arden Hills, New Brighton, Shoreview, and portions of Blaine, North Oaks, Spring Lake Park, and St. Anthony Village. The center of commerce was Irondale (present-day New Brighton). The first elections of the Mounds View Township were held in May of 1858. The township was 23,040 acres in size. Its name is in reference to the significant mounds on the present-day Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) and Arden Hills Army Training Site (AHATS) and could be seen from much of Ramsey and Anoka counties. The largest of the mounds were mined for gravel to develop TCAAP and expand roads. In 1891, New Brighton became the first village in the township to incorporate, followed by Arden Hills (1951), North Oaks (1956), Spring Lake Park (1957), Blaine, St. Anthony Village and Shoreview (1957). Delegates from the remaining four -square miles of the township sought for the area to become part of New Brighton but their efforts were denied. Instead, the Village of Mounds View was incorporated on April 2, 1958 (57% voter approval) with a population of 5,738. In accordance with state law, the Village of Mounds View became the City of Mounds View on January 1, 1974. Figure 1-4: Ramsey County, 1874 (Mounds View Township outlined in red) Chapter 1: Background I 1-5