History of the District Council
The City of Saint Paul officially established a citywide Citizen Participation Process by Counc
il Resolution in October 1975. Seventeen (17) Citizen Participation Districts were created. A task force made up of community residents was charged with drawing the boundaries, with an emphasis on neighborhoods, not population. Current district populations range from 4,300 to 27,000. Each District had its own neighborhood councils, which is an established 501.C3 nonprofit corporation. The size of the organization and method of operations varies according to its Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. District Council members volunteer their time, and the average size of a Council Board is fifteen (15).
District Councils plan and advise the City on the physical, economic, and social development of their area, as well as on citywide issues. In addition, Councils identify neighborhood needs, initiate community programs, and recruit volunteers. Citizen Participation District Councils are a vital part of the city's communication network. Each neighborhood office serves as an information and referral resource. District Councils inform residents through community newspapers, neighborhood newsletters, flyers, and community events.
Also established by Resolution was an Early Notification System (ENS). This mechanism requires city departments and agencies to notify district councils, neighborhood organizations, and individual residents of pending city actions that will affect them. An ENS list is maintained by City staff, and updated semi-annually.
As an independent organization, each District Councils hires their own staff members, including an executive directors and/or community organizer, clerical assistance, and a crime prevention coordinator. District Council employees are not city employees. The amounts the City provides the District Councils are calculated on a formula which includes a base amount of $30,000 per district, and is then adjusted for population and percent of poverty. Individual allocations average in the range from $33,000-$44,000. A formal City/Agency agreement is required, which includes goals and objectives, work plans, and an evaluation components. City provided dollars typically help finance staff, office space, supplies, and communications. Citizen participation financing is provided from City General Funds, and the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program.
Most District Councils are active fund raisers, with many receiving substantial foundation and corporate support. In addition, some organizations receive additional City support for neighborhood development activities through citywide competitive processes.
The City of Saint Paul Citizen Participation Process mission statement is to facilitate effective, informed and representative participation of citizens in government and self-help initiatives and to provide a channel for communication among citizens, elected officials, City department staff, and other relevant agency representatives. The Saint Paul City Council adopted the following policy statement in 1975: "Citizen Participation is a process, not a structure. The City has a responsibility to develop a process that will ensure that everyone has the opportunity to communicate with city government, and further, that everyone is assured that they will be heard. This process cannot guarantee that there will always be agreement nor is it a substitution of one level of government for another or any other transfer of power."
Timeline
1972-73 Committee on Citizen Participation prepared recommendations in a report called "Making Democracy Work"
Nov. 22, 1974 City Council Committee decided to set up citizen meetings open to anyone who wanted to attend, to prepare recommendations on citizen participation.
Jan. - Apr., 1975 Four meetings of Citizen Participation Forum and eight meetings on committees on: function of citizen participation; structure and process; number, size and boundaries; staffing and financing.
May 1, 1975 Due date for submission of recommendations to City Council
Oct. 9, 1975 City Council passed Resolution 266178 establishing the citizen participation process for the City of Saint Paul. City Council passed Resolution 266179 establishing the steps for recognition to be followed by the District Councils.
April 1976-December 1979 District Councils followed steps to recognition and were then officially designated by a City Council resolution as the District Council for a specific area.
Aug 14, 1979 City Council passed Resolution 273465 establishing the Early Notification System. It was revised by Resolution 891219 in July, 1989.
1980 District Council funding was put on a formula basis. Previously CDBG eligible areas were better funded because most of the funding was through CDBG monies.
Evaluation of the Saint Paul process Through the years several studies have been done by outside organizations. Saint Paul has been repeatedly cited as having the best process in the United States. See the Civic Renewal Movement St. Paul Participation page for more information.
History of St. Anthony Park
Settlement of the St. Anthony Park area began around the year 1850. Before that, the region had been a rolling, wooded wilderness crossed by several trails used by Native Americans and pioneers. Much of the land in St. Anthony Park was first owned by William R. Marshall, who was Governor of Minnesota with the intention of developing a suburban community. In 1873, Horace S. Cleveland designed a plan for a suburban addition to St. Paul and Minneapolis of large, country estates and winding streets that followed the topography of the area. Today, the size of the lots is considerable smaller than in Cleveland's design, but the hills and curving streets remain one of the unique features of St. Anthony Park.
For an extensive review of the history of the area, you can purchase St. Anthony Park Portrait of a Community by David Lanegran available at Macawber's Book Store for $14.95 or view David Lanegran's web slide show based on the book. Another resource is the Ramsey County Historical Society's description of the neighborhood
University-Raymond Commercial Historic District
The University-Raymond Commercial Historic District was first identified in the context study St. Paul Transportation Corridors: 1857 to 1950 which examined the impact of various modes of transportation in helping to form and define the city, and the impact of transportation lines on the built environment of Saint Paul.
The University-Raymond Commercial Historic District is significant as the commercial core of the Saint Paul Midway, which developed in the early twentieth century as the city's largest industrial area and a national transportation center. Nearly all of the properties in the district are related to some aspect of the activities of the railroad lines between the Twin Cities or the early years of the trucking industry.
The twenty-two buildings classified as "contributing" (35 total) within the University- Raymond Commercial Historic District, most of them with high exterior integrity, re- flect the evolution of the area from the railroad era to the development of the interstate highway system.
Among the thirty-five buildings in the University-Raymond Commercial Historic District are excellent examples of early twentieth-century factory, warehouse, office, and store buildings designed by leading Twin Cities architects. At least ten architectural firms are represented. They include Minneapolis architects Bertrand and Chamberlin, Charles Ferron, and Lang, Raugland, and Lewis; and Saint Paul architects Buechner and Orth, Ellerbe and Round, Kenneth Fullerton, Clarence H. Johnston, J. Walter Stevens, and Toltz, King and Day. Their work in the district embodies the development of warehouse, factory and mercantile building design over the fifty-year period between 1891 and 1941.
The HPC held a public hearing on July 8, 2004 and found that the proposed University-Raymond Commercial Historic District is eligible for local designation as a Heritage Preservation Site under criteria (1), (4) and (5) of Section 73.05 (a) of the Saint Paul Legislative Code. The City Council adopted the University-Raymond Commercial Historic District as a heritage preservation site in 2005.
If you would like Historic District Building Information, please contact our office. The file is quite large.
