We did it! 

The S.A.F.E. Housing Tenant Protection Ordinance passed City Council with unanimous support this Wednesday, making St. Paul home to the strongest renter rights in Minnesota. This ordinance is the result of community efforts- so thank you to all you West Siders who came out to support this issue by giving our Council member Rebecca Noecker a call! 

Starting March 1st of 2021, this ordinance will change five points of tenant-landlord law: 

• capping security deposits at one month’s rent
• reforming tenant screening criteria (with regards to credit scores and criminal history)
• forbidding landlords from terminating leases without a “Just Cause” in writing
• requiring landlords of affordable housing to give advance notice of sale and
• requiring landlords to provide tenants with a manuel on their rights and responsibilities

Book Club- We Keep Us Safe (author Zach Norris)

Click here for book club registration! 

WSCO, in partnership with Root & Restore, will host this book club. You will be contacted with more information once your registration is filled out.

To build community power and a shared vision of what real community safety is, Root & Restore St Paul is hosting a book club this summer to read and discuss Zach Norris's We Keep Us Safe. Norris presents a compelling argument for why our current system of policing and punishment doesn't work and why we need to transition to a care-based model for building safer, healthier communities.

Let's get this party started and pin down a date for us to meet online to talk about the book!

More about Zach Norris

As Board directors for the West Side Community Organization (WSCO), the district planning council for Saint Paul’s mulit-ethnic enclave across the Mississippi River from downtown, our work has long been involved with housing justice. Injustice and displacement have impacted the West Side for generations and the  Covid-19 pandemic has only aggravated the already precarious housing conditions of many long-term West Side residents. But that is not all. 

  The social unrest that has erupted in the Twin Cities is not only a response to the murder of George Floyd and others at the hands of the police. It is a response to other racial injustices, against Black and Brown communities, with housing injustice as just one of them. Community has spoken at a magnitude and collective clarity few of us have ever witnessed in our lifetime. The listening has happened and now is the time to act. We will not stand for injustice, we will not make excuses for inaction, and we are pressing elected officials to make meaningful change that protects the basic needs of every individual and family.

That’s why WSCO so strongly supports the S.A.F.E renter protection ordinances coming before the Saint Paul City Council on June 24th for a public hearing and final vote.

WSCO is hosting a pop-up food drive this weekend. Donations of items will be accepted at Villa del Sol - 88 Cesar Chavez from 8 am to 4pm on Friday, June 5th.  Please see requested donation items below. Give away times will be:

Honor George Floyd – Build Peace

City Wide Support Efforts - List #1

https://www.twincities.com/2020/05/30/want-to-donate-help-clean-up-here-are-some-ideas/amp/

City Wide Support Efforts - List #2

https://www.startribune.com/need-help-want-to-help-twin-cities-groups-offer-resources-for-folks-hurt-by-riots/570894392/

Sign Up to Receive or Give Support on West Side

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf6SInQEgyVp3OoYQesAXnWH9GueILlKHTyeKeox3ykw2-JuQ/viewfo

The video of our recent Webinar "Action to Equity: Stories of our past, Visions of our future" is now online!  This event was the first of a series of webinars and took place on May 14, 2020.  

Share your feedback: Proposed Robert St. lane changes

Starting in early June, MnDOT plans to micro-surface and restripe stretches of Robert St., with the goal of changing the number of lanes in certain areas from five and four lanes to three lanes, to improve overall safety. The proposed lane changes on Robert St. would occur just south of Plato Blvd. in St. Paul to the intersection at Cesar Chavez St.

We would like to hear your questions and comments regarding this project. Visit the project page at mndot.gov/metro/projects/robertstreet to learn more and fill out the feedback form by Wed, May 13. Thank you!

This blog post summarizes City Website information and documents - Click here for City Site

Public participation in land use and zoning applications during COVID-19 may be found here

RM Zoning Study

• Residential Multifamily) Zoning Study Process

The Saint Paul City Council will hold a public hearing on text amendments to Saint Paul’s Zoning Code regarding the RM1, RM2, and RM3 Multiple-Family Residential Districts on Wednesday, September 2nd, (was August 26), 2020 at 3:30 p.m. A summary of the amendments starts on the second page of this notice. Additional materials can be viewed at;

https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/planning-economicdevelopment/
planning/current-activities.

The chair of the Planning Commission has determined that it is not practical nor prudent for the Planning Commission to meet in-person or pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 13D.02. In light of the COVID-19 health pandemic, it is not feasible for any member of Planning Commission to be present at the regular location, and all members of the Planning Commission will attend the May 1 meeting by telephone or other electronic means. It is also not feasible for members of the public to attend the meeting at its regular location due to the health pandemic and emergency. Accordingly, no meeting will be held in City Hall at 15 W. Kellogg Boulevard in the City of Saint Paul. Members of the public may monitor this meeting remotely the following way: Join by phone (choose one):
(651) 267-3988 meeting code 2570450#
(651) 266-5758 meeting code 2570450#
(651) 266-5767 meeting code 2570450#

A map of existing RM Zoning Districts may be viewed here.  The full Planning Commission packet, including memo and attachments, can be viewed here.

Enjoy the West Side Out Side!

Resources for walking, biking, playing and hiking in our neighborhood.

Donate Today! The West Side Solidarity Fund: Emergency Relief for Tenants is a grassroots fundraising effort to provide economic relief for renters in Saint Paul, MN's West Side Neighborhood (zip code 55107) who are otherwise unable to access state/federal resources due to immigration status and for low-wage renters who have lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic.