Every Saint Paul neighborhood has a district council. Here in District 10, that’s us: The Como Community Council. We provide a way for renters, homeowners, businesses, and nonprofits to create a vibrant, safe, welcoming neighborhood for those who live, work, and visit here.

We are not part of City government or part of a political party. We are an independent nonprofit. We are the glue behind neighborhood action. We connect neighbors with other neighbors who want to accomplish things.

ComoFest? We pull it together. Community gardens, food scraps recycling, or making it safer for all users to cross the street? We make those things happen.

District 10 was the force behind creating the Como Woodland and the Capitol Region Watershed District. We’re the keepers of our Neighborhood Honor Roll. We throw a summer Ice Cream Social, organize neighborhood and lake clean-ups, support block clubs, coordinate a neighborhood garage sale, sponsor community garden plots, and create our annual Sunday Series -- free presentations on all kinds of topics: practical, fun, historical, inspiring, sometimes all of the above. We also hash out development, zoning, housing, transportation, and all kinds of “official” topics, striving to find the best outcome for our neighborhood.

Big picture, we magnify the ideas and power of our community members. We give residents, businesses, and local organizations a constructive, respected, ongoing way to combine voices. We push for decisions that are made from the bottom up, not the top down. We provide a trusted space to talk and listen, the support for grassroots energy, a hub for local partnerships, a way to stay informed, a place to get things done.

When we can, we work cooperatively with institutions, city staff, and elected officials. When we can’t, we challenge them. We are accountable to our neighbors; in fact, we are run by a 17-member board of volunteers elected by our neighbors.

We do most of our work through three committees: Environment, Land Use, and Neighborhood Relations. Committees meet once a month. The way we operate, any community member can attend, participate in, and vote at any committee meeting. Occasionally, we set up short-term committees or ad-hoc work groups to delve into specific topics or initiatives.

Learn more about St. Paul's District Council system, which is set up to effectively and constructively increase citizen participation in planning and decision-making processes.