Neighborhood Information

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Vision St. Louis Park: Lenox Neighborhood renews its commitment to association
There is little doubt that having a neighborhood with residents who feel connected has positive impacts on property aesthetics, public safety issues and overall quality of life. This is a big reason St. Louis Park has encouraged citizens to organize their neighborhoods by maintaining formal associations.

One such group that recently renewed its commitment to being organized is the Lenox Neighborhood, an association that was formed in 1997, but has been inactive in recent years. The Lenox Neighborhood is bordered by Minnetonka Boulevard on the north, Highway 7 and Lake Street on the south, the CP Railroad east of Brunswick Avenue on the east, and by Louisiana Avenue on the west.

According to Community Liaison Marney Olson, neighbors in the Lenox area decided to reorganize their formal association following a successful National Night Out experience in early August, and the efforts of a husband and wife who asked her for more information. Read more about the organization’s renewal here

"On National Night Out, twelve blocks in Lenox had block parties," Olson said. "The block captains at each of these parties distributed surveys to their neighbors to gauge interest in restarting the neighborhood association. The surveys came back and there was definitely interest."

The next step of the "Lenox Renaissance" was a neighborhood meeting held Oct. 27, a gathering that was attended by 30 residents. In addition to attracting newcomers, Olson said the meeting brought together past association presidents, steering committee members and several block captains.

"The residents were not only interested, but energized, about starting the association, working on subcommittees, and getting involved in other ways," she said. "A winter event is now in the works to keep interest and momentum going."

Olson added that the meeting spawned the creation of three subcommittees – steering, winter event, and garage sale.

"It was great to see how quickly everyone wanted to move forward with getting more people in the neighborhood involved, and how a winter event would bring out even more people," she said.

There are presently 35 designated neighborhoods in St. Louis Park. If you’re not sure which one you live in, the city website features a listing complete with maps and association contact information. Visit www.stlouispark.org/neighborhoods.htm. Or you may call Olson at (952) 924-2184 or reach her via email at: molson@stlouispark.org.

The Lenox Neighborhood: Yet another example of Vision in Action!

Facts about the Lenox Neighborhood

The Lenox neighborhood was subdivided in 1892
Lenox Community Center, the Senior High School, and the St. Louis Park Public Library are located in this neighborhood
Lenox has three neighborhood parks: Roxbury Park, Freedom Park and Parkview Park
Lenox occupies 285.3 acres (35 blocks residential).
Parks and open space - 1.8 percent
Commercial/industrial - 9.2 percent
Lenox has 878 housing units (835 single family homes, 13 apartment units and 30 duplex units).
The average year built (single-family homes) was 1945.
Population – 2,072 (2002 Census)

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Adopt a Park or Garden
Volunteer to monitor your neighborhood park or garden. Adopt a Park or Garden volunteers can choose to plant, maintain the annual garden and/or patrol their park each week during the summer, keep the park litter free, and report any vandalism or needed repairs. Volunteers may adopt the park or garden of their choice (providing it has not already been adopted).

Requirements:

Volunteer one to three hours a week during the summer. (Assignments can be worked around summer vacation schedules.)
Pass a criminal history background check.

For more information or to volunteer, call (952) 928-6025 e-mail: krzesowiak.sarah@slpschools.org.

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Block Party
Block parties require a street closure permit (no fee for permit). You should apply for the permit one to two weeks before the party.

If your application is approved, you will be able to pick up orange traffic cones to block off your street. Cones should be reserved at least one week before the street closure by calling (952) 924-2562. Cones are available at the Municipal Service Center, 7305 Oxford Street, which is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. When you pick up the cones, you will be required to pay a refundable deposit fee of $10 per cone.

To apply for a street closure permit

Visit the Municipal Service Center (MSC), 7305 Oxford Street, or
Call (952) 924-2562 or
Print out the application form from this web site and mail it to the MSC.

To apply for a temporary noise permit for a live band

Call (952) 924-2589

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Garage sales
St. Louis Park residents may conduct two garage sales per year, each lasting a maximum of 72 consecutive hours.

No outdoor display or storage of sale items is allowed beyond 72 hours.
Do not post signs on utility poles, traffic signs or public right-of-ways (i.e. curbside areas of lawns).

Pick up garage sale signs as soon as your sale is over.

After your sale is over, please consider donating unsold household items to a charity rather than throwing them away. You'll reduce the amount of garbage sent to incinerators while helping a worthy cause. Some charities - Arc Greater Twin Cities or the Salvation Army, for example - will pick up items from your home. For more information, call your favorite charitable organization; they're listed alphabetically in the business section of your phone book or go to http://www.guidestar.org to search for non-profit agencies.

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Meeting rooms
St. Louis Park neighborhood groups and civic organizations can reserve meeting rooms in City Hall at no charge. St. Louis Park youth associations, teams and clubs may reserve meeting rooms at the Rec Center and park pavilions at no charge as long as no food is served. If food is served, there is a small fee. Other groups may use the Rec Center meeting rooms but a room rental fee may be charged.

City Hall Rooms

City Council Chambers (third floor west) capacity 122
Westwood Room (third floor south) capacity 18
Meadowbrook Room (third floor north) capacity 8
Aquila Room (second floor north) capacity 12
Dakota Room (second floor north) capacity 8
Fern Hill Room (second floor south) capacity 4
Community Room (first floor west) capacity 49

For information about meeting room availability, call City Hall at (952) 924-2500 or email info@stlouispark.org.

Rec Center Rooms and Year-round Park Pavilions

Banquet room (second floor west) - capacity 160
Gallery (first floor north) - capacity 70
Wolfe Park Pavilion - capacity 30

For information about meeting room or pavilion availability and fees, call the Rec Center at (952) 924-2540 or email info@stlouispark.org

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Neighborhood Associations
Many of St. Louis Park's 35 neighborhoods are represented by an organized neighborhood association. These groups can rally residents together to solve a problem or voice an opinion on a special issue. They can also hold neighborhood get-togethers, organize park clean-ups, or share services (trading home maintenance for child care, for example). Many neighborhoods publish newsletters listing upcoming events and neighborhood news.

Call Marney Olson, Community Liaison, at (952) 924-2184 or email molson@stlouispark.org to find out whether your neighborhood is represented by an association, or if it isn’t, how you can organize one.

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Neighborhood watch block captains
In partnership with the St. Louis Park Police Department, block captains help maintain the safety and well being of their neighborhood by coordinating Neighborhood Watch activities for their block. Each block captain helps develop and maintain ongoing communication between the block's residents and the Police Department. Block captains organize their block's annual National Night Out block party, host crime prevention meetings, distribute newsletters and crime alerts, and attend the annual block captains' meeting. Block captains may also be asked to help out at other city events.

If you would like to volunteer to be a block captain, call (952)924-2661 or email kczapar@stlouispark.org. Duties are not time-consuming, and block captains report an increased sense of neighborhood pride and improved relationships in exchange for their service. For more information on becoming a block captain, click here.