Keep the wheels of democracy turning by joining your neighborhood’s community organization

Harrowgate resident Alfred Klosterman used to write to the mayor’s office, city council, and any elected official he could find to make his case for improvements to his Northeast Philly neighborhood. However, it never felt like progress.

“I was pretty active on my own, but I thought maybe I can be more organized,” said Klosterman of joining his local civic association. “So I tried going and despite my fears that it would be intimidating, it was far from it.”

Since that first meeting four years ago, Klosterman and Harrowgate Civic Association have organized around a variety of issues including opposing a proposed supervised consumption site in their neighborhood, requiring developers to hire from within the community, and most recently, how millions of dollars from an opioid settlement payment will be used in the neighborhood. Making change is much more effective when you’re a part of a coalition, said Klosterman.

Registered community organizations (RCO), like Harrogate Civic Association, are neighborhood groups the city looks to when making zoning and development decisions in a given neighborhood. Before any development can occur, developers have to run it by the local RCOs first. Outside of their core purpose, these groups organize around elections, education, and provide social services and volunteer opportunities for their neighborhood.

“In addition to casting your vote every year, it does feel like you’re making a difference in your community,” said Klosterman. “And I think that it’s totally normal to feel nervous or that you don’t know enough to be involved, but that’s not true — you’ll pick things up right away.”

Whether you have 30 minutes of free time to attend a meeting or 3 hours for volunteer opportunities, if you’re interested in pitching in, there is an organization near you and they’re easy to join. Luckily, the city compiles a list of all registered community organizations in the city within their map tool at openmaps.phila.gov.

To start: Visit openmaps.phila.gov.

Instructions: Using the map tool’s sidebar filter on the left, scroll down to “Registered Community Organizations (RCO)” and check the box. Grid lines outlining each neighborhood will appear on the map. Then, type your address in the search bar and hit enter. When the map zooms in on your address, click on the map and a pop-up window will appear showing you the community orgs in the neighborhood you selected and their contact information.

Registered community organizations, or RCOs, are organized groups within a given neighborhood that advocate for and take action to shape the way their community looks. The main purpose of RCOs are to weigh in on development projects in their neighborhood. Together, the city’s Zoning Board, Planning Commission and more than 200 local RCOs keep the process going. In June, the Planning Commission accepts RCO applications for new groups to join the process each year.

“Every meeting, usually one or two developers need a zoning variation, maybe for a change in building height or additional parking,” said Klosterman. “They have to get approval from the local civic association, so we hear their proposals and we vote on it.”

These independently-funded and operated groups are required to have their own governing rules, outlined boundaries of their service-area, definitions of their membership, and a description of their leadership selection process in order to become an RCO. Each organization has their own set of rules and most groups meet about once a month.

Keep in mind, while RCO’s main interest is in development projects, many also do food distribution, job training, revitalization efforts, after-school programming and much more. If you want to take part in making changes to your neighborhood, you should join your local RCO.

Simply reach out. These organizations are public-facing and are welcome to all neighbors, it’s a part of democracy at work.

“Drop by a meeting and get a feel for the whole thing and then talk to the people running it,” said Klosterman. “That’s what I did, I just dropped in.”