East Boston Land Use Advisory Council By-Laws*
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Are you an East Boston resident who cares about the neighborhood and its future?
If so, you should join the East Boston Land Use Council. The LUC is a group of community
activists who seek to address long-standing issues of planning, traffic and noise, open
space and other quality of life concerns. The LUC meets every Thursday evening at the EB
Social Centers, 68 Central Square. All meetings are open to the public.
Membership is free. If you are interested in learning more about the LUC, please
contact President Joe Mason by e-mail at jmason023@aol.com.
Latest schedule is available at
eastboston.com.
Table of Contents
The East Boston Master
Planning, Recreation, and Land Use Advisory Council (hereinafter referred to as
the "Land Use Council", "Council", or "LUC") is a not for profit, unincorporated
association of East Boston residents concerned with the planning, recreation,
land use and other matters affecting the East Boston community which the Council
may deem appropriate for consideration. In order to address the issues affecting
the community, the Council will hold regular meetings open to the public which
shall be governed by these by-laws. The goal of the Council shall be to enhance
the quality of life for the East Boston community, to protect the community from
exploitation, discrimination, and uses of resources and property that are
considered to be a threat to the general welfare of East Boston.
Members of the LUC shall be residents of East Boston ages 14
years and over, with residency determined by domicile, not place of work.
For purposes of these Bylaws and Council meetings the
following terms shall be governed by the definitions contained in Section B of
this Article, unless otherwise provided.
SECTION B. Defintions
1.1 "Regular business
meeting" -the meetings at which regularly scheduled general business of the
Council shall be conducted.
1.2 "Special meeting"-
meetings held for an affected neighborhood and further described in Article n,
Section D.
1.3 "Designee"- any person
designated to act on behalf of another
1.4 "Organization"-Any
administrative entity with a regular membership and purpose conforming to
standards and requirements.
1.5 "Sealed Ballot"-A
pre-printed form which shall be used for voting purposes.
1.6 "Domicile"-The fixed,
permanent and principal home of an individual.
1.7 "Resident"-Any person
who is domiciled in the community of East Boston, Massachusetts.
1.8 "Open Meeting"-A
meeting governed by the Open Meeting Law as described in the General Laws of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
1.9 "Quorum"-The number of
voting members required to legally and competently transact business.
1.10 "Member"-Any person
meeting the qualifications of Article n, Section A.
1.11 "Voting Member"-Any
person meeting the qualifications of Article n, Section B.
The LUC shall agree to conduct a business meeting in a
public place at least once a month.
Before the LUC offers any formal endorsements or rejection
of any proposal for development, or of any proposal which would be of a particular concern
to a neighborhood within East Boston, the LUC must hold an open meeting in the affected
neighborhood to learn the opinions of local residents concerning the proposal presented.
The proposal shall be on the agenda for discussion purposes only at the next subsequent
LUC business meeting. No note shall be taken on the proposal sooner than the second
upcoming business meeting. No binding vote may be taken by the LUC at the Neighborhood
Meeting. Leafleting the affected neighborhood should be done whenever possible when a
special meeting is to be held.
The President of the LUC shall be responsible for
publicizing notice of business meetings and neighborhood meetings to be held in public
session at least one week in advance and at least one time prior to the meeting --
containing information on the agenda, time and place of the meeting. The President shall
be responsible for submitting a press release to the local newspapers summarizing the
proceedings of each LUC meeting. As a minimum requirement, this report may be occasionally
take the form of a monthly report. The President may delegate these responsibilities to
any other person.
The President of the LUC shall be responsible for
determining the time and place of all LUC meetings.
The LUC shall have a President, Vice-President and a
Secretary elected by the membership.
The officers shall be elected by a simple majority of all
voting members who voted at the election meeting. In a case of a tie vote, additional
ballots shall be taken to determine the results. The President, with the consent of the
membership, may specify in the public notice of the election hours in which balloting is
allowed.
Any member as defined in ARTICLE
2 SECTION A may be nominated for an office in the LUC. An officer may succeed
himself/herself. No person may hold more than one office in the LUC.
Election of Officers shall occur annually in September.
Nomination of officers shall occur at the LUC meeting prior
to the election meeting and may also occur at the election meeting. Officers may be
nominated by any voting member in attendance at these meetings. Nominees must indicate
their willingness to accept the nomination at the time they are nominated. Any number of
nominations may be made for each category. If no nomination is made for a category, the
President is responsible for appointing a pro-tem officer to the vacant office.
The President shall be responsible for giving public notice
of time and place of the nominating meeting and the election meeting in all local papers,
thirty days prior to the nominating meeting.
In the event an office becomes vacant, the voting
membership, at the meeting immediately following the public announcement in a local
newspaper of the vacancy of the office shall elect a successor.
The President, with the consent of the membership, may
appoint up to two additional officers as necessary, with the term and duties of the office
determined with membership consent.
The duties of the LUC President shall be to set the time and place
of all the meetings. To give public notice of the meetings when required. To develop an
agenda for the meetings and to conduct the meetings in accord with the agenda.
The President shall perform his/her duties in a manner dutifully
responsive to the LUC membership and other officers.
The President shall be responsible for maintaining order at the
meetings.
The President shall be responsible for appointing heads of the LUC
Sub-committees.
The President shall provide leadership and encourage public
participation in LUC meetings and shall communicate with City Hall on matters regarding
the LUC. In its discretion, the chair may express in speeches, or in writing, the adopted
policies of the LUC. The President may delegate any of the above duties to the to the
Vice-President.
The duties of the Vice President shall be to act on behalf
of the President in the absence of the President.
The duties of the secretary shall be to keep minutes of the
LUC meetings which will include an attendance sheet, indicating eligibility to vote. To
post those minutes to the proper agencies, to draft letters of the LUC (Unless otherwise
directed by the President), to monitor postage of those letters, and to supervise in the
clerical working of the LUC (such as providing members with copies of minutes or
correspondence if requested).
A LUC quorum shall consist of ten voting members. No action
may be taken on LUC business unless a quorum is present.
To vote at a LUC Business meeting, one must be a member of
the LUC as defined in ARTICLE 2, SECTION A, and must
have attended two out of the past or present consecutive LUC meetings. A member must be
present in order to vote.
To be eligible to vote at one election meeting of the LUC, a
member must have attended six LUC meetings during the past 12 months.
Attendance at a special neighborhood meeting, as described
in ARTICLE 2, SECTION D shall be considered for the
purpose of meeting the voting requirement to vote on the subject matter discussed at the
neighborhood meeting regardless of the number of intervening meetings on any matter other
than this subject. A member must have observed the requirements in ARTICLE 5, SECTION B, in order to vote.
There will be no proxy voting or absentee voting in the LUC.
A person with a direct financial interest in a particular
vote, or people employed by such firms, shall be considered in conflict of interest on a
particular vote and denied the right to vote. Likewise persons attending LUC meetings as
PAID staff through any agency or governmental body will be so considered. In the event of
a dispute over conflict of interest, the voting membership, excluding the disputed person,
shall determine whether the conflict exists. PAID staff members of the East Boston
Community Development Corporation (CDC) OR ANY OTHER SIMILAR ORGANIZATION, shall be deemed
in conflict of interest on all matters which come before the LUC and denied the right to
vote.
Decisions of the LUC shall be made upon any seconded motion
of a member requesting action, unless that member is declared out of order by the
President. Decision may be made by a hand vote, roll call vote or a secret ballot.
The presiding officer shall determine the method of voting.
Robert Rules of Order shall be observed at all LUC meetings.
The necessary action resulting from a LUC decision may be
proposed by any member of the LUC. It is the responsibility of the President to delegate
persons to carry out that action, once approved by the voting membership.
No member of the LUC shall speak, write or act on behalf of
the LUC without the consent of the membership. Exceptions to this include the specified
duties of the officers.
The duty of the By-Laws Committee of the LUC shall be to
recommend to the General Membership adoption of the By-Laws. Adoption shall be decided by
a simple majority vote of voting members attending.
The By-Laws of the LUC may be amended by a two-thirds vote
of the voting membership in attendance. Before such a vote is taken, notice of the
recommended changes must appear in a public medium at least two weeks in advance of the
meeting.
Amended 11/87
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