Central District Council Bylaws

CENTRAL AREA NEIGHBORHOODS DISTRICT COUNCIL BYLAWS

ARTICLE I Identity
1 NAME The name of the organization is Central Area Neighborhoods District Council (CANDC).

1. 
   1.1  BOUNDARIES The boundaries of the CANDC shall be as shown on Attachment A (map of the Central Area as per City of Seattle Clerk’s office).
   
2. 1.2  AUTHORITY: The CANDC is organized under the authority of Seattle City Council Resolution 27709 (Oct 1987), which created and described the role of the District Councils, see Attachment B.
   
3. 1.3  PURPOSE The purpose of the CANDC is to provide a forum for Central Area neighborhood councils and organizations to share ideas, solve common problems, and represent the Central Area to government entities, for the betterment of the neighborhoods of the Central Area and its residents; the CANDC shall:
   
   1. 1.3.1  Influence government policies and city funding by review, comment, recommendation, or participation related to plans or applications that affect the Central Area, including but not limited to: the Neighborhood Matching Fund Large Fund Projects Citywide Review Team, the Neighborhood Street Fund/Cumulative Reserve Fund review, and the ongoing Neighborhood Planning/City Comprehensive Plan processes.
      
   2. 1.3.2  Address issues which affects the livability of our neighborhoods and Community on the whole, including but not limited to neighborhood sustainability, economic development, land use, housing, social and recreational opportunities, open space, crime prevention, transportation and the delivery of services.
      
   3. 1.3.3  Share information between neighborhoods and organizations, promoting outreach within and between neighborhoods to build and strengthen community and expand citizen participation.
      
   4. 1.3.4  Represent the CANDC on the City Neighborhood Council (CNC).
      ARTICLE II Membership
      

2 GENERAL CRITERIA Voting membership on the CANDC shall be held by community organizations, not individuals. Members designate one representative and one alternate to the CANDC. Membership may be held only by organizations that operate within the CANDC boundaries, whose stated purpose reflects the values described in Section 1.3. Furthermore, organizations must operate in accordance with democratic principles under a written constitution or bylaws, which exercise a non-discrimination policy equivalent to the CANDC policy stated in Section 2.4.

Central Area Neighborhoods District Council Bylaws pg 1 of 6

1. 2.1  Standing membership is held by neighborhood councils that meet the general criteria.
   
2. 2.2  At-Large membership is held by business or service associations by approval of the District Council. Application for membership must be made to the Executive Committee by written request. The Executive Committee will ensure that minimum requirements for membership are met as set forth in Section 2. The Executive Committee shall promptly make a recommendation to the full Council. The recommendation shall be approved at the following meeting by a simple majority. At-large members shall serve a one year term and may be re-approved for membership, by simple majority vote.
   

3. 2.3  If the members representative(s) has three or more unexcused consecutive absences the member shall lose its voting rights until their representative(s) has attended three meetings. Voting rights are reestablished at the third meeting they attend.
   
4. 2.4  NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY The Central Area Neighborhoods District Council will not discriminate against individuals or groups on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status, national origin, income or political affiliation.
   ARTICLE III Executive Committee
   

3 MEMBERS The officers of the CANDC shall constitute the Executive Committee, which shall consist of a President, a Vice President, and a Secretary.

1. 3.1  TERM OF OFFICE Elected officers shall served for a term of one year commencing at the end of the December meeting. Leadership shall pass to the newly elected officers upon adjournment of the December meeting. An officer may be elected to the same position for a maximum of two consecutive years.
   
2. 3.2  QUALIFICATIONS Only members in good standing shall be eligible for all officers of the CANDC.
   
3. 3.3  NOMINATION A Nominating Committee, approved by the CANDC, of at least 3 members, shall be formed two months prior to elections (October). The nominating committee shall present a slate of candidates for each office, in writing, to the CANDC one month prior to elections (November), including a brief biographical sketch of each candidate. Nominations for office shall be accepted until one week prior to the presentation of candidates.
   
4. 3.4  ELECTION The election of officers shall be held at the December meeting of the CANDC, by secret ballot. Tabulation of ballots shall be performed by the Nominating Committee and the DON support staff. The individual receiving a majority of the votes shall be declared the winner. If no candidate receives a majority, then there shall be a
   

Central Area Neighborhoods District Council Bylaws pg 2 of 6

second ballot with just the top two candidates.

5. 3.5  VACANCIES A vacancy will occur when an officer missing three unexcused consecutive meeting (as per Section 3.6) or by their submitting a letter of resignation. Vacancies shall be filled by the person that came in second during the election. If the person turns the position down or is there was no a second in the election, a call for a special election may called by any member of the CANDC for the unexpired portion of their term.
   
6. 3.6  REMOVAL An officer may be removed from office for missing three (3) unexcused meetings consecutive and/or for cause by a 2/3 majority vote, of those present at the District Council meeting.
   
7. 3.7  DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT The President shall be responsible for:
   
   1. 3.7.1  Facilitating the regular meetings of the Executive Committee and full
      Council;
      
   2. 3.7.2  Serving as or appoint a delegate to the City Neighborhood Council.
      
8. 3.8  DUTIES OF THE VICE PRESIDENT The Vice President shall be responsible for:
   
   1. 3.8.1  Facilitating the regular meetings of the Executive Committee and full
      Council in the absence of the President;.
      
   2. 3.8.2  Acting as Parliamentarian at all meetings
      
9. 3.9  DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY The Secretary shall be responsible for:
   
   1. 3.9.1  Facilitating the regular meetings of the Council in the absence of the
      President and Vice President;
      
   2. 3.9.2  Maintaining a list of all members entitled to voting rights.
      
   3. 3.9.3  Overseeing, in cooperation with the Department of Neighborhoods’
      (DON) staff, the distribution of agendas, and keeping of and distribution
      of all meeting minutes;
      
   4. 3.9.4  Preserving, in cooperation with the DON, historical documents of the
      CANDC and other matters of governance including an up-to-date version of the CANDC bylaws, a permanent file of all correspondence, minutes, attendance records thus maintaining the list of current and active members, a record of unfinished business, records utilized in the business of the CANDC, and maintaining an official public record at the offices of the DON;
      
   5. 3.9.5  Maintaining a calendar of events, meetings, deadlines and notices pertaining to the business of the CANDC and its members.
      
10. 3.10  EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE DUTIES The Executive Committee shall be responsible for:
    
    1. 3.10.1  Preparing the monthly agenda,
       
    2. 3.10.2  Making recommendations regarding the establishment of Standing
       Committees
       
    3. 3.10.3  Making recommendations, in the first quarter of the year, regarding
       special objectives of the CANDC for that year.
       

Central Area Neighborhoods District Council Bylaws pg 3 of 6

ARTICLE IV Communications
4 All written positions taken in the name of the CANDC on any question, whether a majority or minority view and/or nature, shall require prior approval of the Council or in case of needed expediency by the Executive Committee (Section 5.1).
4.1 To ensure open and transparent communication, all correspondence (including but not limited to electronic correspondence) on behalf of the CANDC shall include and show all recipients and addressees.
ARTICLE V Committees
5 The Executive Committee is a Standing Committee. In addition to the specific duties assigned in Section 3.10, the Executive Committee is responsible for ensuring the day-to- day functioning of the CANDC in accordance with the these bylaws. The Executive Committee may entertain and/or recommend a proposal for a new Standing Committee at any time. The Executive Committee will recommend the establishment of Standing Committees as needed, to be ratified by a simple majority of the Council. In the event a new Standing Committee is created, these bylaws will be amended by attachment, describing the responsibility and goals of the committee.

1. 5.1  Standing committees conduct the business of the council on an ongoing basis to support the Council’s purpose and objectives.
   
   1. 5.1.1  Standing committees are chaired by voting members; chairs voted on by the
      committee members.
      
   2. 5.1.2  Chairs will provide a yearly plan to the full Council in the first quarter of the year,
      and reports of committee activities at regular meetings.
      
   3. 5.1.3  Chairs are responsible for maintaining and providing historical records to the
      CANDC Secretary, including official correspondence, meeting minutes and attendance records.
      
2. 5.2  Ad hoc committees are activity- or issue-based and have a stated goal. Ad hoc committees may be recommended by a member of the Council and must be ratified by a simple majority vote of the Council. They may be designated at any time and will expire upon achievement of the stated goal.
   
   1. 5.2.1  Ad hoc committees may be chaired by any member of the CANDC.
      
   2. 5.2.2  Ad hoc committee membership is open to any Central Area resident.
      
   3. 5.2.3  Ad hoc committee membership may be held by a non-resident of the
      Central Area to provide special services, additional relevant information, but and by approval of the Executive Committee.
      

Central Area Neighborhoods District Council Bylaws pg 4 of 6

ARTICLE VI Meetings
6 ANNUAL MEETING The January meeting is the annual meeting of the CANDC.

1. 6.1  FREQUENCY Regular meetings will be held monthly, at least 9 times a year. Regular meetings are open to the public. Notification of the time and location of the meeting must be made 5 business days prior to the meeting.
   
2. 6.2  CONDUCT OF BUSINESS The facilitator of the meeting is responsible for keep order, keep time, and provide for the full and fair discussion of issues before the CANDC.
   
3. 6.3  ORDER OF BUSINESS The order of business will be designated by the Executive Committee, but may be amended at any time by majority vote of the CANDC. The agenda will reflect the order of business for each regular meeting and will include, but not be limited to, the following items
   
   1. 6.3.1  Review of the Agenda
      
   2. 6.3.2  Review of the minutes from the prior meeting
      
   3. 6.3.3  Community Concerns/Roundtable
      
   4. 6.3.4  Standing and Ad hoc committee reports
      
4. 6.4  RULES of ORDER: The most recent edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall be used to conduct meetings.
   ARTICLE VII Decision Making & Voting
   

7 QUORUM A quorum is equal to 33% of the voting membership. No action may be taken in the absence of a quorum.

1. 7.1  DECISION MAKING Once discussion has come to an end as per Roberts Rules of Order, the final decision shall be reached by 2/3 majority vote, of those present.
   
2. 7.2  VOTING Each designated representative or alternate as defined in ARTICLE II has one vote. There can be no proxies or absentee votes.
   

Central Area Neighborhoods District Council Bylaws pg 5 of 6

ARTICLE VIII Amendments
8 Any CANDC representative may propose, in writing, an amendment to the bylaws. Any proposed amendment shall be amended by a 2/3 majority vote, of those present. at a meeting following introduction of the amendment at a prior meeting.
APPROVED, VOTED and ADOPTED:
by the Full Central Area Neighborhoods District Council on this ______ day of ____________, 20____
_________________________________________________ Central Area Neighborhood District Council, President

Central Area Neighborhoods District Council Bylaws pg 6 of 6

Proposed Changes to CANDC Bylaws

            Bill Bradburd

            Diane Snell

            Knox Gardner

3.2 Qualifications:   Residents, property owners and business owners in the Central Area are eligible to be an officer of the CANDC.

3.7.3    Authorizing voting member absences from CANDC meetings

3.8.3    Authorizing voting member absences from CANDC meetings

[ 6.0 ANNUAL MEETING ] – remove

7  Quorum     A quorum is 50% plus 1 members of the full CANDC voting membership.  No action may be taken n the absence of a quorum.

8.1  The CANDC bylaws should be reviewed and updated if necessary at least every 3 years.