Potter Creek Neighborhood Association Bylaws

Article 1. Name, Boundaries and Purpose

Name
The name of the Association is the Potter Creek Neighborhood Association hereinafter designated the PCNA.

Boundaries
The Potter Creek neighborhood is defined as the geographical area of Berkeley, CA that lies between and is bounded on the north by the middle of Carleton St, on the south by the middle of Heinz Ave, on the west by the middle of Seventh St and on the east by the western edge of the properties on the west side of San Pablo Avenue, coincident with the Mixed Use/ Residential [MUR] boundaries for this area defined by the City of Berkeley.

Purpose
The Potter Creek Neighborhood Association is an association of both residents and businesses in the Potter Creek neighborhood formed for the purpose of strengthening our community, maintaining our quality of life and safety, and facilitating discussion and action on issues of concern to the neighborhood. Specific goals are:

to promote activities that increase our closeness as a community, including meetings on topics of general interest and social gatherings;
to support community efforts important to the neighborhood as a whole, such as neighborhood watch or earthquake preparedness;
to encourage awareness of conditions, problems or activities of common interest to the neighborhood, including the distribution of information regarding specific issues as they may arise;
to provide a forum for discussing, and when deemed appropriate, voting upon issues or problems of common interest;
to serve as a neighborhood voice and recognized channel of communication with City staff, elected officials, and other institutions and groups impacting the neighborhood;
to encourage neighbor participation in local elections, while refraining from endorsing any specific candidate;
to maintain avenues of communication for the neighborhood, such as through an internet site.

Article 2. Members

Membership eligibility
Any person age 18 or older who resides, owns a business, operates or manages a not-for-profit organization, or owns real property (real estate) within the Potter Creek neighborhood boundaries defined in Article 1 is eligible to be a member of the PCNA.

Membership documentation
Any person meeting the PCNA membership criteria and wishing to become PCNA member must submit a completed and signed Membership Registration Form to the PCNA Treasurer. Membership registration will be updated at least once a year at the Annual Membership Meeting. All membership documentation information will be confidential and securely maintained by the Treasurer.

Membership privileges
Each PCNA member has the right to run for office, serve on committees, and cast one vote on all issues that come before the PCNA.

Membership dues
No dues are required for PCNA membership, however an annual voluntary donation initially set at $10/year is requested to cover the costs of flyers to announce PCNA meetings and neighborhood events as well as other incidental costs. Other voluntary monetary contributions to cover specific expenses and donations of supplies for special projects may be requested as needed. The suggested donation amount may be raised by a vote of the Executive Committee.

Non-members/Guests
Non-members are welcome to attend PCNA meetings, social gatherings and participate in community efforts such as neighborhood clean-up, earthquake preparedness and neighborhood watch. Non-members may not vote, and may not serve on the Executive Committee.

Article 3. Executive Committee

Membership
The Executive Committee shall consist of the following duly-elected members: Two Co-Chairs, one Secretary, one Treasurer and the Elected Chairpersons of Standing Committees for Membership, Public Safety, and Public Service/Social. Only PCNA members are eligible to be Executive Committee members. The two Co-Chairs, Secretary and Treasurer are the officers of the PCNA.

Obligations
The Executive Committee shall meet quarterly or more frequently to develop agenda items and plan PCNA Membership Meetings. Executive Committee members must attend the Annual Membership Meetings.

Elections
All Executive Committee members shall be elected for a one-year term by majority vote of members present at the designated Annual Membership Meeting. None, however, may be elected by a majority vote unless at least 15 members and at least one PCNA officer are in attendance. Nominations for Executive Committee members should be invited at the Membership Meeting preceding the Annual Membership Meeting. The slate of candidates shall be posted on the PCNA website one month in advance of the Annual Membership Meeting.

Removal of Executive Committee Members
After three consecutive absences at duly noticed Executive Committee meetings, the Executive Committee may vote to remove a member by a majority vote if a quorum (51% of EC members) is present. Members cannot be removed by email votes.

Vacancies
An Executive Committee member who has resigned, or been removed, shall be replaced by a majority vote of the remaining Executive Committee members within 60 days of their resignation or removal. Their term shall expire at the next Membership Meeting. Nominations for a permanent replacement shall be solicited at the next regularly scheduled Membership Meeting.

Article 4. Membership Meetings

Schedule
An Annual Membership Meeting shall be held every year in April. At this meeting, elections of officers for the PCNA will be held. Every January or February a Nominating Meeting, to nominate members for positions on the Executive Committee, will precede the yearly Annual Membership Meeting. Additionally, a minimum of 2 other Membership Meetings shall be held throughout the year.

Agenda, Noticing and Minutes
The Executive Committee shall set the date, time, location and agenda of the Membership Meetings. Priority will be given to time-sensitive issues.

PCNA members, City of Berkeley officials, and other interested parties may request that specific items be placed on the membership meeting agendas via email sent to the PCNA Secretary. These requests will be voted upon by the PCNA Executive Committee. The EC may not refuse to place an item on the agenda if it is suggested by a PCNA member and if it falls within the purpose of the PCNA as outlined in Article 1, though they may schedule it at their discretion.

Meetings shall be announced as early as possible and members will be sent email notification. All meetings will also be posted on PCNA website.The Executive Committee will record meeting minutes and will post them on the PCNA website.

Courtesy Policy
One of the goals of the PCNA is to provide a civil forum for our community to discuss issues of concern to the neighborhood. To facilitate this discussion, the PCNA has adopted the following courtesy policy regarding both verbal and written communications between association members:

Members must respect each other's privacy. This means that members may not misuse the personal information of other members or send them unwanted or unsolicited email.
Members agree to behave in a civil and courteous manner in their interactions with other members both in person at meetings and in written communications. The PCNA encourages a healthy and constructive diversity of opinion within the association, but will not allow members to make personal attacks on other members. Likewise rude, loud and/or disrespectful behavior toward other members is not acceptable.

Article 5. Voting

Voting of the general membership may be conducted for Elections, to establish PCNA Advisory Positions, and to handle Regular Business Items. These are defined as follows:

(a) Elections are conducted annually to choose officers and members of the Executive Committee, as described in Article 3, or to amend the byLaws, as described in Article 6.
(b) PCNA Advisory Positions are determined by a vote by the PCNA general membership, and refer to items before the City of Berkeley or any other governmental or quasi-governmental entity with regulatory power over the Potter Creek neighborhood and its environs.
(c) Regular Business Items refer to votes on routine matters, such as activities to be pursued, or desired meeting dates.

Voting may be conducted by a show of hands, or by roll call. The voting procedures for each of the three types of voting are described below.

Regular Business items (c)
A simple majority of votes of attending members rules on any regular business item at a Membership Meeting. No advance notice is required.

Elections (a)
A list of candidates will be posted at least one month in advance of meeting at which the election will be held. A minimum of 15 PCNA members including one PCNA Officer must be present and cast their votes. When conducting such voting, including discussions preceding the vote, the PCNA may ask that all non-members be excused from the meeting. Election of officers and Executive Committee members requires a simple majority vote.

Advisory Position Votes (b)
Advisory Position voting requires an announcement in the meeting agenda. Such announcement will be made at least one week in advance of the meeting and will clearly indicate that a vote is proposed to be taken. Announcements will be made by email and be posted either electronically or physically. No item shall be voted on that has not been so announced. A minimum of 15 PCNA members including one PCNA Officer must be present and cast their votes. When conducting such voting, including discussions preceding the vote, the PCNA may ask that all non-members be excused from the meeting. Passage requires a simple majority vote.

Article 6. Provisions for Amending Bylaws

Any petition to amend the bylaws should be submitted at the Membership Meeting preceding the Annual Membership Meeting and posted on the PCNA website. Action on the proposed amendment shall be put before the membership for a vote at the Annual Membership Meeting and shall pass by a 2/3rds majority vote provided that a quorum of 15 PCNA members including one PCNA Officer are present.

Article 7. Duties of Officers and Executive Committee Members

Two Co-chairs – share the following duties:

chair the Membership and Executive Committee meetings both Membership and Executive Committee meetings and find and reserve locations for the meetings
serve as a liaison to the City of Berkeley.

Secretary/Recorder

serve on the Executive Committee and chair Membership and Executive Committee meetings if the Co-chairs are unable to do so
record notes of the Membership and the Executive Committee meetings and post the notes on the PCNA website

Treasurer

serve on the Executive Committee and chair Membership and Executive Committee meetings if the Co-chairs and Secretary/Recorder are unable to do so
keep the membership records
accept and record dues
reimburse expenses as agreed upon in advance
report on current accounts at Membership Meetings [at least yearly at the Annual Membership Meeting]

Heads of special committees or standing committees

serve on the Executive Committee
chair their committee meetings and make notes and post them on the PCNA website
report on the activities of the committees to the Membership Meetings
chair the Membership Meetings if no officers are able to do so

These are the Bylaws as amended and accepted by voice vote of the 21 members at the meeting on the 30th of April 2009.