Adopted by HHWNC Board:  ______________________

Purpose of Standing Rules

The Purpose of the Standing Rules is to establish procedures for the conduct of HHWNC business that are not stipulated in the Bylaws of the Council.

Committee Meetings

These general guidelines for meeting apply to Area Committees, Issue Committees and the Planning, Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee. 

Conduct of Meetings. HHWNC Board members shall strive to conduct the Council’s business in a respectful and courteous manner.  They shall conduct meetings in a manner that encourages stakeholder involvement and provides a forum for freedom of expression regarding public issues.  The HHWNC welcomes diverse views and opinions of Board Members and stakeholders and endeavors to have meetings that provide meaningful and productive dialogue on issues of importance to Council stakeholders and are conducted in a manner to treat all in attendance with respect and dignity.      

Required Meetings. The HHWNC Bylaws require that Area and Issue Committees meet a minimum of four times per calendar year.  The Committee Chair is responsible for developing meeting agendas and having summary meeting minutes taken by one of the stakeholders in attendance at the meetings.  The Committee Chair is also responsible for having agendas and minutes of all meetings posted on the HHWNC website and agendas sent by email to the Committee stakeholder list.  In the case of meetings held jointly by more than one Committee, the Chair of each Committee listed on the posted agenda shall be given credit for having held the meeting.  The Committee Chairs shall decide amongst themselves who will prepare and post the minutes.  Community events involving HHWNC stakeholders that are organized by a Committee Chair shall also be considered a “meeting” for the purposes of compliance with this Bylaw requirement.   

Cost Guidelines. Committee meetings shall be held within the boundaries of the Neighborhood Council in an ADA accessible public location.  Committee Chairs may purchase and be reimbursed for the cost of refreshments for meetings with a budget of $50 established as the guidelines for such purchases.  This guideline applies to individual or joint Committee meetings.  Committee Chairs should strive to hold meetings in locations that do not charge a fee, such as the Will and Arial Durant Library or Yucca Community Center, but if no such facility is available in close proximity to an Area Committee’s area, a budget of $100 maximum is available for reimbursement to the Committee Chair for room expenses.  

Motions Forwarded to HHWNC Board.  For motions passed by Committees that are intended to be forwarded to the full Council for action, the Committee Chair shall submit the motion to the President for addition to the next Council agenda with a tally of the vote of stakeholders on the motion in committee, accompanied by appropriate supporting materials for Council members to understand the specifics of the motion (e.g., location map, description of proposed action, event or activity). 

Purpose of the Committee.  The role of the Planning, Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee is to review all major development proposals within the boundaries of the HHWNC and to make a recommendation to the full Council with regard to the position that the Council should take in advising the City of Los Angeles on the development application.  This includes advising the Council on positions related to all discretionary approvals requested from the City, including, but not limited to, variances, conditional use permits, zone changes, certification of environmental impact reports, and development applications.           

Membership. The PLUM Committee members are all members of the HHWNC Board of Directors, elected to the following Board positions:

• Vice President
• Traffic, Public Transportation & Parking Committee Chair*
• Business Development, Planning & Support Committee Chair*
• Infrastructure, Public & Regulated Resources & Services Chair*
• Housing & Human Services, Religious & Charitable Organizations, Planning & Support Chair*

* During the transition period between the time of adoption of these Standing Rules and the next HHWNC elections, if any of the Chairs of these Committees choose not to serve on the PLUM Committee, an alternate Board member may be appointed by the President to serve on the PLUM Committee.

Although not voting members of the PLUM Committee, the Area Committee Chairperson(s) representing the area(s) in which any development project on the agenda is located, shall be invited to attend the meeting and present the feelings of the Area Committee stakeholders with regard to the project, if the project has been discussed at an Area Committee meeting.
     
Committee Structure (Chair/Vice Chair). The Chair of the PLUM Committee shall be the HHWNC Vice President.  The PLUM Committee Chair conducts the meetings in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order.  The Vice Chair shall be elected by the PLUM Committee at its initial meeting and subsequently at its first meeting following an HHWNC general election, or in the case of a Vice Chair vacancy due to the resignation of the Committee Chair serving as Vice Chair, at the first meeting following the election of the new committee chair.  A quorum of the PLUM Committee is four members. 

Meetings of PLUM Committee. The PLUM Committee shall attempt to meet monthly, in advance of scheduled HHWNC Board Meeting to review pending development applications and prepare recommendations to the full Council.   If no development applications are pending, the PLUM Committee Chair may determine that there is no meeting required. The meeting time and location shall be set by the Committee Chair.  Whenever possible, the meeting location should be within the Area where the proposed development is located, recognizing that the meeting location must meet ADA accessibility requirements.  When multiple projects are on an agenda, a central location in the HHWNC area should be pursued. 

Agendas. The PLUM Committee Chair is responsible for the development of the agenda for each meeting and has the responsibility for posting the agenda in accordance with the Brown Act requirements and having it distributed to the Council stakeholder database.

Recommendations to Board of Directors. The PLUM Committee Chair is responsible for preparation of minutes of the PLUM Committee meetings and reporting to the full Board on the recommendations of the PLUM Committee.  In the absence of the Chair, the Vice Chair shall make the Committee report to the HHWNC Board.  The report on the recommendation of the Committee shall include the status of the PLUM Committee vote on the recommendation, the number of persons in attendance at the PLUM Committee at which the development project was discussed, copies of materials distributed to the PLUM Committee, and a summary of comments received by the stakeholders in attendance at the meeting.  

Other Standing Rules

At the first meeting of each calendar year, the Board shall make assignments for the following duties: (1) Arrangement of refreshments at Board meetings, (2) Oversight of the posting of items on the Council’s website, (3) Posting of hard copies of Board meeting agendas on public notice/bulletin board, (4) pick-up and distribution of HHWNC mail.   It is the responsibility of the Executive Committee to ensure that agendas are prepared with adequate lead time for those responsible for these assignments to carry out those duties in a timely fashion.

Request for Demand Warrant forms require two signatures; the first, the Treasurer of the Council and the second to be determined by the Council.  HHWNC authorizes any one of the other four Executive Officers (President, Vice President, Secretary or Parliamentarian), who have completed the Treasurer Training session provided by DONE, to provide the second signature on a Request for Demand Warrant.

Eligibility to Vote at Meetings

Board members have 60 days following election to satisfy the requirement for Ethics Training offered by DONE and may participate as voting members of any meetings held within those 60 days of their election.  Thereafter, Board members who have not completed or maintained current status with the required Ethics Training shall not be eligible to vote at Committee or Council Board meetings.

Download this DRAFT Agenda