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WEST
VIRGINIA PLANNING ASSOCIATION
The WVPA's by-laws were most recently ammended by the general membership at its Annual Meeting on October 16, 2000.
Chapter
Constitution and By-Laws
(Revised:
February 7, 1963; October 16, 1964; October 15, 1966; March
1, 1967; October 31, 1967; September 29, 1970; October 12,
1971; September 6, 1973; September 30, 1975; January 26,
1976; September 13, 1976; September 26, 1978; October 22,
1979; May 27, 1980; October 20, 1980; September 27, 1983;
May 1, 1984; October 21, 1985; June 17, 1989; September
20, 1994; September 1995; October 16, 2000.)
Article
I - Name, Area and Definitions
Section
1. Name - The name of the Chapter shall be West
Virginia Planning Association, a Chapter of the American
Planning Association and is referred to in these by-laws
as "the Chapter."
Section
2. Chapter Area - The area served by the Chapter
is the State of West Virginia.
Section
3. Definitions - The following terms shall have the
meanings contained herein as related to these by-laws.
(a) American
Planning Association - The national organization of which
this Chapter is a part and which is referred to in these
by-laws as "APA".
(b) American
Institute of Certified Planners - A subsidiary institute
of the American Planning Association and which is referred
to in these by-laws as "AICP".
(c) Board
of Directors - The National APA Board of Directors.
(d) Executive
Committee - The West Virginia Planning Association's officers,
Regional Representatives, Immediate Past President, Past
Presidents, Local Planning Official Representative, and
Student Representative.
(e) National
Office - The office of APA designated by APA to service
Chapter and membership matters.
(f) Executive
Director - The duly appointed Executive Director of APA.
(g) Executive
Secretary - The management employee of the Chapter.
(h) Address
of Record - For APA members, the address furnished to the
Chapter by the National Office. It is a member's responsibility
to notify the National Office of any change of address.
Article
II - Objectives
Section
1. The Chapter shall be non-profit and shall have
the following objectives:
(a) Promote
sustainable economic and community development opportunities
within the State of West Virginia.
(b)Disseminate
information on current planning practices, policies and
new legislative initiatives on the local, state and federal
levels.
(c)Draft
and recommend revisions to relevant planning legislation
on the local, state and federal levels.
(d) Improve
the quality of life and environment in West Virginia.
(e)Promote
APA membership among Chapter members and participation in
national events and training.
(f)Promote
and provide professional development opportunities for members
to enhance their planning skills and experience, including
membership in AICP.
Article
III - Membership and Dues
Section
1. The Chapter shall consist of four classes of membership
as follows:
(a) Professional
Planner - Any professional planner or any person having
a professional interest in planning and development. All
Professional Planner members have voting privileges in the
Chapter.
(b) Lay
Planner - A member who serves as an appointed member to
a planning commission, board of zoning appeals, or comparable
policy board, including elected officials, as well as any
citizen interested in planning. All Lay Planner members
have voting privileges in the Chapter.
(c) Honorary
Member - Any individual whom the Chapter wishes to recognize
for outstanding service. Honorary memberships shall be lifetime
memberships. They shall be awarded by majority vote of the
Chapter at an annual meeting. Honorary members have voting
privileges in the Chapter.
(d) Student
Member - Any full-time high school or college student. Student
members have voting privileges in the Chapter.
APA
members whose address is outside the Chapter area may become
Chapter members upon payment of applicable dues. Only APA
members are eligible to vote on national organization issues,
APA by-laws, and APA officers.
Section
2. Annual Chapter dues shall be payable by members,
excepting Honorary Members, upon admission to the Chapter.
Chapter dues shall be as follows:
(a) Professional
Planner Member $45/Year.
(b) Lay
Planner Member $20/Year; $10/Year if all members
of commission or board join.
(c)Honorary
Member No dues
(d)Student
Member $5/Year
APA
members' rebates from the National Office shall be accepted
as Chapter dues.
Dues
are payable on January 1 of each year and are effective
from January 1 through December 31. New non-APA members
joining after July 1 shall pay 1/2 the normal dues amount.
Membership is effective immediately upon payment of dues.
Any
change in the dues structure for members must be approved
by a simple majority of the voting members present at an
annual meeting.
AICP
dues rebates received by the Chapter shall be dedicated
for Professional Development Committee use.
Article
IV - Executive Committee
Section
1. The activities, business and property of the Chapter
shall be managed by an Executive Committee consisting of
the officers of the Chapter, a local planning official representative,
the immediate past president, a student representative,
and the regional representatives. Any other past presidents
indicating in writing a desire to serve shall be a member
of the Executive Committee.
Section
2. A regular meeting of the Executive Committee shall
be held when called by the President, or in the event of
his/her absence or inability to act, by the Vice President,
or by request of a majority of the Executive Committee.
Section
3. Notice of time and place of all regular and special
meetings of the Executive Committee shall be mailed to each
member of the Executive Committee by the Secretary at least
ten days prior to the time fixed for the meetings.
Section
4. A quorum for the transaction of business at any
regular or special meeting of the Executive Committee shall
consist of five members, provided that at least three officers
are present.
Section
5. Vacancies in the Executive Committee shall be
filled for the unexpired terms by the remaining members
of the Executive Committee at any regular or special Executive
Committee meeting.
Section
6. The Executive Committee may, by resolution, appoint
any member to act as Executive Secretary of the Chapter
to manage the business of the Chapter and to be delegated
such executive powers at the discretion of the Executive
Committee.
Article
V - Officers
Section
1. Election of Chapter officers shall be by mail
ballot to the membership eligible to vote, except as noted
in Section 1a of this Article. Ballots shall be mailed in
November of each year and returned within thirty days. All
officers shall assume their respective duties on January
1, of the following year. Officers shall include a President,
a Vice President, a Secretary and a Treasurer, all being
members of the Chapter. All, except the President, shall
be elected for a term of one year and shall hold office
until their successors are duly elected and qualified. The
President shall be elected for a term of two years. A recall
election may be conducted for the office of the President
only, upon receipt of a petition by twenty-five percent
of the membership.
Section
1a. The Nominating Committee shall announce its recommendations
for officers for the subsequent year at least thirty days
prior to the Chapter’s annual meeting. Nominations will
promptly be made known by mail to all the membership. At
the annual meeting, other nominations will be accepted from
the floor for any office or member of the Executive Committee.
If there is only one nominee for an office, then that person
may be elected by acclamation and that position will not
be included on the ballot which is mailed to members. If
there is only one nominee for each office, then the entire
slate may be adopted by acclamation and no ballots will
be mailed.
Section
2. The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer
of the Chapter and shall have direct charge, supervision
and management over its cooperation, properties and financial
affairs; shall select and appoint committees as he/she deems
proper; shall sign all membership certificates and written
contracts of the Chapter; shall preside at all meetings
of the Executive Committee and the annual meeting of the
Chapter; shall be a member of APA; shall represent the Chapter
on the APA Chapter Presidents' Council; shall submit to
the Executive Director proposed by-laws or amendments as
required by APA; shall transmit to the Executive Director
a list of all Chapter officers (including addresses and
telephone numbers) within thirty days of their election;
prepare correspondence pertaining to APA, AICP and Chapter
membership; shall appoint ad hoc committees as deemed necessary;
shall have all the powers and perform all such other duties
as are incident to the office. In the event of the absence
or disability of the President, these duties shall be discharged
by the Vice-President, who also shall be a member of APA
and who shall have all the powers of the President during
such absence or disability. At the request of the President,
the Chapter shall pay the APA dues for the President.
Section
3. The Vice President shall serve as chair of the
annual conference and assume responsibility for all program
planning and report on such activity at all Executive Committee
meetings. In the absence of the President, the Vice President
shall assume the temporary responsibilities of the chair.
At the request of the Vice President, the Chapter shall
pay the APA dues for the Vice President.
Section
4. The Secretary shall issue notice of all meetings
of the Chapter and the Executive Committee; shall attend
and keep the minutes of the same; shall have charge of all
Chapter books, records and papers; shall be custodian of
the Chapter seal; shall attest with his/her signature and
impress with the Chapter seal all membership certificates,
written contracts and other papers of the Chapter; shall
transmit to the Executive Director at least two copies of
each publication of the Chapter; shall file an annual report
including a list of APA and non-APA members of the Chapter
to APA; and shall perform all such duties that are incident
to the office.
Section
5. The Treasurer shall keep regular books of account
and shall submit them, together with all vouchers, receipts,
records and other papers, to the President or Executive
Committee for their examination and approval as often as
they may require, and the Treasurer shall perform all such
other duties as are incident to the office. The Treasurer
shall prepare in writing an annual financial report as of
June 30 each year for distribution to all members.
Section
6. The President, Vice President, and Treasurer and
Committee Chair shall report on Chapter activities at Executive
Committee meetings and at the annual meeting.
Section
7. Members in each planning and development region
shall select one (1) executive committee member to be their
Regional Representative on the Executive Committee. An alternate
may also be selected in the same manner.
The
duties of the Regional Representatives and their alternates
will be to execute recommendations on behalf of the Chapter
in providing liaison and coordination with all planning
activity within the representatives' regions.
The
following counties shall describe each of the planning regions:
- Region
1 - McDowell, Mercer, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers and Wyoming
- Region
2 - Cabell, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, Mingo and Wayne
- Region
3 - Boone, Clay, Kanawha and Putnam
- Region
4 - Fayette, Greenbrier, Nicholas, Pocahontas and
Webster
- Region
5 - Calhoun, Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane, Tyler,
Wirt and Wood.
- Region
6 - Doddridge, Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Preston
and Taylor
- Region
7 - Barbour, Braxton, Gilmer, Lewis, Randolph, Tucker
and Upshur
- Region
8 - Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral and Pendleton
- Region
9 - Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan
- Region
10 - Marshall, Ohio and Wetzel
- Region
11 - Brooke and Hancock
Section
8. Student Representative - The Executive Committee
shall determine the manner of nomination for the term of
office and the election of a Student Representative, provided
no student member other than those enrolled in a course
of study in a planning-related field shall be eligible to
be elected as Student Representative. The Student Representative
shall serve as a voting member of the Executive Committee.
Section
9. Local Planning Official Representative - The Executive
Committee shall determine the term of office and manner
of nomination and election of a Local Planning Official
Representative. The Local Planning Official Representative
shall be a member who serves as an appointed or elected
member of a planning commission, board of zoning appeals,
city or town council, county commission, or comparable policy
board and shall serve as a voting member of the Executive
Committee.
Article
VI - Meetings
Section
1. There shall be at least one plenary meeting of
the Chapter held annually at a time and place to be designated
by the Executive Committee.
Section
2. Special meetings may be called by the President
or by a majority of the Executive Committee.
Section
3. The Secretary shall cause written notice to be
sent to the members of this Association approximately ten
days prior to the regular or special meetings.
Section
4. All meetings shall be governed by Roberts Rules
of Order.
Section
5. Ten percent of the voting members shall constitute
a quorum.
Article
VII - Standing Committees
Section1.
Legislative Committee--The Executive Committee shall appoint
at least three members to serve on the Legislative Committee
to organize and facilitate the work necessary to draft and
propose new State legislative initiatives on planning related
issues. The Legislative Committee shall report to the Chapter
at each Executive Committee meeting and shall advise the
Chapter on related matters as referred to this Committee
by the membership. All findings and recommendations shall
be presented to the Executive Committee for action.
Section
2. Membership Committee- The Executive Committee
shall appoint at least two members to serve on the Membership
Committee which shall:
(a)Solicit
new members and retain current members, making specific
recommendations on recruitment and retention;
(b)Prepare
a membership report for the Chapter’s annual meeting.
Section
3. Professional Development Committee -- The Executive
Committee shall appoint three Chapter members who are AICP
members to serve on the Chapter Professional Development
Committee. The President shall designate a chairperson from
among the Committee. The duties of the Committee shall be:
(a) To
advise prospective AICP members of the qualifications, purposes
and programs of the Institute;
(b)To
advise AICP members of opportunities and/or requirements
for continuing education and professional development.
(c) To
assist APA members desiring to become AICP members with
the examination; and
(d)To
provide education and training for all Chapter members in
the practice of good planning and development in West Virginia.
Section
4. Public Policy Committee - The Executive Committee
shall appoint three members to serve on the Public Policy
Committee which shall:
(a)Coordinate
the review and adoption of planning policies for the Chapter;
and
(b)Recommend
the legislative priorities of the Chapter to the Executive
Committee for review and approval.
Article
VIII - Amendments
Section
1. Amendments to this constitution and the by-laws may
be made by a vote of two-thirds of the voting members present
at any annual meeting of the Chapter, or at any special
meeting with a quorum, when the proposed amendment has been
set forth in the notice of such meeting. Such notice must
be given at least thirty days prior to any meeting. Amendments
may also be made by a majority vote of those eligible members
responding to a mail ballot.
Approved
this 16th day of October, 2000.
(Signed)
Marjorie Ryan, Chapter President
(Attested)
Beth Cade, Acting Secretary
