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RESOLUTION NO. 12,728
A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE AMENDED BYLAWS OF THE LITTLE ROCK
LAND BANK COMMISSION; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
WHEREAS, the City of Little Rock created the Little Rock Land Bank Commission (the
"Commission ") with the enactment of Little Rock Ordinance No. 19,911 on January 15, 2008, and
WHEREAS, the Commission is required to draft bylaws which shall be effective upon approval by
-the Board of Directors, and
WHEREAS, the Commission has recently adopted its bylaws and requires the approval of the Board
before they are effective.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY OF LITTLE
ROCK, ARKANSAS:
Section 1. The Board of Directors hereby approves the bylaws of the Little Rock Sister Land Bank
Commission, a copy of which is attached to this resolution.
Section 2. Severability. In the event any title, section, paragraph, item, sentence, clause,
phrase, or word of this resolution is declared or adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such
declaration or adjudication shall not affect the remaining portions of the resolution which shall remain
in full force and effect as if the portion so declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional were not
originally a part of the resolution.
Section 3. Repealer. All laws, ordinances, resolutions, or parts of the same, that are inconsistent
with the provisions of this resolution, are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
ADOPTED: August 4, 2008
ATTEST: APPROVED
Na cy Wood City Clerk Mark
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM:
Thomas M. Carpenter, City Attorney
[PAGE 1 OF 11
Resolution
Approving the Amended Bylaws of the Little Rock Land Bank Commission
BYLAWS FOR THE LITTLE ROCK
LAND BANK COMMISSION
ARTICLE I.
NAME.
The name of this organization shall be the Little Rock Land Bank Commission (the
"Commission ").
ARTICLE II.
PURPOSE.
The purpose of the Commission is to reverse urban blight, increase home
ownership and stability of property values, provide affordable housing, improve
the health and safety of neighborhoods within the City of Little Rock (the "City "),
and maintain the architectural fabric of the community.
ARTICLE III.
MEMBERSHIP.
Section 1. The Commission shall consist of nine (9) qualified persons to be
appointed by the Mayor, subject to confirmation by City Board of Directors. The
Commissioners shall hold the qualifications prescribed in the ordinance which
created the Commission, Little Rock Ordinance ( "LRO ") No. 19,911 (January 15,
2008) .
Section 2. The Commissioners shall have terms of four (4) years, except that
the initial members shall have staggered terms to be decided by drawing lots.
Five (5) members shall have four (4) year terms, and four (4) members shall have
two (2) year terms. A Commissioner shall serve until his or her successor is
selected. Commissioners shall be limited to the number of consecutive terms that
can be served as set forth in City ordinances, resolutions or policy statements.
Section 3. Vacancies shall be filled by the Mayor, subject to confirmation by
the City Board of Directors.
Section 4. Pursuant to Little Rock, Ark., Rev. Code ( "LRC ") § 2- 262(c), when a
member of the Commission has missed more than 25% of all regular meetings in
one (1) calendar year, or more than three (3) consecutive regularly scheduled
meetings, the Commissioner is automatically removed from his or her position. If,
prior to the next scheduled meeting of the City Board of Directors, the
Commissioner submits in writing his or her desire to remain on the Commission,
the City Board of Directors, by a majority vote, shall allow the member to
continue to serve.
ARTICLE IV.
MEETINGS.
Section 1. Regular meetings of the Commission shall be held on the third
Wednesday of every month at 11:30 a.m., in the Willie L. Hinton Neighborhood
Resource Center,
3805 West 12'" Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72204, or such other place as
designated by the Chair of the Commission.
Section 2. Special meetings of the Commission may be called by the Chair, or
in the absence of the Chair, by the Vice - Chair, or upon written request of five (5)
or more Commissioners. Notice of a special meeting shall be given as prescribed
by the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act ( "FOIA ").
Section 3. A quorum required for the transaction of business shall be defined
as a simple majority of the existing members of the Commission. The affirmative
vote of a majority of the members present at a meeting shall be necessary for
any action taken. No vacancy in the membership of the Commission shall impair
the right of the quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties of the
Commission. All meetings of the Commission shall be conducted according to
the latest revision of Robert's Rules of Order.
Section 4. An agenda for each regularly scheduled meeting and the minutes
of the last meeting shall be sent to each Commission member in advance of the
meeting. The Chair shall approve the agenda for each meeting and additional
items may be proposed by any member of the Commission. The agenda shall
consist of the following topics:
(a) Roll Call
(b) Finding of a quorum
(c) Approval of minutes of previous meeting
(d) Citizen communication (limited to 3 minutes per person, with a
maximum of 21 minutes allowed for citizen communication)
(e) Old Business
(f) New Business
(g) Adjournment
Section 5. The Commission shall act as a body in making its decisions and
announcing them. No Member other than the Chair shall speak or act for the
Commission without prior authorization.
Section 6. All meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public, and
notice of these meetings shall be provided in compliance with FOIA.
Section 7. A record of the proceedings of the Commission shall be
maintained.
ARTICLE V.
OFFICERS.
Section 1. The officers of the Commission shall consist of a Chair, Vice -Chair
and Secretary. The Chair and Vice -Chair shall be elected by the Commission.
The Secretary
shall be the City Manager or his designated representative who shall serve in an
ex- officio capacity.
Section 2. Terms of officers shall be for one (1) year and officers may succeed
themselves.
Section 3. The duties of the officers shall be as follows:
CHAIR. The Chair shall preside over all meetings and is responsible
for establishing the monthly meeting agenda. The Chair shall have the authority
to call special meetings provided the proper notices are given. The Chair shall
appoint the members of all committees and is considered an ex- officio member
of all committees. The Chair shall sign all approved minutes and, when
authorized, other documents on behalf of the Commission.
VICE - CHAIR. In the event of the absence of the Chair, the Vice -Chair shall
assume the duties of the Chair.
SECRETARY. The Secretary shall keep accurate records of all proceedings of the
Commission. Minutes of all Commission meetings shall be promptly recorded
and maintained and shall be open for public inspection. The Secretary shall
keep an accurate record of attendance. The Secretary shall also be responsible
for:
(1) Preparing routine correspondence.
(2) Maintaining the files of the Commission
(3) Keeping track of the current membership of the Commission and
the terms of office of the individual members.
(4) Maintaining a record of the organization of the Commission and its
staff.
(S) At the direction of the Chair, prepare the agenda of items to be
considered at meetings of the Commission.
(6) Attesting documents of the Commission.
ARTICLE VI.
DUTIES AND POWERS.
The Commission shall have all the duties, powers and authority provided for in
LRO No. 19,911.
ARTICLE VII.
COMMITTEES.
The Commission may establish standing and special committees as deemed
necessary and appropriate. Standing committees shall be composed of two (2)
or more Commissioners, but less than a quorum of the full Commission, and shall
hold membership for one (1) year or until succeeded. Special committees shall
be dissolved when the particular function with which the special committee was
charged has been completed. No special committee shall exist for period of
more than twelve (12) consecutive months, except by the direction of the full
Commission. The Chair also has the discretion to create subcommittees to assist
standing and special committees with specific projects or functions. The
subcommittees would consist of private citizens appointed by the Chair, with the
advice and counsel of the full Commission, who are determined to possess
expertise in an area that would be of benefit to a standing or special committee.
These subcommittees shall be dissolved upon completion of their work, as
determined by the Chair, with the advice and counsel of the full Commission. All
committees are advisory in nature and do not have the authority to make final
decisions on Commission policy regarding any Commission business. Such
decisions are reserved for the Commission itself and must be considered at a
regular or special meeting.
ARTICLE VIII.
LAND BANK REDEVELOPMENT PLAN.
As required by LRO No. 19,911, the Commission hereby adopts its Land Bank
Redevelopment Plan:
The Commission shall focus its limited resources on those target areas of the City
that show significant signs of decline with the objective of achieving a
concentration of revitalization and stabilized or improved property values that
will spur private investment in surrounding areas. Signs of decline could be, for
example, the highest concentrations of vacant structures, the most criminal
activity, the highest poverty rates, the least owner occupied housing or the least
capacity for self - revitalization.
In the selected target areas, the Commission may:
1. Seek to acquire individual or contiguous groups of properties, strategically
located in the general vicinity of established public or private institutions.
2. Attempt to clear title on all parcels it acquires.
3. With respect to its parcels and the surrounding neighborhoods, advocate
for actions that will help stabilize or enhance property values, such as seeking an
affordable method for clearing titles on parcels owned by others; requesting that
City Directors and departments demolish unsafe and, vacant structures, make
street repairs as well as sidewalk and drainage improvements; concentrate code
enforcement ; concentrate federal Community Development Block Grants
(CDBG) and HOME Funds; and
4. Offer its parcels individually or in groups as it may determine is in the best
interests of the neighborhood and in a manner consistent with LRO No. 19,911.
ARTICLE IX.
AMENDMENTS OF BYLAWS. These bylaws may be amended at any regular
business meeting of the Commission by a two - thirds vote of the entire
membership of the Commission, provided the amendment has been submitted
in writing at the previous regular business meeting, and shall become effective
when approved by the Little Rock Board of Directors.
ATTEST:
Secretary:
Chair:
Approved this 161h day of July, 2008, by the Little Rock Land Bank Commission.