Garden By Laws Updated January 2024
McNEAR PARK COMMUNITY GARDEN BYLAWS
ARTICLE I
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the McNear Park Community Garden (hereafter “the Garden”) is to nurture our connection to the earth and each other through education, inspiration, and service in the Garden.
ARTICLE II
THE PRINCIPAL OFFICE
The principal office for the transaction of the business of the Garden shall be the Garden, which lies between McNear Park and the Cavanaugh Center, with access from G Street, in Petaluma, California.
ARTICLE III
MEMBERSHIP
SECTION 1: Garden members at time of the adoption of these bylaws shall be referred to as “members” or “plot holders.”
SECTION 2: New members shall sign a declaration supporting the mission statement and the Garden rules. The Garden reserves the right to deny membership to those persons who, by word or deed, do not support the mission statement or Garden rules. Minors shall obtain parental consent.
SECTION 3: The work commitment for members shall be 24 hours per year for a full plot and 12 hours for a half-plot, completed at work days or completed as individual responsibilities. Work commitments may be satisfied through the monthly work day, set at the discretion of the Board at the January meeting, or through individual work assignments from a Board member. To build community and encourage participation in work days, a member's work commitment shall include attending at lease 2 monthly work days per year for a minimum of 2 hours per work day. Failure to meet the work commitment and Garden rules may result in forfeiture of gardening privileges with due warning. Due warning is two (2) written warnings. The Board may, upon request by a member, use its discretion to modify the work commitment based on a majority vote of the Board.
SECTION 4: Voting. Each plot fee paid, regardless of plot size, entitles the plot-holders to one vote, regardless of the number of individuals associated with each plot. Only those persons listed on the plot application shall have the authority to cast the vote for each plot. Voting shall occur in-person at general membership meetings, as specified in Article IV, with no proxy or absentee voting permitted.
SECTION 5: RESIGNATION OF MEMBERSHIP: Submit a letter or email to the Board Secretary, and the Secretary shall provide notice to members via email listserve and shall post an amended membership list in the Garden Shed.
SECTION 6: TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP: Notwithstanding Article III, Section 3, the Board, on its own or upon the request of a member, may terminate a member’s gardening privileges upon a finding of gross misconduct. Gross misconduct means a serious and extraordinary violation of these bylaws, the Garden rules, or commonly accepted behavioral norms that, in the Board’s discretion, warrants immediate dismissal without providing two written warnings. The Board may only make a finding of gross misconduct upon a majority vote of current board members and after providing written notice to the member(s) involved (including a written summary of the alleged incident and issue), an opportunity for the member(s) involved to meet with the Board and present their position and argument. Any finding of gross misconduct shall be made at the complete discretion of the Board. Any member terminated for gross misconduct shall have his or her garden fee for that year refunded. In exchange for participation in the garden and enjoyment of that privilege and benefits, members waive any legal rights or remedies in any civil action at law or equity against the Board or Garden for termination of membership under this Section.
ARTICLE IV
MEETINGS
SECTION 1: PLACE OF MEETINGS: Meetings of the Board of Directors of the Garden shall be held at any location within Petaluma, as may be agreed between the Board members.
SECTION 2: REGULAR MEETINGS: A regular meeting of the Board shall be held quarterly or on an as-needed basis. Only members of the Board will be authorized to participate in the formal business matters of the Board including: making corrections to minutes, motions, and voting. A quorum will be determined by the number of Board members that year (i.e. if there are 5 Board members a quorum would be three (3). Attendance and input from Garden members shall be encouraged.
SECTION 3: GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS: General Membership meetings shall occur three times per year in January, May, and October. The dates of all three meetings shall be set at the January meeting.
SECTION 4: SPECIAL MEETINGS: Special meetings of a Committee (meaning the Board or a special project sub-Committee) for any purpose whatsoever, may be called at any time by petition of three (3) members of the Board, in the case of a Board meeting, or by a quorum, in the case of a sub-Committee, provided that no less than 48 hours notice be given to the members of the Board or sub-Committee.
SECTION 5: NOTICE OF MEETINGS: A written notice of each quarterly meeting of the Board and each General Membership meeting shall be e-mailed to each member of the Board and Garden members and posted on the Garden shed no less than 14 days preceding the meeting. The notice shall specify the date, time and place of the meeting and shall set forth the agenda for the meeting. Where time permits, the notice provisions shall apply to special meetings. Otherwise, notice of special meetings shall be given personally, by e-mail and/or by telephone.
SECTION 6: ORDER OF BUSINESS: The order of Business at Board and General Membership meetings shall be as follows:
1. Call to Order (by President if not present by Secretary)
2. Roll Call (will be noted by Secretary in minutes)
3. Visitors Presentation (if any and limited to 3-5 minutes per group/org)
4. Approval of minutes
5. Correspondence
6. Reports
A). Officers
B). Members
7. Old Business
8. New Business
9. Schedule Next meeting
10. Adjournment
ARTICLE V
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
SECTION 1: Garden members shall elect of the following Board officers:
a. President
b. Secretary
c. 2 at-large Board Members
d. Treasurer
SECTION 2: The duties of the President shall be to preside over the Board meetings and General Membership Meetings. The President may delegate the President’s duty at General Membership meetings to any Member of the Garden. The duties of the Secretary are the management of documentation of Board business. The duties of the Treasurer will include collecting annual dues and overseeing reimbursements of pre-approved petty expenses incurred by the Board or by Members.
SECTION 3: Duties such as correspondence pertaining to the Garden, circulation of attendance sheets at each meeting, taking of the Membership Meeting minutes, supervision of Archives, providing notice to Garden members of General Membership and Board meetings, and providing Due Warning pursuant to Article III, Section III shall be assumed by various Board members, at the discretion of the Board.
SECTION 4: More than two consecutive absences without notice (not informing the Board of the intended absence) will result in that member’s dismissal from the Board. In case of dismissal, the Secretary shall prepare a letter to the member with the President’s signature.
SECTION 5: RESIGNATION OF BOARD MEMBERSHIP: Submit a letter or email to the Board, and the Board President, or Secretary if the President has resigned, shall provide notice to garden members via email listserve and shall post a notice in the Garden Shed.
ARTICLE VI
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
SECTION 1: All officers shall hold office for a term of 1 year. Officers shall serve no more than three consecutive terms. In 2021, the Board shall designate two members that will term out after one year in order to achieve a staggered Board membership.
SECTION 2: Nominations shall take place in the month of December with a deadline of the 31st.
SECTION 3: Election of officers will take place in January at the regular scheduled general meeting.
SECTION 4: All vacancies shall be filled by a special election if the seat is vacated before term is finished. A nomination and election to fill the position(s) shall be held within three months after the vacancy is declared pursuant to Article V, Section 5.
SECTION 5: Voting for officers shall occur pursuant to Article III, Section 4.
ARTICLE VII
These By-Laws may be amended by a two-thirds majority of members at the January Membership Meeting. A by-laws committee appointed by the Board may propose amendments or any member may propose amendments. Any proposed amendments shall be submitted to the Board by December 1 and the Board Secretary shall distribute all proposed amendments in writing to all members by December 15. The Secretary shall distribute all proposed amendments by posting such amendments to the email list serve and providing sufficient copies in the Garden Shed. The Board Secretary shall provide sufficient copies of proposed amendments in writing, showing additions or deletions to the currently adopted by-laws (e.g. MS Word track changes format), for members at the January Membership Meeting.
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