COMPLAINT: No Proj Rvw Input Allowed at Board Meeting
Jan 14, 2016 13:07:25 GMT -7
Admin and chris like this
Post by debbieb on Jan 14, 2016 13:07:25 GMT -7
1/13/2016
Subject: FORMAL COMPLAINT-Landowner Input on Project Reviews no longer allowed by GLA
After attending the January 11th Board Meeting, I am submitting the attached formal complaint to the GLA Board related to the new GLA Board policy and procedures of “Meeting Decorum” instituted at that Board Meeting.
This new policy disallows landowner input on Project Reviews during a Board Meeting while Project Applications are discussed, effectively closing off the only mechanism landowners had to voice input or concerns on Project Applications that are being reviewed, prior to the Board’s vote to approve/disapprove at the GLA Board Meeting.
The policy only allows for 3-minute landowner input at either the beginning of the Board meeting (at the same time as when landowners receive access to the Project Applications in blue binders and get a first look at them) OR at the end of the meeting (after the Board has already voted to approve/disapprove the Project Applications in blue binders and there is no further opportunity to take landowner input and concerns into account).
Please see the attached GLA Formal Complaint Form, it’s associated PDF file used to provide additional detail, and the new GLA Meeting Decorum policy and procedures statement by Charlotte Mizzi, GLA President, distributed and instituted on January 11th 2016 (not IAW GLA Bylaws).
Debbie Blais SG 40-C
From: Deb B.
Sent: Thursday, January 14, 2016 8:26 AM
To: info@glamontana.org
Cc:
Subject: RE: FORMAL COMPLAINT-Landowner Input on Project Reviews no longer allowed by GLA
When I emailed this yesterday, I forgot the majority (10?) of the Board Members are unable to receive and open attachments sent to the info@glamontana.org account. In the interest of all Board Members being able to receive and read the text of this complaint, I’m resubmitting it with the text embedded in the email:
GLA Complaint: Landowner Input on Project Reviews No Longer Allowed by GLA Board
Bylaws:
Article VI, Board of Directors – Paragraph F, Director’s Meetings – “All business of the Board other than confidential matters (in the discretion of the Board) shall be conducted in open meeting.”
Article XI, Enforcement Powers and Procedures – Paragraph C, Due Process – “Prior to making and new Rules or Regulations, or taking any action to enforce any of the Covenants, Bylaws, Rules or Regulations, the Association, acting through the Board of Directors and officers, shall provide reasonable written notice in accordance with Article V, paragraph D, to all the Members (in the case of rule-making) or to all directly-affected Members (in the case of a proposed enforcement action) and a reasonable opportunity for any such Member to be heard and to give written or oral comment to the Board of Directors or its designee(s).”
History of the Problem: A “Meeting Decorum” notice from GLA President Charlotte Mizzi (see attachment) was handed out at the January 11th, 2016 Board Meeting as landowners arrived. This notice and new policy apparently was discussed and agreed upon by all Board Members prior to the meeting, as Mizzi made a point during the meeting of turning and looking at all Board Members and re-affirming with them that the meeting would be run “as we all agreed”.
The new meeting procedures were immediately put in effect at same meeting, in disregard of Bylaws Article XI, paragraph C. No reasonable written notice was provided to all Members - and especially to those directly-affected Members in attendance at the meeting - of the new Meeting Decorum policy and procedures. This new policy states that landowner comments are limited to 3 minutes either at the beginning or end of the meeting (not both) and that “Otherwise, there will be no landowner comment during the meeting.” The policy was strictly and purposefully enforced by Mizzi throughout the meeting with liberal use of her gavel.
The Meeting Decorum policy was even applied to 2 Project Review Committee Members (landowners who are not Board Members) who attempted to speak during the Project Reviews they were involved in, but were shut down by Mizzi. She instructed them to hold their Project Review related comments to the end of the meeting, long after the Board voted to approve both Projects. Then she challenged one of the Project Review Committee Members as having already used up her comment period at the beginning of the meeting!
Bylaws Article VI, paragraph F provides for “open” Board Meetings. Most people would consider an open meeting one in which they are allowed to know how decisions are made and participate in making them. Allowing landowners to speak during a Board Meeting and participate in a discussion that directly affects them may be done in an orderly and efficient fashion through the use of timed Agenda Items and Robert’s Rules of Order. The new Meeting Decorum policy and procedures enacted by Mizzi and the Board disallow any participation by landowners during what the Governing Documents dictate shall be “open” Board Meetings.
In regards to Project Reviews, the new Meeting Decorum policy states: “During the Project Review section of the meeting, if the Board needs additional information, the Board may ask the applicant, his representative and/or immediate neighbor to speak.” Landowners are no longer allowed to initiate any comments nor participate in Board discussion regarding the Project Review prior to the Board voting on it. This new policy effectively shuts down the last avenue of communications landowners had to provide input or voice concerns on new projects being developed in their neighborhood.
Landowners are otherwise prevented from participating and commenting on Project Reviews due to the following policies, procedures and practices currently used in GLA Project Reviews:
• Notice to landowners of any new GLA Project Application up for review is limited to email distribution (only to those landowners registered for email with the GLA) of the Board Meeting Agenda, usually sent out 1 day prior to the Board Meeting via email. Project Reviews are usually listed as an Agenda Item. In the case of the January 11th Board Meeting, no Agenda was emailed to landowners prior to the meeting, providing no notice to landowners at large of the 2 Projects under review at this meeting.
• No requirement to notify adjoining and nearby landowners of new Project Applications.
• No landowner notification nor access to Project Review site inspections.
• Landowner access to Project Applications is strictly limited to a few (2-3) hard copies located in blue binders and shared at the Board Meeting by all landowners in attendance, barely an hour or two before it is discussed and voted upon.
• In most every case, no open Project Review Committee Meeting is held nor noticed to landowners for open discussion on individual or upcoming Project Reviews. The Project Review Committee Members themselves are lucky to learn about and see the Project Application 3-4 days prior to the Board Meeting. They have to scramble – usually on a weekend – to coordinate amongst themselves to do their on-site review prior to Monday’s Board Meeting. They have little or no time during the business week to speak with the landowner submitting the application nor to investigate any potential issues with Park County DEQ or permits. The on-site review conducted by the Project Review Committee is not noticed nor open to neighboring landowners.
The above policies and procedures do not allow for landowner notice nor knowledge of Project Applications submitted and upcoming Project Reviews until the Board Meeting Agenda is distributed via email, typically 1 day prior the Board Meeting. The above policies and procedures do not allow for landowner knowledge or information regarding the Project Application itself until the beginning of the Board Meeting in which it will be discussed. And NOW, with the new Meeting Decorum policy and procedures, the landowners are gagged and not allowed to participate nor provide any comments or concerns regarding these Project Reviews during the meeting! A complete shutdown of all input from landowners which may have a vested concern in projects being developed right next to them or in their immediate or surrounding neighborhood! (Having a 3-minute comment period at the beginning of the meeting regarding a Project you just learned about from an Agenda Item the day before, and for which you are scrambling to find and read in the blue binder before the meeting begins, is in no way satisfactory!)
Yet another GLA Project Review procedure that impacts approval/disapproval of Projects:
• It’s unknown whether all Board Members, in particular those not on the Project Review Committee, are receiving and reviewing Project Applications prior to the Board Meeting in which they vote on them? It is especially alarming to think some Board Members may be voting against the recommendations of the Project Review Committee, perhaps never having seen and carefully reviewed the Project Application themselves!
What to Do?
• Allow landowner input *during* discussions of Project Reviews at “open” Board Meetings.
• Put the Meeting Decorum policy out for 30-day landowner review, as is done for all other GLA policies, procedures, instructions and rule changes. This should be done before it is placed in use again, as it severely affects any landowners attending Board meetings.
• If the Meeting Decorum policy and procedures are properly reviewed by landowners and then instituted, open Project Review Committee Meetings must be held ahead of time to discuss any projects to be voted on at the next Board Meeting; in order to accommodate the Meeting Decorum dictate: “We ask that all landowner comments and concerns be presented and addressed during the Board’s committee meetings.”
• Provide open Project Review Committee meetings that are scheduled and noticed in advance to landowners to provide in depth discussion and resolution of any issues prior to the Board Meeting where the Project will be discussed and voted upon.
• Ensure all landowners (especially adjacent and nearby landowners) have knowledge of and access to the Project Application itself 2 weeks prior to the Project Review Committee meeting where it will be discussed.
Subject: FORMAL COMPLAINT-Landowner Input on Project Reviews no longer allowed by GLA
After attending the January 11th Board Meeting, I am submitting the attached formal complaint to the GLA Board related to the new GLA Board policy and procedures of “Meeting Decorum” instituted at that Board Meeting.
This new policy disallows landowner input on Project Reviews during a Board Meeting while Project Applications are discussed, effectively closing off the only mechanism landowners had to voice input or concerns on Project Applications that are being reviewed, prior to the Board’s vote to approve/disapprove at the GLA Board Meeting.
The policy only allows for 3-minute landowner input at either the beginning of the Board meeting (at the same time as when landowners receive access to the Project Applications in blue binders and get a first look at them) OR at the end of the meeting (after the Board has already voted to approve/disapprove the Project Applications in blue binders and there is no further opportunity to take landowner input and concerns into account).
Please see the attached GLA Formal Complaint Form, it’s associated PDF file used to provide additional detail, and the new GLA Meeting Decorum policy and procedures statement by Charlotte Mizzi, GLA President, distributed and instituted on January 11th 2016 (not IAW GLA Bylaws).
Debbie Blais SG 40-C
From: Deb B.
Sent: Thursday, January 14, 2016 8:26 AM
To: info@glamontana.org
Cc:
Subject: RE: FORMAL COMPLAINT-Landowner Input on Project Reviews no longer allowed by GLA
When I emailed this yesterday, I forgot the majority (10?) of the Board Members are unable to receive and open attachments sent to the info@glamontana.org account. In the interest of all Board Members being able to receive and read the text of this complaint, I’m resubmitting it with the text embedded in the email:
GLA Complaint: Landowner Input on Project Reviews No Longer Allowed by GLA Board
Bylaws:
Article VI, Board of Directors – Paragraph F, Director’s Meetings – “All business of the Board other than confidential matters (in the discretion of the Board) shall be conducted in open meeting.”
Article XI, Enforcement Powers and Procedures – Paragraph C, Due Process – “Prior to making and new Rules or Regulations, or taking any action to enforce any of the Covenants, Bylaws, Rules or Regulations, the Association, acting through the Board of Directors and officers, shall provide reasonable written notice in accordance with Article V, paragraph D, to all the Members (in the case of rule-making) or to all directly-affected Members (in the case of a proposed enforcement action) and a reasonable opportunity for any such Member to be heard and to give written or oral comment to the Board of Directors or its designee(s).”
History of the Problem: A “Meeting Decorum” notice from GLA President Charlotte Mizzi (see attachment) was handed out at the January 11th, 2016 Board Meeting as landowners arrived. This notice and new policy apparently was discussed and agreed upon by all Board Members prior to the meeting, as Mizzi made a point during the meeting of turning and looking at all Board Members and re-affirming with them that the meeting would be run “as we all agreed”.
The new meeting procedures were immediately put in effect at same meeting, in disregard of Bylaws Article XI, paragraph C. No reasonable written notice was provided to all Members - and especially to those directly-affected Members in attendance at the meeting - of the new Meeting Decorum policy and procedures. This new policy states that landowner comments are limited to 3 minutes either at the beginning or end of the meeting (not both) and that “Otherwise, there will be no landowner comment during the meeting.” The policy was strictly and purposefully enforced by Mizzi throughout the meeting with liberal use of her gavel.
The Meeting Decorum policy was even applied to 2 Project Review Committee Members (landowners who are not Board Members) who attempted to speak during the Project Reviews they were involved in, but were shut down by Mizzi. She instructed them to hold their Project Review related comments to the end of the meeting, long after the Board voted to approve both Projects. Then she challenged one of the Project Review Committee Members as having already used up her comment period at the beginning of the meeting!
Bylaws Article VI, paragraph F provides for “open” Board Meetings. Most people would consider an open meeting one in which they are allowed to know how decisions are made and participate in making them. Allowing landowners to speak during a Board Meeting and participate in a discussion that directly affects them may be done in an orderly and efficient fashion through the use of timed Agenda Items and Robert’s Rules of Order. The new Meeting Decorum policy and procedures enacted by Mizzi and the Board disallow any participation by landowners during what the Governing Documents dictate shall be “open” Board Meetings.
In regards to Project Reviews, the new Meeting Decorum policy states: “During the Project Review section of the meeting, if the Board needs additional information, the Board may ask the applicant, his representative and/or immediate neighbor to speak.” Landowners are no longer allowed to initiate any comments nor participate in Board discussion regarding the Project Review prior to the Board voting on it. This new policy effectively shuts down the last avenue of communications landowners had to provide input or voice concerns on new projects being developed in their neighborhood.
Landowners are otherwise prevented from participating and commenting on Project Reviews due to the following policies, procedures and practices currently used in GLA Project Reviews:
• Notice to landowners of any new GLA Project Application up for review is limited to email distribution (only to those landowners registered for email with the GLA) of the Board Meeting Agenda, usually sent out 1 day prior to the Board Meeting via email. Project Reviews are usually listed as an Agenda Item. In the case of the January 11th Board Meeting, no Agenda was emailed to landowners prior to the meeting, providing no notice to landowners at large of the 2 Projects under review at this meeting.
• No requirement to notify adjoining and nearby landowners of new Project Applications.
• No landowner notification nor access to Project Review site inspections.
• Landowner access to Project Applications is strictly limited to a few (2-3) hard copies located in blue binders and shared at the Board Meeting by all landowners in attendance, barely an hour or two before it is discussed and voted upon.
• In most every case, no open Project Review Committee Meeting is held nor noticed to landowners for open discussion on individual or upcoming Project Reviews. The Project Review Committee Members themselves are lucky to learn about and see the Project Application 3-4 days prior to the Board Meeting. They have to scramble – usually on a weekend – to coordinate amongst themselves to do their on-site review prior to Monday’s Board Meeting. They have little or no time during the business week to speak with the landowner submitting the application nor to investigate any potential issues with Park County DEQ or permits. The on-site review conducted by the Project Review Committee is not noticed nor open to neighboring landowners.
The above policies and procedures do not allow for landowner notice nor knowledge of Project Applications submitted and upcoming Project Reviews until the Board Meeting Agenda is distributed via email, typically 1 day prior the Board Meeting. The above policies and procedures do not allow for landowner knowledge or information regarding the Project Application itself until the beginning of the Board Meeting in which it will be discussed. And NOW, with the new Meeting Decorum policy and procedures, the landowners are gagged and not allowed to participate nor provide any comments or concerns regarding these Project Reviews during the meeting! A complete shutdown of all input from landowners which may have a vested concern in projects being developed right next to them or in their immediate or surrounding neighborhood! (Having a 3-minute comment period at the beginning of the meeting regarding a Project you just learned about from an Agenda Item the day before, and for which you are scrambling to find and read in the blue binder before the meeting begins, is in no way satisfactory!)
Yet another GLA Project Review procedure that impacts approval/disapproval of Projects:
• It’s unknown whether all Board Members, in particular those not on the Project Review Committee, are receiving and reviewing Project Applications prior to the Board Meeting in which they vote on them? It is especially alarming to think some Board Members may be voting against the recommendations of the Project Review Committee, perhaps never having seen and carefully reviewed the Project Application themselves!
What to Do?
• Allow landowner input *during* discussions of Project Reviews at “open” Board Meetings.
• Put the Meeting Decorum policy out for 30-day landowner review, as is done for all other GLA policies, procedures, instructions and rule changes. This should be done before it is placed in use again, as it severely affects any landowners attending Board meetings.
• If the Meeting Decorum policy and procedures are properly reviewed by landowners and then instituted, open Project Review Committee Meetings must be held ahead of time to discuss any projects to be voted on at the next Board Meeting; in order to accommodate the Meeting Decorum dictate: “We ask that all landowner comments and concerns be presented and addressed during the Board’s committee meetings.”
• Provide open Project Review Committee meetings that are scheduled and noticed in advance to landowners to provide in depth discussion and resolution of any issues prior to the Board Meeting where the Project will be discussed and voted upon.
• Ensure all landowners (especially adjacent and nearby landowners) have knowledge of and access to the Project Application itself 2 weeks prior to the Project Review Committee meeting where it will be discussed.
