Proposed Amendment to FPNA bylaws

February 22, 2018

The current Forest Park Neighborhood Association Bylaws language about business membership is difficult to apply.  One requirement for business membership is “a location within the boundaries where business is regularly conducted, and where an average of at least 20 hours of work per week is performed on behalf of the business.”  It is not clear, for example, whether a lawn care business that does 20 hours of business each week in our boundary would qualify.   If the lawn care business has 5 employees, and they each work 4 hours a week in our neighborhood, would that qualify the business for membership?  The proposed change clarifies which businesses and non-profits qualify for membership.

The proposed change would not affect the neighborhood email list, which is open to anyone.  Our regular meetings are open to the public, the proposed amendment would not change that.

Qualification for official neighborhood membership only affects eligibility to vote in our elections.  Residents who operate a business out of their home in our neighborhood qualify for voting membership based on their residence, and a separate paragraph in the bylaws prohibits a home business from qualifying for an additional membership.

The bylaws currently say:

ARTICLE IV. MEMBERSHIP:

Section 1 Qualifications: Membership in FPNA shall be open to residents and owners of property within the FPNA boundaries, and holders of a business license for a location within the boundaries. Membership is obtained by filing a written request to be a member and supporting documentation as requested to establish qualification. Membership shall be denied or terminated if the basis of entitlement to membership is not established or ceases to exist. Entitlement to membership is further defined and limited as follows:

…

c. A business shall not qualify on the basis of a business license unless there is a location within the boundaries where business is regularly conducted, and where an average of at least 20 hours of work per week is performed on behalf of the business. As requested by the board, a business having or seeking membership shall provide the number of hours worked in the neighborhood during the 365 days preceding the request, or the number of days worked since the business started, whichever is less. Hours worked may include work performed in the neighborhood to establish the business, e.g., construction or installation of fixtures. The Board may deny or terminate membership if the information is not provided by a person having substantial ownership or management duties, and authority to speak for the business, within 60 days of a request by the Board.

Paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section would not be affected by the amendment.

The proposed amendment would replace ARTICLE IV, Section 1, paragraph (c) with the following:

c. A business licensee or government recognized private non-profit organization must have operations regularly performed on real property located within the boundaries of FPNA which are owned or rented by the business or organization.  Such operations must have been established within the boundaries of FPNA at least thirty (30) days immediately prior to making application for membership.  The applicant business operator shall declare intent to continue qualifying operations on the qualifying site.

You can comment on the proposed amendment at the March 20 meeting of Forest Park Neighborhood, or via email to