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Historic Preservation Commission By-Laws
BY-LAWS OF THE WESTWOOD HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
Adopted November 12, 2014
GENERAL RULES AND PROCEDURES
These by-laws establish the rules and procedures under which the Westwood Historic
Preservation Commission executes its duties and functions as set forth in the Borough of
Westwood, NJ Ordinance: Chapter 195. LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT, Part 4.
Supplementary Provisions, Article XXIII. Historic Preservation [Added 3/18/2008 by
Ordinance No. 08-08].
I. NAME
A. The name of the organization shall be the WESTWOOD HISTORIC PRESERVATION
COMMISSION (WHPC).
II. PURPOSE
A. The purpose of the WHPC is to identify, evaluate, and protect historic properties; promote
preservation planning; and foster educational initiatives about historic preservation practices and
methods, as prescribed in "Section 195-178. Responsibilities, powers and duties of WHPC."
III. MEMBERS
A. The membership of the WHPC shall conform to the requirements of "Section 195-177.
Composition of WHPC; qualifications; vacancies; terms; membership requirements; removal;
officers and staff."
IV. OFFICERS
A. The officers of the WHPC shall conform to the requirements of "Section 195-177. Composition
of WHPC; qualifications; vacancies; terms; membership requirements; removal; officers and
staff."
B. The January meeting of the WHPC shall be its organizational meeting. At that meeting, the
Committee shall elect from among its members a Chairman and a Vice Chairman. The
Committee shall establish a regular schedule of meetings for the year and provide notice of such
meetings in accordance with the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act. The WHPC shall meet
once a month, on the second Wednesday of the month at 7:30 P.M. in Westwood Borough Hall,
unless another date, time, or place shall have been adopted by the WHPC at its organizational
meeting.
C. The officers of this organization shall be the Chairman and the Vice Chairman. The Secretary,
though present, need not be a member. Officers beyond those mentioned are not a functional
need of the WHPC. Should the need arise on a permanent or temporary basis, the necessary
office shall be voted in by a majority vote of the WHPC.
1. The Chairman shall be the presiding officer of the WHPC, setting the agenda for meetings
and serving as the primary spokesman for its policies and decisions. The Chairman shall also
preside over all regularly scheduled and all special or called meetings of the WHPC. The
Chairman shall appoint members to specific task forces (ad-hoc) committees which term
shall end when the task is completed. All tasks presented to a committee shall be executed in
a timely manner.
2. The Vice Chairman assumes the duties of the Chairman in the absence of the Chairman. In
the absence of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman shall have the same powers and duties as
those of the Chairman.
3. The Secretary shall ensure that the minutes of all WHPC meetings are taken and provided to
WHPC members via electronic copies and to the public via the Borough of Westwood
website. The secretary shall distribute information to members, including minutes,
information pertinent to tasks at hand, and all current and updated materials that members
are in need of in order to carry out their tasks. Also, the secretary shall act as an advisor to
the WHPC and shall notify members of meeting dates and times in advance of the meeting.
4. WHPC and professional staff assistance shall be provided by qualified consultants as may be
necessary to aid the WHPC in carrying out its duties and responsibilities as prescribed in "G.
Officers, staff and expenditures" of "Section 195-177. Composition of WHPC;
qualifications; vacancies; terms; membership requirements; removal; officers and staff."
V. MEETINGS
A. The regularly scheduled meeting of the WHPC shall be monthly with the date and time
determined by a vote of the WHPC and will be held in a pre-designated location unless
otherwise directed by the Chairman or a WHPC vote in compliance with Chapter 42-30 RCW,
Open Public Meeting Act, to provide for adequate public participation and adopt standards to
guide this action. Regular meetings shall be posted at the beginning of the calendar year via the
Borough of Westwood website.
B. Special meetings may be called by the Chairman or by a majority of the WHPC members. The
purpose of the meeting will be stated in the call. Except in emergencies, at least three (3) days'
notice shall be given for special meetings.
C. Parliamentary authority of the meetings shall be in conformance with the current edition of
Robert’s Rules of Order. All meetings shall start on time and shall be executed expeditiously by the
Chairman. No member of the public shall consume in excess of a total of five (5) minutes' time
in remarks for the good and welfare of the Borough. In the event of an uncontrollable
disruption of the meeting, the WHPC may clear the meeting room and continue in executive
session or may adjourn and reconvene at another location selected by majority vote of the
members. In such a case, business shall be restricted to those items on the printed agenda.
Persons or news media representatives not participating in the disturbance may be readmitted in
this situation.
D. All members shall attend regularly scheduled meetings and shall be on time. If a member misses
three consecutive regularly scheduled meetings without good cause as determined by the
WHPC, then the WHPC shall encourage resignation. If six consecutive meetings are missed,
then resignation shall be automatic.
E. Procedures for conducting regular meetings.
1. If there are agenda items, regular meetings will be held monthly and a date and time
specified by the WHPC. In case of scheduling conflicts, the meeting place may be changed at
the discretion of the Chairman with advance notice given to WHPC members and the
public. If the meeting date falls on an official holiday, the meeting may be changed to a time
and place as determined by the WHPC at the preceding month’s meeting. If such a change
occurs, the regular meeting place will be posted as to the new time and place.
2. If there are no agenda items, the Chairman may cancel the regular meeting after giving all
WHPC members and the public advance notice. However, if a majority of WHPC members
express the desire to hold the meeting, it shall convene as scheduled. If the meeting is
canceled, a notice to that effect will be posted at the regular meeting place at the regular time
and posted online via the Borough of Westwood website.
3. All regular and special meetings will be open to the public and the date, place and agenda
will be publicized in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act (Chapter 42.30 RCW)
except when a majority of WHPC members determine that an executive session is necessary
as detailed in the Open Public Meeting Act (Chapter 42.30.110). The agenda for regularly
scheduled meetings shall be posted and advertised 48 hours prior to the regularly scheduled
meetings.
4. The order of agenda items will be determined by their order of receipt. All applications,
including designation review and special valuation review must be filed at least one (1)
month before the meeting at which the case is to be considered. This allows staff sufficient
time to copy and distribute materials to WHPC members. Design Review applications must
be filed at least two (2) weeks prior to the regularly scheduled meetings at which they are to
be considered.
F. Regular Order of Business for Meetings
1. Business will be conducted in accordance with the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order.
All issues will be decided by a simple majority vote except amendments to the by-laws,
which require a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the membership.
2. Four (4) members or 51 percent (51%) of the non-vacant membership on the WHPC
constitute a quorum. Meetings without a quorum will be recessed to the earliest possible
date.
3. Minutes will be taken during all WHPC proceedings. Additionally, meetings may be taped to
further clarify the minutes.
4. The regular order of business shall be as follows:
(a) Call to order.
(b) Pledge of Allegiance.
(c) Roll call.
(d) Adoptions of minutes.
(e) Unfinished business.
(f) New business.
(g) Other business.
(h) Adjournment.
5. The regular order of business for consideration for applications for designation review,
design review, and special valuation review shall be as follows. During the course of the
meeting, the above procedure may be temporarily modified by the WHPC.
(a) The Chairman or Chairman-designated person shall offer a preliminary statement
concerning the application.
(b) The applicant or the designated agent of the applicant presents statements in favor of the
application including relevant pictures, models, etc.
(c) Statements in opposition to the application.
(d) Comments by interested persons, organizations, or legal entities.
(e) Rebuttal by all concerned parties.
(f) Summary of above by Chairman or Chairman-designated person.
(g) Deliberation by WHPC.
(h) Motion for action.
(i) Vote.
6. The WHPC shall act on each application at the meeting unless a majority of the WHPC
decide to defer consideration to a later date. The Chairman will publicly announce the
continuance, and the case automatically set on the agenda for the next regularly scheduled
meeting. In such a case, no further notice is required for the principles in the case.
7. Plan for copying, distributing and implementing rules
(a) The master copies of all historic preservation related rules and procedures, application
standards, criteria, and standard forms will remain on file with the Borough of
Westwood and accessible via the Borough of Westwood website.
VI. AMENDING BY-LAWS
A. These by-laws may be amended at any regularly scheduled meeting of the WHPC by a 2/3 vote
of the attending membership provided the amendment has been submitted in writing.