Old City Civic Association Developments Committee
Protocol Statement

Purpose

Consistent with the mission statement of Old City Civic Association (OCCA), the Developments Committee's purpose is to help build, preserve and promote a cohesive community among residents, businesses, and institutions for the welfare of the entire community enhancing the quality of life for all members of the Old City Community. In addition to serving as liaison to federal, state, and municipal agencies, the Developments Committee works to preserve the unique historic character of the neighborhood.

The Developments Committee is a committee of the OCCA Board of Directors and has the powers and authority of the Board of Directors. The Developments Committee acts on behalf of the OCCA Board of Directors for actions/issues before government agencies (including, but not limited to, the Zoning Board of Adjustments, Philadelphia Historical
Commission, Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and Philadelphia City Council). The Developments Committee does not have the authority to do the following which are reserved to the OCCA pursuant to its by-laws:

1. Approve any action required by statute to be submitted to the Board and/or members for their approval; this includes any petition or appeal that commences legal action by the OCCA and associated expense as well as any other financial expenditure above $300.00.
2. Fill vacancies of the Board of Directors
3. Adopt, amend or repeal any of the OCCA By-Laws
4. Amend or repeal any resolution of the Board of Directors
5. Act on matters committed by resolution of the Board to another Committee

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OCCA Developments Committee Revised Protocol 2/ 19/ 09

Meetings

Meetings are held every other Tuesday at 8 AM in the Neighborhood House behind Christ Church. Meetings are open to the public. Residents, businesses, and other community members are all welcome to attend; voting privileges are detailed in a specific section of this document. All attendees are requested to abstain from cell phone use during meetings. Special meetings may be held as deemed by the Chairman or at the request of at least five members of the Committee. Special meetings require 48-hour notice and count towards voting eligibility. Standard voting procedures apply to special meetings unless instructed otherwise by the Chair.

Committee Chairman

The Chairman of the Developments Committee is nominated by the Board of Directors
and serves on the Board. The Chairman has the discretion to limit committee questions to items that are germane to the action/issue. The Chairman shall have the sole discretion to take a committee vote to be reaffirmed by an OCCA Board vote. All communications with the media are to be made through the Chairman or the Chairman's delegate.

Committee Secretary

The Committee Secretary serves at the pleasure of the Chairman. The Secretary sets and distributes the schedule of the Committee meetings. All communications with applicants in advance of a presentation are made through the Secretary.

Committee Membership

Members of the public are welcome to attend Committee meetings. However only Committee members are eligible to vote. The Committee membership shall be comprised of a minimum of four OCCA Board Members. Criteria for Committee membership are as follows:

1. Committee members must be dues-paying members in good standing of OCCA and a resident and/or business owner.

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OCCA Developments Committee Revised Protocol 2/ 19/ 09

2. Voting members must be a resident and/or business owner in Old City. Business owners may send one representative who will attend regularly (the representation should not be rotated). Only one representative from a business may be a voting member, but the business may send multiple representatives to attend the meetings. Addressing the issue of national chain stores, only a franchise business owner may have a voting member on the Committee. Owning land for investment in Old City does not mean that a person is a business owner in Old City. Owning an investment condominium in Old City does not make the owner an Old City business owner nor a resident.

3. To maintain voting privileges, members should make every effort to attend meetings to stay current on issues that come before the Developments Committee. There shall be no excused absences. In the event a member misses one meeting, they may vote at the next consecutive meeting. In the event that a member misses two or more consecutive meetings, at the next meeting he/she attends, the member may participate in executive session but may not vote until he/she attends the next consecutive meeting. In other words, after two consecutive absences, voting privileges are reinstated at the second consecutive meeting attended.

For example, John Doe is a Committee member in good standing, he misses the first two meeting of the year and attends the next scheduled meeting (3rd meeting) where he may participate in the executive session but may not vote; he then attends the next scheduled meeting (4th meeting) where he may now vote. Another example, Jane Doe misses the first two meetings of the year and attends the 3rd, participates in executive session, but does not vote. She ten misses the 4th meeting of the year, but attends the 5th where she still may not vote; she makes it to the 6th meeting of the year where she may vote.

4. All executive session discussion and final vote is to remain confidential.

5. The Chairman may review and make recommendations concerning the membership status of members with repeated and consistent absences or lack of participation. Any Committee member may be removed as a voting member with good and sufficient reason, by a three quarters vote of Committee members present at any meeting of the Developments Committee. Any member so removed wishing to reinstate voting privileges must thereafter follow the procedures for the Committee members set forth in paragraphs 1, 2, and 3.

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OCCA Developments Committee Revised Protocol 2/ 19/ 09

Voting

The Committee is often required to take a vote to support or oppose certain actions/issues or make recommendations to federal, state, or municipal agencies. The only agency with which OCCA has standing is the Zoning Board of Adjustments (ZBA). All other agencies form decisions independently and may or may not take into consideration any recommendations from OCCA.
Voting procedures take place as follows:
1. Voting will follow Robert's Rules of Order with the exception where expressly stated herein.
2. The Committee will enter executive session by 8:45 AM for discussion and to vote on the day's agenda items. By Chairman's prerogative, the session may be extended; or, at his discretion, the Chairman may ask for an additional meeting to further discuss the agenda item(s) before a vote is taken.
3. Executive session is for voting members of the Developments Committee,
OCCA Board members, and any representatives of Old City institutions.
4. Prior to onset of executive session, presenter, their agents (partners,
professional advisors, contractors, and others with financial interests all of which can include Committee Members) and visitors will be asked to leave the meeting.
5. Voting shall be limited only to Committee Members who have met the
requirements outlined above.
6. A quorum must be present. A quorum will be defined as a minimum of two
Board members and at least five Committee Members (who may or may not be Board members) for a total of seven. The Chairman is included as a voting member.
7. No proxy votes are permitted. A voting member must be physically present to vote. There will not be voting via electronic mail.
8. The voting outcome will be determined by simple majority vote.
9. At the onset of executive session, any voting member with a potential conflict
of interest will be required to state the conflict; should the conflict be determined to be influential, the member may remain for discussion but must abstain from voting.
10. In the event of a tie, the Committee will neither support nor object to the action/issue. A tie vote will result in a "no position" outcome.
11. All project-related information should be presented to the Committee prior to voting consistent with, but not limited by, the Presentation criteria below.
12. Requests for extensions by the applicant will not restrict the Committee from voting on the particular issue/action.
13. The Chairman may table or postpone a vote due to inadequate or incomplete
information supplied by the applicant. There also may be occasions when more time is needed to discuss the presentation. The Chair may then determine to schedule an additional meeting for discussion among voting members before a vote is taken.

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OCCA Developments Committee Revised Protocol 2/ 19/ 09

Presentation Protocol

The Committee reviews several types of actions/issues falling into three general categories. These categories include, but are not limited to:
1. Presentations Required for Appeals to Governments Agencies (including, but not limited to, the Zoning Board of Adjustments, Historical Commission, Liquor Control Board, etc.).

2. Presentations Seeking a Letter of Support are presentations made to solicit a letter of support for a project or action, where no future variance requests are needed.

3. Courtesy Presentations are presentations that are simply made for the courtesy of the community and are informative in nature. The presenter is not requesting support or opinion and the Committee will not conduct a vote.

Presentation Scheduling

Adequate lead-time will be interpreted as the applicant's earnest interest with regards to the community's concerns. The Developments Committee's meeting agenda and schedule are set at the sole discretion of the Secretary.

There will be occasions when the size and complexity of a project may require a meeting that will allow more time for discussion during executive session.
With the Chairman's agreement, the Secretary may send an e.mail to the Members asking for a commitment to meet until 9:30 AM, or whatever meeting duration seems appropriate.

Presentation Criteria

Presentation criteria are dependent upon the purpose of the presentation.

1. Presentations for Appeals to any Government Agency
Prior to the presentation, the following items must be faxed, mailed, or delivered
to the Chairman and the Secretary.
All copies are to be left for the Committee's files.

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OCCA Developments Committee Revised Protocol 2/ 19/ 09

Essential and Mandatory of the ZBA:
• Copy of the original application(s) to the appropriate government agency, stamped by the agency. (All reviewed and stamped site plans, all documentation
provided at the time of the issuance of the refusals.)

• Copy of the notice of Refusal, Referral or other denials by the government agency. No vote will be taken with improperly completed city forms.
• Copy of Petition of Appeal or similar appeal Documentation.

Please note that the Committee will not take a vote on a ZBA calendar issue without submission of all three of the above items at the time of Presentation to Committee.

Applications for liquor licenses should also include:
• Copy of Form PLCB 1773 (Social Security Information)
• Floor plan included with PLCB Application with proposed licensed premises.

At the presentation, the presenter should bring copies of the following to be left with the Committee for the OCCA's files:
• Copy of the site plan
• Any architectural plans, renderings or elevations of the proposed renovation/project
• Photographs of the site/proposed renovation project
• A street/sidewalk closing plan and schedule may be a condition of support or approval

Other helpful documents include, but are not limited to (primarily for businesses):
• Business plan/business purpose
• Restaurant menu or examples
• Statement of hours of operation
• Trash storage and pick-up arrangements
• Ventilation
• Parking plan
• Delivery logistics
• Construction Schedules and Procedures

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OCCA Developments Committee Revised Protocol 2/ 19/ 09

2. Presentations for a Letter of Support should include the following documents which should be forwarded to the Chairman and Secretary in advance of the presentation:
• Copy of site plan
• Any architectural plans, renderings or elevations of the proposed renovation project
• Historical Documentation
• Photographs of the site/proposed renovation/project

Other helpful documents include, but are not limited to (primarily for businesses):
• Business plan/business purpose
• Restaurant menus or examples
• Statement of hours of operation
• Trash storage and pick-up arrangements
• Ventilation
• Parking plan
• Delivery logistics
• Construction schedules and procedures

3. Courtesy Presentations do not have any specific criteria, and the committee will not take a vote.

Invited Guests from Government Agencies

This group will include people from government-related agencies such as the Planning Commission, City Council, Historical Commission, etc. This category of members is welcome to attend meetings and attend the voting sessions but they will not be included in the vote.
The Developments Committee will also, on occasion, invite individuals from government agencies to speak at meetings so that they may become more familiar with our Committee and may inform the Committee of the ways that we might best coordinate with them.

Commitment of Members of the Committee

Consistent with the mission statement of Old City Civic Association, the Development Committee's purpose is to help build, preserve and promote a cohesive community among residents, businesses, and institutions for the welfare of the entire community enhancing the quality of life for all members of the Old City Community. In addition to serving as a liaison to federal, state, and municipal agencies, the Developments Committee works to preserve the historic character of the neighborhood.
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OCCA Developments Committee Revised Protocol 2/ 19/ 09

Listening to presentations, discussing the issues, and, finally, taking the vote are all steps to be taken with our mission as our guide. Discussion should continue as long as members wish to discuss the issue; a motion may be made to either limit or close a discussion. An issue may be tabled by the Chair and/or an additional meeting may be called at his discretion. All of these steps are available to give adequate time for a decision.
Once the vote is taken, a voting member has an obligation to support that vote. He or she must not speak against the decision at hearings nor write letters to government agencies that might result in confusion regarding the OCCA Developments Committee's voted position on an issue.