Bylaws

Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association

Bylaws amended on 6/24/2025

Article I- Name, Purpose, and Territory

Section 1: Name. This association shall be known as “The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association,” hereinafter referred to as “OHNA” or “the Association.”

Section 2: Purpose. OHNA’s purpose is to promote the best interests of the Oregon Hill community, to enhance its quality of life, and to preserve its historic character.

Section 3: Territory. For the purpose of these Bylaws, Oregon Hill shall be considered to consist in that portion of the City of Richmond, Virginia, bounded by Belvidere Street on the East, Cary Street on the north, Hollywood Cemetery on the west, including the portion to the north of the Downtown Expressway ramp and west of Linden St, and that portion of Harrison St. lying north of the Downtown Expressway on the west, and the southernmost boundary of Oregon Hill Park on the south.

Article II- Officers

Section 1: Officers and their duties.

A. List of officers. The Officers of OHNA shall consist of a President, one or more Vice Presidents, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. These Officers shall collectively be known as the Executive Committee.

B. Responsibilities of Officers. The officers shall have the responsibilities enumerated below. Officers may delegate specific tasks needed to discharge these responsibilities.

1. President. The President of the Association shall have responsibility for representing the Association and for coordinating Association business except as set forth in these Bylaws.

2. Vice President(s). The Vice President(s) shall have responsibility for conducting OHNA’s monthly meetings, for assisting the President in coordinating Association business, and for representing the Association in the President’s absence. Any disagreement between Vice Presidents about the division of these responsibilities shall be decided by a vote of members present and voting or, if that is impractical, by the toss of a coin.

Executive Committee or officer expenditures exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) must be approved by the membership at a membership meeting if said expenditures are not included in a budget previously approved by the membership.

3. Secretary. The Secretary shall have responsibility for keeping faithful and accurate minutes of OHNA’s meetings, including a record of all Oregon Hill residents attending; for keeping a true, accurate, and current record of all OHNA members; for maintaining original drafts of these Bylaws and any subsequent amendments; and for the performance of other duties customary to this office. At the expiration of his/her term of office, the Secretary shall surrender all Association records to his/her successor.

Section 2: Eligibility for office. Only members of OHNA are eligible to serve as officers of the Association.

Section 3: Terms of office. All officers shall serve one-year terms commencing on the first day of January.

Section 4: Election of officers. Officers shall be elected by OHNA’s members present and voting at the November meeting of the Association as described below. A vote of the members present and voting at that meeting will determine the number of Vice Presidents that the Association shall have for the following year.

Section 5: Removal of officers. 

Removal of Officers (for cause) OHNA, during a regular meeting, by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present at any duly constituted meeting, may remove any officer who is found guilty of willful neglect of any duty imposed. The motion may be made by any member at a meeting, and the officer is given at least ten (10) days prior written notice (by the Secretary) of the action to be taken and an opportunity to refute such charges at the next meeting, at which time a vote will be taken. Any such discussion or vote will happen during a portion of the meeting at which only members of OHNA are in attendance.

Removal of Officers (for non-attendance) Should any officer fail to attend three consecutive meetings of either the Executive Committee or the monthly OHNA meeting, or four meetings within any 12-month period, without good cause and advising the Secretary either in person, by telephone, or in writing of that member’s inability to attend a particular meeting prior to the time the meeting commences, such person may be removed by vote of the Executive Committee.  The Secretary shall advise such officer as to the action taken. 

Section 6: Filling officer vacancies. If an officer vacancy occurs within any term, a notice of this vacancy and the opportunity to stand for the election to the position shall be sent to all members within one week of the vacancy’s occurrence, and at least two weeks before the next regular meeting. If this is not possible or is not done, the election will be held at the following regular meeting.

Article III- Membership

Section 1.

Membership in the association shall be available to any person 18 years of age or older, residing in the designated Oregon Hill boundaries. Additionally, membership is extended to one vote for each physical business, school, or place of worship within the designated Oregon Hill Boundaries. Each business, school, or place of worship shall designate a sole representative to vote in all matters presented to the association voting membership and may not vote twice if they are also a resident of Oregon Hill. Members must register with the association secretary, via a form filled out annually.

All non-unanimous votes shall be checked against this membership registry. 

Any member may challenge the legitimacy of a nonunanimous vote based on membership.  An announcement of intent to challenge a vote outcome shall be made during the meeting where the vote occurs. Challenges must be made verbally, if made during a meeting, or in writing, if made after a meeting. All challenges are directed to the President. When a challenge occurs, the President or Secretary will immediately check the City of Richmond Parcel Mapper to determine if the person in question is listed as an owner. If the Parcel Mapper does not list the individual in question, the person challenged is required to prove residency by producing a mortgage, lease, state-issued ID, voter card, or utility bill or other official mail bearing their name that confirms a legal address within the boundaries of Oregon Hill. Notification to the challenged individual will come via the Email provided in the membership registry. A challenge may occur in two forms: 1) a member may challenge a specific member’s eligibility for membership, and 2) a member may announce the intent to challenge the eligibility of a number of members, such as in the event of a large number of people unexpectedly voting on an issue. A challenge may be made when a vote is taken and, if intent is announced during the meeting, up to 48 hours after a vote has been taken; when a challenge occurs, a vote is determined to be retroactively provisional until evidence is produced in support of membership.  The Secretary will notify the membership if this changes the outcome of a vote.

A ‘business’ is a company that has a physical location where customers can buy products or services in person. Landlords, property management companies, and realtors are not eligible for membership. Fraternities and sororities are not eligible for membership. Home businesses are not eligible for membership. Resident business owners are limited to one vote. 

A ‘school’ is an institution of learning for children that has a physical location where children attend. In-home daycares do not qualify for membership. 

A ‘place of worship’ is defined as a church, temple, meeting house, or other physical building in which its members or congregation regularly meet for worship services.” Resident ‘place of worship’ leaders are limited to one vote. 

Section 2: Termination of membership

A. Resignation. Members of OHNA may resign from the Association by notifying the Secretary in writing of their resignation.

B. Annual membership review. At least once each year, the Secretary shall conduct a membership drive. Verification of membership should occur ahead of meetings to the extent possible. Membership forms may be filled out at any time. Membership must be renewed annually to stay active. There shall be a 30 day grace period where membership will stay active.

Article IV- Communication and meetings.

Section 1. OHNA shall prioritize transparency and equity in decision-making processes.    

All OHNA membership meetings, committees and all other bodies formed by OHNA, shall similarly be required to give advance notice to the membership about meetings including an agenda, keep minutes and/or recordings (which shall be stored on the ONHA Google Drive), and available to all members upon request. 

Section 2. OHNA deems the bulletin board in Pleasants Park the location for the posting of OHNA communications, hereinafter referred to as “the bulletin board.” Communications will also be sent out via email to all residents identified as members, or listed as wishing to receive such emails. 

Section 3. All OHNA meetings shall be open to all residents of Oregon Hill.

Section 4. Meetings. OHNA shall normally meet on the fourth Tuesday of every month at a time and place to be determined by a vote of those members present and voting at the previous month’s meeting. If the fourth Tuesday of the month is a national or state holiday, the meeting shall take place on the first subsequent day that is not a holiday. Written notice stating the date, time, and place of OHNA’s monthly meetings shall be posted on the bulletin board, Emailed, and placed on a digital calendar not less than two weeks before each monthly meeting. OHNA may choose to meet less frequently than monthly but shall meet at least 10 times per year, the schedule being announced at the January meeting. A proposed agenda shall be distributed to members before each meeting. Agendas for meetings will clearly indicate intent, and be distributed to members before all meetings. All items intended for votes will be clearly indicated as such. Distribution shall occur via the designated OHNA email.  At present, that email will be OHNARVA@gmail.com. That email address may change in the future, but notice must be made to the membership before any change is made. Members shall be entitled to propose items for inclusion on the official agenda by submitting such requests in writing to the Secretary no later than ten (10) calendar days prior to the scheduled meeting date.

Membership meetings shall include a virtual option.

Section 5. Annual Meeting. Each December meeting shall be advertised throughout Oregon Hill as OHNA’s Annual Town Meeting. At this meeting, the outgoing President shall report to the members on the state of the Association.

Section 6. Special meetings. Special meetings of OHNA may be called by any twenty-five (25) members of the Association who submit a written request to a Vice President. The Vice President to whom such a request is submitted shall determine a reasonable time and place for such a meeting, which shall be not less than three days and not more than fourteen from the time the request is received. Written notice stating the date, time, and place of any special meeting shall be posted on the bulletin board as soon as reasonably possible after the determination of that date, time, and place.

Section 7. Parliamentary procedure. Meetings will be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order, current edition. Business shall be conducted by a majority vote of members present and voting except as stated otherwise in these Bylaws. If a vote is desired on an item that was not clearly marked as such in the agenda, it shall occur under new business. Any member may request voting by ballot that includes address to be verified against the membership registry.

Motions during the New Business portion of the meeting, are subject to the following:  

   (i) Routine Motions: Motions deemed administrative, non-controversial, or urgent (e.g., approving minutes, minor expenditures under $100, procedural adjustments) may be made and voted on without prior notice.  

  (ii) Substantive Motions: Any motion involving (over $100 or controversial matters) must either:  

      – Be submitted in writing to the Secretary 10 days prior to the meeting for inclusion on the agenda, or  

      – Require a two-thirds vote to suspend the rules and permit consideration.  

(c) Objection to Consideration:  

Any member may raise an ‘Objection to the Consideration of the Question’ (RONR §26) for motions deemed inappropriate or disruptive. The objection requires a two-thirds vote against consideration to sustain.  

(d) Chair’s Role:  

The Chair shall rule on whether a motion qualifies as “routine” or “substantive.” This ruling may be appealed immediately; the appeal is decided by majority vote.  

The election of officers shall be conducted using Instant Run-Off Voting when there are more than two candidates for a given office.

Section 8: No voting shall be conducted at a meeting where there is not a quorum of at least 7 members.

Article V- Committees

Section 1. Standing Committees. There shall be five standing committees as described below. These committees shall advise and report to the Association on matters within their purview. Membership of these committees is open to all interested members of OHNA. Membership, voting privileges, and meetings shall be open to all OHNA members. Each of these committees will meet as necessary, in conjunction with the November meeting of the Association, and at other times as the committee deems appropriate. Each committee will elect its own chairperson at the OHNA membership November meeting by a majority vote of members present and voting.

The responsibilities of all committees include:

• Shall inform the OHNA membership of all Committee meetings at least 48 hours in advance. 
• Post meeting times and location on an OHNA electronic calendar and by other means such as Email and may be posted to social media. 
• Conduct business in an open and transparent manner in public meetings.
• Report committee minutes to OHNA officers at next meeting (auto summaries and recordings are acceptable means of minutes).
• Report committee activities at each OHNA meeting.
• Work collaboratively with other OHNA committees to successfully work on projects or tasks as identified.
• Provide OHNA membership with any work products from the committee upon request.
• All committee emails conducting OHNA business shall cc OHNARVA@gmail.com (or a future designated email) for record keeping. 

The examples cited below for each committee are for illustrative purposes only; the committees are neither bound to address these issues nor precluded from addressing any others within their purview.

A. Friends of Oregon Hill Parks. 

This committee is responsible for leading improvements, clean ups and volunteer efforts in the parks in Oregon Hill including Linear Park, Pleasants Park, Riverside Park and Holly St playground.

B. Zoning

This committee is responsible for reviewing Special Use Permits in the neighborhood, attending relevant Urban Design Committee, Planning Commission and other meetings and providing input to the city for any updates to the Master Plan or rezonings.

C. Bylaws 

This committee is responsible for updating the bylaws as necessary.

D. Transportation and Parking Committee

This committee is responsible for recommending transportation improvements. Reporting sidewalk and roadway repairs into 311. This committee also provides input into parking matters. 

E. Events

This committee helps plan neighborhood picnics and events like the Easter Egg hunt and the Fall Festival and any other events they see fit. 

Section 2. Ad hoc committees. Other ad hoc committees may be formed by a majority vote of members present and voting. Such committees will advise and report to the Association on matters within their purview.

Article VI – Ethics

All members must abide by the following code of ethics on how meetings are to be conducted.

OHNA Code of Ethics for Membership Meeting

• Our goal is to ensure our membership that we conduct effective meetings that are orderly and respectful and end on time. To ensure this happens, everyone attending these meetings must abide by the following principles:

• We agree to respect each other even when we don’t agree.

• An individual whose conduct is disrespectful will lose their right to speak and will be asked to leave.

Article VII- Amendments

These Bylaws may be amended at any duly constituted meeting of the Association by a two-thirds vote of those members present and voting, provided that the amendment was submitted and read at the previous meeting of the Association.