Bylaws of the
East Ocean View 
Civic League

EAST OCEAN VIEW CIVIC LEAGUE BYLAWS

ARTICLE I - NAME AND AUTHORITY

The name of the organization shall be the East Ocean View Civic League, hereafter referred to as
EOVCL. The EOVCL derives its authority from its membership. The EOVCL fiscal year will begin
January 1st and end December 31st.

ARTICLE II - PURPOSE

The purpose of the EOVCL shall be a non-profit organization, operated exclusively for the beneficial
interests of the East Ocean View community. The organization shall bring together the community of
East Ocean View at frequent intervals, to promote good fellowship, to further the interests of the
community with respect to beautification, recreation, sanitation, safety and the protection of property
values. The organization shall also strive to inform the people of East Ocean View of issues of
community importance, to provide a forum for discussion of concerns, and to promote participation in
Norfolk City public meetings and by encouraging registration and voting in all local, state and federal
elections.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: Membership shall be open to any adult resident, business owner or property owner in
Planning Districts 6 & 7, the East Ocean View section of the city of Norfolk, who meets the criterion in
Section 2 below. (Note: This geographic area is that portion of the city bounded by the Chesapeake
Bay on the north, 1st Bay Street on the west, Pretty Lake on the south eastward to the point of
Thompson Road, then along Thompson Road to East Little Creek Road then eastward to the Little
Creek Naval Amphibious Base.)

Section 2: Each member in good standing shall have the right to vote as well as all other privileges
that may attach to the membership of this organization. A “member in good standing” shall be defined
as one who has registered their membership and paid their yearly dues at least 30 days prior to the
meeting in which the vote is taken. Except for normal renewal of membership (as contrasted from
reinstatement of a lapsed membership), a member’s eligibility to vote does not begin until 30 days
following payment of dues. For purposes of voting, renewal of a lapsed membership shall be treated
in the same manner as a new membership.

Section 3: Each December the Treasurer will determine the current total number of members in good
standing. For all scheduled meetings the following year a quorum shall be deemed to be present
when 8% of December’s total membership are in attendance, including at least two Officers and two
Bylaws East Ocean View Civic League January 4,2024
Directors at Large. In the event a quorum is not present at a monthly meeting, no action requiring
membership approval or votes shall be permitted to proceed.

Section 4: Membership dues for individuals and households should be reasonable and reflect the
needs of the EOVCL. Membership renewals shall be paid no later than the 12th month of active
membership. A membership shall be considered lapsed if dues are not renewed by the end of the
13th month. Membership can be reactivated with the payment of dues.

ARTICLE IV - MONTHLY MEETINGS

Section 1: The general membership of the EOVCL will meet monthly between September and June,
typically on the first Thursday of the month at 7:00 p.m. The meetings will be held at facilities within
EOV and convenient for the membership unless a change is required in time, location or method due
to special circumstances. Confirmation of meeting locations, dates and times will be disseminated to
the membership via established EOVCL communication methods, such as email. Cancellation of a
monthly meeting must be voted on by majority vote by membership at a prior monthly meeting except
that in the event of severe inclement weather or other declared emergency, the President may cancel
a general membership meeting. All regularly scheduled and special meetings will be called at the
discretion of the President and be announced via established EOVCL communication methods.

Section 2: Meetings of the Board of Directors shall be on the call of the President. Such meetings will
normally be held in person unless a change is required in time, location or method due to special
circumstances.

ARTICLE V - BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1: The Board of Directors shall consist of the President, Vice-President, Secretary and
Treasurer (the “officers”) and six Directors at Large.

Section 2: All Officers and Directors at Large shall attend all Board of Director meetings and the
regularly scheduled monthly general membership meetings. All intended absences will be
communicated to the President or Vice President. An Officer or Director at Large shall not miss more
than two Board of Director meetings and two general membership meetings a year unless excused
by the Board of Directors.

Section 3: At a monthly membership meeting, a motion from a member in good standing can be
made to remove an Officer or a Director at Large. If the motion is for the President to be removed
from office, the Vice-President shall be the presiding officer beginning with the time the motion has
been seconded until after the vote is taken on the motion. If the motion is seconded, the membership
will discuss the reasons for the motion, and if desired, a vote on the motion will be scheduled at the
next monthly meeting. In order to vote on the motion, there must be a quorum of the general
membership at the next monthly meeting. After additional discussion, 3/4 of the membership in
attendance must approve the motion to remove the officer or director.


ARTICLE VI - ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

Officers and Directors at Large of the EOVCL shall be nominated and elected in a manner hereafter
prescribed:

Section 1: Nomination – The President shall appoint a nominating committee at or before the October
general membership meeting consisting of not less than three (3) members in good standing. The
committee shall nominate one (1) member for each officer and for each Director at Large whose term
is expiring. The Nominations Committee will announce their slate of candidates at the November
meeting. At the November meeting, any member of the EOVCL in good standing may make further
nominations from the floor. The nominee must be a member in good standing, be present and must
verbally consent to the nomination before the nomination can be accepted. No nominations will be
accepted on the day of election. Should there be more than one nominee for an office, voting for that
office will be by written ballot.

Section 2: Election – At the December meeting, nominees shall be voted on and elected for the
ensuing year. A majority vote (greater than 50%) of the members present at the meeting will be
required for a candidate for any elected EOVCL office. If a nominee is running unopposed, the single
nominee will be declared elected by acclamation. In cases where a ballot has three or more
candidates running for a single position, the candidate with the least amount of votes will be
eliminated after each round of voting and balloting must continue until one candidate wins with a
majority vote (greater than 50%).

Section 3: Term of Office – The President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer shall hold office
from January 1st following election for a term of one (1) year and shall be eligible for re-election to
their respective office. Directors at Large will serve a two (2) year term beginning January 1st.
Section 4: Installation – The elected officers and Directors at Large shall assume full responsibility of
their office, as the first order of business, at the regular January meeting following election.
Section 5: Vacancy prior to term – The President may fill a vacancy in the EOVCL Board of Directors
(except President) by a temporary appointment for the remainder of the term. In the event of the
elected President is unable to complete his/her term, the Vice-President will assume the temporary
position as President and appoint a new Vice-President. The Board of Directors shall confirm any
such appointments.

ARTICLE VII - DUTIES OF OFFICERS

PRESIDENT: The President shall preside at all meetings and have general supervision of all EOVCL
affairs. In addition, the President will appoint Chairperson of the Audit Committee as well as its
members and the Chairperson of all other Sub-Committees; represent the EOVCL at official
functions, or designate someone in his/her place, if necessary; remain informed on subjects and
legislation pertinent to the well being of East Ocean View; assist and direct EOVCL policy to foster
good government, and impress on the membership the value of the voting process and promote
harmonious collateral interests with other city civic organizations; authorize expenditures of up to
$100 per month as necessary; and report expenditures at the following general membership meeting;
coordinate with the Treasurer to submit a proposed budget to the Board of Directors in November for
the following year for consideration and adoption at the Board of Directors meeting in December.

VICE-PRESIDENT: In the absence of the President, the Vice-President shall assume the duties of the
President and coordinate the activities of the Sub-Committees.

SECRETARY: The Secretary shall prepare and record proceedings of all regular and special
membership and Board of Directors meetings. The Secretary shall maintain all official records except
those held by the Treasurer and shall be responsible for all EOVCL correspondence and maintain a
file of same. The Secretary shall present the minutes of the prior general membership meeting to the
Board for approval and make the approved minutes available to general membership prior to the next
meeting. The General membership will vote to approve the previous meeting minutes and the
Secretary will post these minutes on the website.

TREASURER: The Treasurer shall receive and record all monies contributed to the EOVCL; shall pay
all expenses not exceeding the amount of any budgeted item as approved by the Board of Directors;
shall file yearly tax forms; shall maintain EOVCL P.O. Box; Chair the Membership Sub-Committee;
assist the President in the preparation of a budget for the following year; shall make a yearly financial
report to the Audit Committee and submit all records to the Audit Committee as requested. All checks
written shall contain the signature of the Treasurer provided, however, that checks for $100 or more
shall be signed by any two of the President, Vice-President, Secretary or Treasurer. An annual audit
of the financial records shall be performed with results reported to the membership at the next
scheduled meeting.

ARTICLE VIII - POWERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors has limited powers to act on behalf of the EOVCL without the explicit consent
of the membership. For example, the Board of Directors can function within the approved position
descriptions as defined in the Bylaws. However, in cases where the EOVCL is requested to establish
a position, endorse, support or provide input to city policy and projects or private developer initiatives,
the EOVCL membership will vote on the request and the Board will act on the majority vote.. The
intent is to seek member input and reflect it in establishing various positions on these matters. The
Board of Directors does have the authority to interact, discuss and engage on topics under their
authority as they relate to furthering existing EOVCL goals, positions, and other strategies with City
and other officials. In situations where matters demand immediate attention, the President may call a
special meeting of the general membership to address the matter.


ARTICLE IX - SUB-COMMITTEES

Section 1: There shall be an Audit Sub-Committee consisting of a Chairperson and at least two
additional members, one of which shall not be a member of the Board of Directors. The President
shall appoint all the members of this committee before the end of January. The Audit Committee shall
report its findings to the general membership no later than the March meeting. The Audit Committee
shall be assisted in its work by the Treasurer and it shall review all income and expenses of the
EOVCL for the prior year.

Section 2: There shall be Sub-Committees to promote the objectives and interests of the EOVCL.
These Sub-Committees include Membership, Communications, Community Development, Economic
Development and Infrastructure.
● Membership: The duties include (1) Maintain an accurate membership and contact list; (2)
Register new members; (3) Conduct membership meeting check-in; (4) Notify new EOV
residents about the Civic League; and (5) Support Treasurer dues collection.
● Communications: The duties include (1) Maintain and update the EOVCL Website and Social
Media; (2) Establish and solicit advertising; (3) Prepare monthly meeting announcements: (4)
Distribute on a regular basis information of interest to membership.
● Community Development: The duties include supporting and informing the membership about
activities that improve or impact the community. These include (1) Shoreline Restoration
projects; (2) Grant applications; (3) Community clean-up events; (4) Interface with Public
Safety organizations; (5) Supporting Senior and Community Recreation Centers and activities;
and (6) Promoting the beneficial use of City property within EOV.
● Economic Development: The duties include supporting and informing the membership about
development activities that improve or impact the community. These include (1) Monitoring the
Norfolk General Plan 2030 for the reinvestment, reuse and redevelopment of existing
properties (2) Short Term Rental City policy and permit applications; and (3) Business and City
development projects.
● Infrastructure: The duties include supporting and informing the membership about
infrastructure activities that improve or impact the community. These include (1) Multi- modal
transportation (Vision Zero); (2) Norfolk Coastal Storm Risk Management; and (3) Beach
Replenishment.

Section 3: There may also be such Ad-Hoc Sub-Committees as may be required to promote the
objectives and interests of the EOVCL, such as a Bylaws Sub-Committee.

Section 4: The President shall appoint a chairperson for each Sub- Committee and any Ad-Hoc
Committees. The President may appoint other members as required. When necessary, the Sub-
Committee chairperson shall report on activities of their Sub-Committees as required at regular
meetings and shall make a final written report at the end of their term.

ARTICLE X - THE PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

The rules contained in “Robert’s Rules of Order revised” shall govern this Civic League in all cases to
which they are not inconsistent with these by-laws.

ARTICLE XI - DISSOLUTION
Section 1: In the event there are not enough candidates to fill the positions of President,
Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer to keep the civic league viable, the EOVCL will be dissolved
at the end of its then current year.

Section 2: Any and all contracts for services or supplies shall be terminated to the extent allowable by
the particular contract. No new contracts for services or supplies shall be entered.

Section 3: All monies in the treasury or to be deposited in the treasury for the balance of the year of
dissolution will be distributed in the following order:
(a) All bills outstanding will be paid in full
(b) All prepaid membership dues will be refunded
(c) Any unfulfilled portion of newsletter advertisers’ contracts will be refunded
(d) Any remaining monies in the treasury and all fixed assets of the EOVCL shall be distributed to
one or more recognized charities as approved by the Board of Directors

ARTICLE XII – AMENDMENTS

These by-laws may be amended by a vote of 2/3 of the quorum present at a general membership
meeting, provided the proposed amendment(s) were presented in writing and read to the membership
at the preceding month's scheduled meeting as a presentation for adoption. Transmittal of the
proposed changes may be made by electronic means. Reading of the proposed changes may be
foregone by a simple majority vote of the general membership at the meeting at which the proposed
changes are to be considered. In no case, however, shall changes be considered sooner than one
month after first being presented in writing to the general membership.
President Date: January 4, 2024