Bill Text: CT SB01048 | 2015 | General Assembly | Comm Sub
Bill Title: An Act Amending The Charter Of The Giants Neck Beach Association Within The Town Of East Lyme.
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-06-02 - Senate Recommitted to Planning and Development [SB01048 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2015-SB01048-Comm_Sub.html
General Assembly |
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January Session, 2015 |
*_____SB01048GAE___042115____* |
AN ACT AMENDING THE CHARTER OF THE GIANTS NECK BEACH ASSOCIATION WITHIN THE TOWN OF EAST LYME.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 1 of number 399 of the special acts of 1941, as amended by section 1 of number 278 of the special acts of 1947, is amended to read as follows (Effective from passage):
(a) The owners of a freehold interest in any land within the limits specified in section two of this act, in the locality known as Giants Neck in the town of East Lyme, shall be, while they continue to be owners of such land, a body politic and corporate by the name of The Giants Neck Beach Association, hereinafter referred to as the "association", and by that name they and their successors shall be a corporation in law capable of suing and being sued and pleading and being impleaded in all courts, and shall be vested with and possess the powers hereinafter specified. [All persons who are over twenty-one years of age who own or who may own any land within said limits, while they continue to be owners of such land, and the legal spouses of such persons, shall be members of The Giants Neck Beach Association, hereinafter referred to as the "Association", and entitled to vote at any meeting of said association and shall be eligible to any office in said association.]
(b) Eligibility: Every individual, corporation, trust, partnership, limited liability company or other legal entity, who owns or who may hereafter become the owner of any land within said limits, while they continue to be owners of such land, shall automatically be a member of said association in the manner hereinafter provided. When the ownership of any land in the association is in the name of more than one individual, each co-owner shall be deemed a member of the association. When the ownership of any land is in the name of a corporation, trust, partnership, limited liability company or other legal entity, said entity may designate a member representative by notifying the association secretary of such designation in writing. Each member or member representative and his or her legal spouse shall be eligible for any office in said association, provided they are at least part-time residents of any land within the limits of the association.
(c) Voting Rights: Regardless of the form of ownership or the number of members who reside at a particular property, each property within the association shall have only one vote to cast in association matters. When the ownership of any land in the association is in the name of more than one individual, the co-owners shall be entitled to only one vote among them. If such co-owners disagree as to how the vote shall be cast, none of them shall vote. The association may accept the vote of any single co-owner as being the vote for a property, unless it has actual notice of a disagreement among the co-owners prior to the time of voting. The governing board and the association shall not be liable to any member or third party for accepting the vote of any owner or member representative designated as a member representative pursuant to this section.
(d) This section shall become operative on its approval by a majority vote of the qualified members of the association at a meeting thereof called and held for that purpose.
Sec. 2. Section 4 of number 399 of the special acts of 1941 is amended to read as follows (Effective from passage):
The first meeting of the members of said association shall be held not later than September 8, 1941, at such time and place within the limits of said association as the committee hereinafter named shall appoint in a notice warning such meeting, for the purpose of electing a governing board to consist of seven members of the association. Two of such members shall be elected for a term of one year, two of such members shall be elected for a term of two years and three of such members shall be elected for a term of three years, unless they or any of them shall sooner cease to be property owners within the limits of said association. At each annual meeting thereafter, the successors to the members of the governing board whose terms expire shall be elected for terms of [three] two years. Said governing board shall elect from among its members a president, one or more vice presidents and such other officers as are deemed necessary. Said board shall appoint a secretary and a treasurer and define their duties. Neither of such appointees shall, necessarily, be a member of the board and both positions may be held by one person. Annual meetings shall thereafter be held not later than September eighth, in each subsequent year at such time and place as the governing board shall direct and warn.
Sec. 3. Section 5 of number 399 of the special acts of 1941 is amended to read as follows (Effective from passage):
(a) Logan E. Page of New Britain, Francis C. Luce of Stafford Springs, A. R. Carpenter of Bloomfield, Bert W. Chapman and Samuel Ludlow, Jr., of West Hartford, Dr. Hugh F. Lena of New London, and Harold C. Alvord of Manchester, or a majority of them, shall have full power to warn the first meeting of the members of said association for the purpose of electing seven members to form a governing board, which warning shall be written or printed, signed by a majority of said board, and three copies at least posted in public places within the limits of said association, at least three days before such meeting; and any member of said committee may call such meeting to order and may lead the same to the choice of a moderator and clerk and to the election of a governing board. All subsequent meetings, annual or special, shall be warned by said governing board in the manner prescribed by it in rules or by-laws made by said board.
(b) The governing board may, at its discretion, identify in the call of any regular or special association meeting matters on which a member or a duly authorized representative of a member may vote by absentee ballot. In addition, the governing board, at its discretion, may conduct a vote of the association solely by absentee ballot, provided a meeting of the association has first been conducted to discuss the proposed vote. The types of matters for which absentee ballots may be used are (1) the annual operating budget of the association, (2) capital projects not exceeding fifteen thousand dollars, and (3) disposition of association assets. Voting by absentee ballot shall be conducted in the manner prescribed in the association bylaws.
(c) Members of the governing board may participate in meetings through the use of conference telephone, videoconference or similar communications equipment if all members participating in the meeting are able to hear and identify each other, provided that a quorum is physically present at the noticed meeting location. Participation in a meeting through the use of conference telephone, videoconference or similar communications equipment shall constitute presence in person at such meeting, except for purposes of determining a quorum. Any member so participating shall identify himself or herself each time he or she speaks.
Sec. 4. Section 7 of number 399 of the special acts of 1941, as amended by section 1 of number 471 of the special acts of 1951, is amended to read as follows (Effective from passage):
Said association may purchase, acquire or own real estate or any interest therein, and the governing board may enact such by-laws and ordinances as may be incident to and necessary for the functioning of such governing board in carrying out the powers with which it is vested, to prescribe the salaries or compensations of all officers and employees of said association and for the following purposes: To regulate travel over the highways within the limits of the association when, in the opinion of said board, the free and unrestricted use of said highways may become dangerous or inconvenient; to protect by suitable means property within its limits from theft or injury; to appoint at its expense one or more special policemen or watchmen who shall have the powers and duties within its limits in relation to criminals and criminal offenses that constables have in towns, including the power to arrest for violation of any regulation or by-law of said association, or any law, and the judiciary shall punish for resistance to or obstruction of such special policemen or watchmen while in the proper performance of their official duties in the same manner as though they were duly constituted police officers of the town of East Lyme; to clean and improve any and all ditches; to care for beaches and water fronts; to keep the streets and all public places within the limits of said association quiet and free from noise; to regulate the parking of motor vehicles; to build, repair and improve highways, roads, sidewalks, piers, docks and breakwaters within the limits of said association; to require owners or lessors of land or buildings within the limits of said association to remove leaves and other inflammable material or obstructions from the highway adjacent to or in front of property owned, leased or occupied by them; to prevent the deposit upon the property within the limits of said association of any refuse, garbage or waste material of any kind which, in the opinion of said board, may endanger the public health or safety or which may become a nuisance; to remove garbage, filth, nightsoil, ashes and other refuse matter within said limits, and to authorize such persons as the board may designate to make entry on any private property within said limits for the purpose of taking and removing all filth, garbage, ashes, nightsoil or any other offensive matters; to establish building lines; to protect any property from danger by fire, including the regulation of the number of cottages and structures that may be erected or placed on a single building lot within said limits; to zone the area within the limits of said association, thereby regulating and restricting the height, number of stories, size of buildings, per cent of lot that may be occupied, the size of yards, courts and other open spaces, the location and use of buildings, structures and land for trade, industry, residence and other purposes, and establishing the boundaries of the districts for said purposes and providing penalties for violations of restrictions; to regulate the carrying on, within the limits of said association, of any business that will, in the opinion of said board, be prejudicial to public health or dangerous to or constitute an unreasonable annoyance to those living or owning property in the vicinity thereof, which regulations shall be uniform for each class or kind of buildings or structures, or class of business; to regulate peddling as provided for in towns under the general statutes; to restrict the right of entry on the property of said association except upon the highways and to promote the planting of trees and shrubbery and other work leading to the improvement of the general appearance of the community. Said association shall have exclusive charge and control of all roads within the limits and shown on the maps referred to in section two which are not under town or state control. Said governing board may fix a penalty for each violation of any such by-laws, ordinances or regulations [, of not more than twenty dollars for each offense,] and the penalties may be recovered in any action brought for the purpose in the name of The Giants Neck Beach Association before any court having jurisdiction, for the use and benefit of said association. No by-law or ordinance shall take effect until ten days after its passage nor until it shall have been posted on a signpost within the limits of the association, to be designated by the governing board, for at least seven days. A certificate of the secretary of said association of the posting of any by-laws or ordinance as provided herein shall be prima facie evidence of such posting. The association may acquire by lease or purchase any part or all of the property, real or personal, of The Giants Neck Land and Improvement Company.
Sec. 5. Section 8 of number 399 of the special acts of 1941, as amended by section 2 of number 278 of the special acts of 1947, section 2 of number 471 of the special acts of 1951 and number 173 of the special acts of 1959, is amended to read as follows (Effective from passage):
The territorial limits of said association shall constitute a separate taxing district within the town of East Lyme, and the secretary of the association shall, in the manner directed by the association or the governing board, make an assessment list of all the real estate within the limits of said association as shall appear by the assessment list of the town of East Lyme then last completed or next thereafter to be completed, and the list so prepared by the secretary shall correspond in description, amount and value of such real estate, with such town list. When real estate so entered in the town list shall be located partly within and partly without the limits of said association, and there shall be no distinct and separate value put by the assessors of the town upon the part lying within said association, the secretary of said association shall assess the part within said association upon the basis of the proportion which the part within the association shall bear to the whole tract or property so assessed, using his best judgment as to such value. When the title to any property shall have changed before the time of laying any tax, such property shall be listed by the secretary in the name of the person owning it at the time of the laying of such tax. Said secretary shall, within such time as may be limited by the governing board, return such list duly signed and sworn to by him, to the governing board of said association, which shall revise such list, and, if such board shall find that the same fails to correspond with the assessment list of the town of East Lyme, or if said board shall find that there are any errors in the proportional valuation of such parts of any piece of property partly within and partly without the association, said board shall correct the same and such list, when so revised shall be adopted by said board and shall then constitute the assessment list for the association. Any person aggrieved by the doings of the secretary of said board or said board in preparing such list, shall have the right of appeal [to the court of common pleas] as is provided by the general statutes for appeals from boards of tax review. [to the court of common pleas.] Said board of governors shall prepare and submit to said association, at each annual meeting, a budget and recommend a tax for the purpose of and based on such budget and the assessment list of the association then last completed or next thereafter to be completed, which budget and tax rate shall be posted on the signpost of said association not less than five days before such annual meeting. Said association, at any meeting, shall have the power to increase or decrease such budget and rate of taxation so recommended by said board of governors. The rate of taxation so recommended by said board of governors shall be final unless increased or decreased by the association at such annual meeting or at any special meeting of the association called for the purpose. In the event a budget and tax rate are not adopted by the association at the annual meeting, necessary expenditures shall be made and the tax rate shall be set in the manner specified in sections 7-405 and 12-123 of the general statutes, until a budget and tax rate are approved by the association at a special meeting or until a budget and tax rate are adopted at the next annual meeting. The rate of taxation of the association shall not exceed eight mills on the dollar. The tax so laid shall be collected by the treasurer or by any collector specially appointed by the governing board for the purpose, and a rate book shall be prepared and signed by the secretary of said board within such time and in such manner as may be directed by said board, and warrants shall be issued for the collection of money due on such rate bill pursuant to the provisions of [section 1813 of] the general statutes. In addition to the assessment specified in this section, the governing board may, upon approval of the association voting at a regular or special meeting duly warned, enact special assessments to fund capital projects. The amount of any such special assessment may be made on any basis that is recommended by the governing board as necessary and proper, given the nature of the project for which the assessment is being made, provided such amount has been approved by the association at a regular or special meeting duly warned. Said association shall have the power to determine all other matters pertaining to the levy or collection of taxes and special assessments within the territorial limits of the association. Written notice of the rate of any tax and the amount thereof, or of the assessment apportioned to each member of the association, shall be sent by the treasurer or collector to each member of the association before July first in each year, on which date such tax shall be due and payable and in the manner stated therein, and, if such tax shall not be paid when due, it shall bear interest at the rate of nine per cent per annum. The treasurer or other collector shall have all the powers of collectors of town taxes and shall be accountable to the governing board in the same manner as town collectors are accountable to selectmen. Such tax or assessment shall be a lien upon the property upon which it shall be laid and may be collected by suit in the name of the association by foreclosure of such lien or in such manner as town taxes may be collected. Such lien may be continued by certificate which shall be recorded in the land records of the town or towns in which it is located, pursuant to the provisions of the general statutes relating to the continuance of tax liens.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
from passage |
Number 399 of the special acts of 1941, Sec. 1 |
Sec. 2 |
from passage |
Number 399 of the special acts of 1941, Sec. 4 |
Sec. 3 |
from passage |
Number 399 of the special acts of 1941, Sec. 5 |
Sec. 4 |
from passage |
Number 399 of the special acts of 1941, Sec. 7 |
Sec. 5 |
from passage |
Number 399 of the special acts of 1941, Sec. 8 |
PD |
Joint Favorable Subst. |
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GAE |
Joint Favorable |