Community Agreement Is 90 Years Old
What is the Origin of the Community Agreement?
The Community Agreement originated in 1919, when the Village of Garden City was incorporated. At that time, there were 3 developing areas in Garden City - "Old Garden City," now known as the Central Section, with 50 homes; "Garden City East," now known as the Eastern Section, with 160 homes; and "Garden City Estates," with 160 homes, now known as the Estates Section. In 1931, the Western Section officially became part of the Village.1
Until 1919, two development companies owned and managed the unsold land within each of the three geographic sections. The Garden City Company controlled Old Garden City and Garden City East, while the Estates Corporation controlled the Estates Section. The developers owned the roads, provided some municipal services including police and fire, and controlled their own zoning by determining the size and allowable usage of each plot of land they sold to individual property owners.2
As a matter of practicality, individual property owners in all of the sections, along with the developers, decided to unite as an incorporated village, with one government to provide uniform municipal services and zoning.
The debate, however, was how to elect members of the Board of Trustees so that each section would be represented. In 1919, and as it is today, the number of property owners, population density, and physical size of each area were not equal. To resolve the problem, the Community Agreement was adopted as a compromise solution, and it has been honored ever since in village and school district elections.
What is the Community Agreement?
The Community Agreement provides a systematic process for nominating candidates for election to the Village Board so that each of the four sections of the Village has two seats on the Board. All eight Board members, including the Mayor, are elected for 2-year terms. The Mayor's seat rotates to another section of the Village every two years.
Each section is responsible for providing candidates for the Annual Village General Election which is held in March and governed by New York State Election Law. The candidates from the four sections are presented on the ballot as The Community Agreement Party slate. Although nominated from each section, all Board members are elected at large and represent the entire village.
What is The Unified Procedure?
Each of the four sections has a nominating committee that presents candidates for the Annual Village General Election. In accordance with the Unified Procedure, residents of the respective sections meet in January. At that time, additional nominees may be presented by eligible voters.
Should an additional nominee be presented in any given section, a local "run-off" or primary election is held there, two weeks later. Only persons residing within that section may vote in the local "run-off" election. The winner becomes that section's candidate on the Community Agreement Party slate for the March Village General Election.
The Property Owners' Associations
Under the Community Agreement, each section has its own property owners' association. The four POAs adhere to the Unified Procedure and form the Community Agreement Party for the purpose of the Village General Election. The individual POAs have their own by-laws to elect their nominating committees, and are responsible for holding local "run-off" elections when they are necessary.
The POA's provide the mechanism for conducting the "resident electors' business" which is the selection of candidates for election to the Village Board of Trustees. In choosing candidates for the office of Mayor and Village Trustee, the nominating committees traditionally seek people who have worked within the POAs so that as elected officials, they bring to the table an overall knowledge and understanding of the Village infrastructure, the various boards and commissions and the Village Code.
The POAs also serve as civic associations to advocate on behalf of their residents and advise the Board of Trustees on issues of concern. To promote communication and cooperation, the Presidents and Vice Presidents of the four POAs form the Joint Conference Committee to discuss issues that affect the Village as a whole, and to ensure village-wide awareness of those issues that are unique to any given section.
Why Is the Community Agreement Important?
Since 1919, the Community Agreement has provided an orderly system for nominating candidates for the Village General Election. It has ensured that two elected officials from each section of the Village will serve on the Board of Trustees at all times.
The Community Agreement prevents traditional partisan politics; produces elected officials who have demonstrated a sustained, overall interest in, and knowledge of the Village prior to election; and, along with the POAs, provides an open form of government, rooted in the spirit of cooperation, compromise and respect of residents from all four sections of the Village.
1 M.H. Smith, The History of Garden City, p. 106, Rev. Edition, copyright The Garden City Historical Society
2 Ibid., p. 106.
