Welcome to the community of Avalon Shores

Upcoming Events

Below are some important dates regarding the Association.

All Community Meetings are held in The Mustard Seed Café at the South County Community Church located at 1320 Avalon Blvd.

Bulletin Board

Visit our Bulletin Board to download community documents like bylaws, minutes, and more.

⚠️ Important Notice ⚠️

During the April 11 meeting, a resident called the meeting to order early and moved to postpone the bylaws amendment discussion until after the elections. A vote was taken, and the majority approved the postponement.

The Board has received the updated draft of the proposed bylaws

A Special Meeting was held on March 14 at 10:30 a.m. for the sole purpose of reviewing and discussing the proposed amendments to the Association’s bylaws.

During the meeting, we began reviewing the proposed changes with those in attendance and several amendments were approved. Unfortunately, partway through the discussion we lost quorum, which means we no longer had the minimum number of members present required to continue conducting official business. As a result, the review of the remaining bylaws could not be completed.

The current draft of the bylaws has been updated to reflect the changes that were approved during the March 14 meeting. When the meeting resumes, we will continue the review from the point where the discussion ended. The provisions that were already approved on March 14 will not be revisited or revised.

We encourage residents to review the updated draft in advance of the next meeting and attend so they can participate in the discussion.

It has come to the Board’s attention that a resident may have misunderstood parts of the proposed bylaws. Before more misinformation spreads on social media, the Board would like to clarify the reasoning behind some of the proposed changes.

We want to remind everyone that the best way to get accurate information is to contact the Board directly. Relying on second-hand information or social media discussions can often lead to misunderstandings.

The Avalon Shores Civic Association, Inc. was established in 1960. Among its purposes were promoting the welfare of the community, providing and maintaining recreational facilities, and encouraging residents and property owners to maintain their properties in ways that benefit the neighborhood.

Separately, Special Community Benefit District accounts are governed by Title 7 of the Anne Arundel County Code. These districts work by collecting a tax tied to each property parcel and then returning those funds to the community for specific purposes. The law also establishes certain requirements for how those districts operate. For example, Anne Arundel County Code § 4-7-101(b) states that a person is entitled to one signature for each tax account tied to a property, and that co-owners must sign together to represent the property owner. The law also states that the district must be administered by a civic or community association “that provides for membership for each property owner in the district.”

The Avalon Shores Special Community Benefit District was established later, sometime after 1987, with the specific purpose of funding community projects such as maintaining community-owned properties, piers, easements, and equipment; installing and maintaining lighting; acquiring equipment; and covering administrative costs like insurance, auditing, mailing, and legal expenses. These purposes are described in Anne Arundel County Code § 4-7-204(e). The law also states that the district “shall be administered by the Avalon Shores Civic Association, Inc.” (§ 4-7-204(e)(3)).

For nearly 30 years, the Association has operated with broader community purposes beyond simply administering the Special Tax District funds. Importantly, the law does not state that association membership must be limited only to tax account holders.

Because of this, the Board has proposed updated language addressing membership for adults living in a household connected to a property owner—such as spouses, partners, or adult children who may not be listed on the deed but are part of the household. The proposed language also addresses properties held in trusts, since under the current bylaws those owners are not clearly recognized and could technically be excluded from membership.

To be clear: the proposed bylaws do NOT give renters any rights. The current bylaws are actually silent on this issue, which has led to confusion in the past. The proposed bylaws explicitly clarify that renters do not have membership or voting rights.

The current bylaws (Article V, Section 1) state that “Any tax paying property owner” in the area defined in Article III is a full member of the Association. Section 2 states that each full member has one vote, except that resident families with at least two adults may have two votes, but no residence may have more than two votes. This language is vague and does not clearly align with the requirements of the Special Benefit District law.

The proposed bylaws aim to correct this by distinguishing between membership rights and voting rights.

While membership is expanded to better reflect modern households, voting rights on matters involving Special Tax District funds are reserved for the tax account holders tied to the properties. For these matters, the proposed bylaws follow the county law by establishing “one vote per tax account.” Likewise, Board positions that involve the administration of those funds must be held by tax account holders associated with the properties.

The proposed bylaws also address several other issues in the current bylaws:

• The current bylaws contain a conflict about Board terms.
• Article V, Section 1 states that officers and directors serve one-year terms.
• Article IX, Section 1 states that Board members elected in May serve two-year terms.

Because of this inconsistency, the proposed bylaws (Article VIII, Section 2) clarify that Board members will serve two-year terms. The Board believes this is reasonable because one year is often not enough time for new members to learn how the Board operates. It would also allow the May community meeting, which is currently dominated by elections every year, to focus on community issues every other year.

• The current bylaws Article VI, Section 3 refers to an “April meeting of the Association,” but no such meeting actually exists.
• The current bylaws Article X, Sections 1 and 2 state that meeting notices must be posted at the Avalon Boulevard entrance at least one week before the meeting. However, Maryland law requires at least 10 days’ notice for meetings (Maryland Corporations and Associations § 2-504 (2024)). The proposed bylaws correct this in Article VII, Sections 1 and 2 so the Association complies with state law.

The proposed bylaws also include several governance improvements, such as:

• Term limits for Board members
• Due process procedures for removal of Board members
• Election procedures consistent with Robert’s Rules of Order

If you have questions about the proposed bylaws, please contact the Board directly. We strongly encourage community involvement and discussion, but we also ask residents to avoid spreading misinformation so everyone can make informed decisions.