Position Statements
Position Statements represent the official position taken by AIA San Antonio on issues dealing with the built environment, natural environment, development practices, public policy of San Antonio (or any municipality, county government or state government or agency having jurisdiction within the geographic limits of AIA San Antonio), or any other issue in which the voice of the architectural profession should be expressed.
Position Statements may be developed in draft form by any committee or group of committees within AIA San Antonio, or by an individual member if tasked to do so directly by the president. These committees may be tasked with the development of such draft Position Statements by the action of the Board of Directors of AIA San Antonio, the Executive Committee, or may be self-motivated. AIA San Antonio encourages the use of AIA national policy statements or information from appropriate Knowledge Communities within AIA as foundational references in any draft Position Statement, if appropriate or available.
To become an official document suitable for media release, any Position Statement must be approved and formally adopted by a two-thirds majority vote by the Board of Directors of AIA San Antonio. Votes may occur during regularly-scheduled board meetings, special board meetings called as directed by the bylaws, or via email broadcast to or telephone polling of all board members as directed by the president.
Once the Position Statement has been approved, it shall remain the official position of AIA San Antonio on that issue until such time as the Board of Directors initiates a re-examination of the issue. Such initiation shall be effected only by a two-thirds majority vote of the Board. Once approved, the president may direct the Information and Communications Committee and/or the Executive Director to distribute the Position Statement via a press release to area media resources as well as to any specific agency or individual directly affected by the Position Statement. Byline for the Position Statement shall be “AIA San Antonio Board”. Should the chapter have the services of a public relations consultant engaged, the Chapter Secretary and/or the Executive Director shall work with the public relations consultant for the distribution of press releases. In addition, the Position Statement may be posted on the chapter’s website and published in the chapter’s newsletter.
Please note that Position Statements differ from editorial comments or op-ed pieces which may be submitted by individuals for publication only within chapter newsletters. The policy for such publications is contained in the separate “Editorial Standards for Publication”, which was approved by the Board of Directors in December 2005.
In addition, individual members may submit letters to the editor or op-ed pieces to local media markets but must clearly state that the opinions expressed are solely individual and do not represent the official position of AIA San Antonio or AIA.