La. Admin. Code tit. 10 § IX-503

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section IX-503 - Well-Defined Neighborhood, Small Community, and Rural District

A.Well-Defined Neighborhood shall mean a specified small part of a geographic area considered in regard to its residents or distinctive characteristics, specified by name, and must be described in writing.

1. Boundaries may be defined by streets, roads, or other delineations including boundaries of a municipality (such as the city limits) or other boundaries that reasonably demonstrate the end of one well-defined neighborhood and the beginning of another. For example, a written description typically will include the names of streets or other delineations surrounding the well-defined neighborhood.

2. Boundaries of a well-defined neighborhood may be defined as a small part of a municipality. Indicators of unifying characteristics may include, but are not limited to, recreation centers or athletic facilities, social clubs or organizations, neighborhood associations, or similar facilities or functions.

3. A written description of a well-defined neighborhood must demonstrate a viable residential common bond based upon its size, its level of activity, and safety and soundness criteria related to service of the proposed area.

B.

1.Small Community shall mean an area where residents share common political, environmental, geographical, or economic characteristics that tend to create a mutual interest or, residents share common facilities or services such as an education or transportation system, recreational or cultural facilities, government, medical services, newspaper, fire or police protection, public utilities and services or other unifying characteristics that tend to create interaction or mutual interest. A small community must be described in writing and delineated on a map.

2. A single municipality or parish may qualify as a small community if a mutual interest can be properly documented. A credit union must demonstrate that it has or will establish, within two years, adequate facilities and staffing to serve the individuals that reside in the requested small community, including individuals residing in low income areas of the small community that have insufficient access to affordable (or non-predatory) financial services. In order to do so, a credit union must submit a business plan to the commissioner specifying how it will serve individuals in the small community, including individuals that reside in low income areas. The business plan must detail the credit and depository needs of the small community and address how a credit union plans to serve those needs. A credit union will also be expected to regularly review the business plan to determine if the small community is being adequately served. The commissioner may request periodic "service" status reports from a credit union to ensure that the needs of the small community, including individuals that reside in low income areas, are being met in an appropriate manner. The commissioner may also request such a report before allowing a credit union to further expand its field of membership.

C.Rural District shall mean an area that is outside a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as those areas are established from time to time by the United States Office of Management and Budget. It may also be represented by sharing common political characteristics or facilities such as utilization of a single police jury, election district, water district, or similar governing authority. A rural district must be described in writing and be delineated on a map. A rural district may encompass a larger geographic area than a small community, if the area is demonstrated to have certain commonalities of interest. However, a rural district may not include multiple parishes.

D. Typically, the boundaries of a small community or rural district will be defined by streets and roads but may also be bounded by other delineations including boundaries of a town, municipality (such as the city limits), or other boundaries that reasonably demonstrate the end of one small community or rural district and the beginning of another. In many cases, it may be more appropriate to describe the small community or rural district by means of a map rather than listing all delineations that comprise its border. If the written description is so limited, a well drawn map may be needed to readily facilitate a determination that a prospective member qualifies for membership based upon residence within a well-defined area being served.

E. More than one credit union may be approved to serve the same residential group common bond.

F. The credit union must demonstrate that it has or will have adequate facilities and staffing to serve the requested residential group.

G. Various groups that have a common bond of residence may be combined in the same field of membership.

La. Admin. Code tit. 10, § IX-503

Promulgated by the Office of the Governor, Office of Financial Institutions, LR 33:1630 (August 2007).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 6:121(B)(1).