[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Fair
Haven 3-6-1995 by L.L. No. 2-1995. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Zoning — See Ch. 150.
For the purpose of providing and ensuring fair housing opportunities
for all within the Village of Fair Haven, the Village Board of the Village
of Fair Haven, in the County of Cayuga, State of New York, under the authority
of the General Municipal and Village Laws, hereby obtains, enacts, and publishes
this chapter.
For the purpose of this chapter, certain words or phrases herein shall
be interpreted as follows, except where the context clearly indicated the
contrary: words used in the singular include the plural; words used in the
present tense include the future tense; the word "person" includes a corporation
as well as an individual; and the word "shall" is always mandatory.
For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms or words herein shall
be interpreted as follows:
Any building, structure, or portion thereof which is occupied as,
or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one or more families,
and any vacant land which is offered for sale or lease for the construction
or location thereon of any such building, structure, or portion thereof.
Includes a single individual.
Includes one or more individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations,
labor organizations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint-stock
companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy,
receivers, and fiduciaries.
Includes to lease, to sublease, to let and otherwise to grant for
a consideration the right to occupy premises not owned by the occupant.
Except as exempted by § 59-7, it shall be unlawful within the Village of Fair Haven:
A.
To refuse to sell or rent after the making of a bona
fide offer, or to refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of, or otherwise
make unavailable or deny, a dwelling to any person because of race, color,
religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.
B.
To discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions,
or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services
or facilities in connection therewith, because of race, color, religion, sex,
handicap, familial status, or national origin.
C.
To make, print or publish, or cause to be made, printed
or published, any notice, statement, or advertisement with respect to the
sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation or
discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex handicap, familial status,
or national origin, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation,
or discrimination.
D.
To represent to any person because of race, color, religion,
sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin that any dwelling is not
available for inspection, sale, or rental when such dwelling is in fact so
available.
E.
For profit, to induce or attempt to induce any person
to sell or rent any dwelling by representations regarding the entry into the
neighborhood of a person or persons of a particular race, color, religion,
sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.
It shall be unlawful within the Village of Fair Haven for any bank, building and loan association, insurance company, or other corporation, association, firm or enterprise, whose business consists in whole or in part in the making of commercial real estate loans, to deny a loan or other financial assistance to a person applying therefor for the purpose of purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing, or maintaining a dwelling: or to discriminate against him in the fixing of the amount, interest rate, duration or other terms or conditions of such loan or other financial assistance because of the race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin of such person or of any person associated with him in connection with such loan or other financial assistance, or the purposes of such loan or other financial assistance, or of the present or prospective owners, lessees, tenants, or occupants of the dwelling or dwellings in relation to which such loan or other financial assistance is to be made or given; provided, that nothing contained in this section shall impair the scope or effectiveness of the exception contained in § 59-7.
It shall be unlawful within the Village of Fair Haven to deny any person
access to or membership or participation in any multiple-listing service,
real estate broker's organization, or other service, organization, or
facility relating to the business of selling or renting dwellings; or to discriminate
against him in the terms or conditions of such access, membership, or participation
on account of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national
origin.
B.
Sales/rentals by religious organizations. Nothing in
this chapter shall prohibit a religious organization, association, or society,
or any nonprofit institution or organization operated, supervised, or controlled
by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association, or society,
from limiting the sale, rental, or occupancy of dwellings which it owns or
operates for other than a commercial purpose to the persons of the same religion,
or from giving preference to such persons, unless membership in such religion
is restricted on account of race, color, sex, handling, familial status, or
national origin. Nor shall anything in this chapter prohibit a private club
not in fact open to the public, which as an incident to its primary purposes
or purposes provides lodgings which it owns or operates for other than a commercial
purpose, from limiting the rental of occupancy of such lodgings to its members
or from giving preference to its members.
The authority and responsibility for publicizing, administering, and
enforcing this chapter shall be in the Village's Fair Housing Officer,
to be designated by the Mayor of the Village of Fair Haven.
Violations of this chapter shall be reported in person or in writing
to the Village's Attorney/Fair Housing Officer within a year of the alleged
discriminatory housing practice.
Where sufficient cause exists to believe that the terms of this chapter
have been violated, the Fair Housing Officer shall institute a suit in Village
Court against the alleged violator within 120 days following the issuance
of the charge.
Where a person or organization has been found, after a trial on the
merits, in violation of this chapter, a fine shall be imposed on such person
or organization not to exceed $10,000 for a first offense and $25,000 for
a second offense and $50,000 for third offense. The minimum fine for violations
of this chapter shall be $50,000 for a first offense, and $500 for each additional
offense. Each and every separate violation of this chapter shall be deemed
an offense for the purposes of imposing the appropriate fine.
The Village Board may, on its own initiative or on petition, amend,
supplement, or repeal the provisions of this chapter in conformity with applicable
law after public notice and hearing.
In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this chapter
shall be held to be minimum requirements, adopted for the promotion of the
public health, morals, safety or the general welfare. Whenever the requirements
of this chapter are at variance with the requirements of any other lawfully
adopted rules, regulations, or ordinances, the most restrictive, or that imposing
the highest standards, shall govern.
The invalidity of any section or provision of this chapter shall not
invalidate any other section or provision thereof.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Village of Fair
Haven, Fair Housing Law."
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon adoption.
