(a)
It is
hereby declared to be the policy of the city to bring about through
fair, orderly and lawful procedures, the opportunity of each person
to obtain housing without regard to race, color, creed, religion,
sex, national origin, physical or mental handicap, marital status,
parenthood or age.
(b)
It is
further declared that such policy is established upon a recognition
of the inalienable rights of each individual to obtain housing without
regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, physical
or mental handicap, marital status, parenthood, age and further that
the denial of such rights through considerations based on race, color,
creed, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental handicap,
marital status, parenthood or age is detrimental to the health, safety
and welfare of the inhabitants of the city and constitutes an unjust
denial or deprivation of such inalienable rights which is within the
power and the proper responsibility of government to prevent.
(Ordinance 95-03-22 adopted 3/22/95)
As used in this article the following words and phrases shall
have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section unless
the context requires otherwise:
Means the calendar age of an individual eighteen (18) years
of age or over.
Means any set of principles, rules, opinions and precepts
formally expressed and seriously adhered to or maintained by a person.
Means the city manager or authorized assistant.
Means a building consisting of four or more dwelling units.
Means an act which is unlawful under this article.
Means any building, structure or portion thereof which is
occupied as, or designed and intended for occupancy as a residence
by one or more persons and any vacant land which is offered for sale
or lease for the construction or location thereof of any such building,
structure or portion thereof.
Means a single, individual or a group of individuals living
together under one common roof.
Means functions such as, but not limited to eating for one's
self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking,
breathing, learning and working.
Means an individual's status as a single, married, divorced,
widowed or separated person.
Means a person's status as a parent or legal guardian of
a child or children under the age of eighteen (18).
Means 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.
Means any physical or mental impairment which substantially
limits one or more major life activities.
Shall include:
Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement
or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems:
neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory including
speech organs, cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genitourinary,
hemic and lymphatic, skin and endocrine; or
Any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental retardation,
organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness and specific learning
disabilities.
Includes to lease, to sublease, to let and otherwise to grant
for a consideration the right to occupy premises not owned by the
occupant.
Means a person fifty-five (55) years of age or older.
(Ordinance 95-03-22 adopted 3/22/95)
This article shall in no way be interpreted as creating a judicial
right or remedy which is the same or substantially equivalent to the
remedies provided under Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968,
as amended or the Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 U.S.C.
1691). All aggrieved parties shall retain the rights granted to them
to Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended and the
Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act. In construing this article,
it is the intent of the city council that the court shall be guided
by Federal Court Interpretations of Title VIII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1968, as amended, and the Federal Equal Credit Opportunity
Act, where appropriate.
(Ordinance 95-03-22 adopted 3/22/95)
Except as exempted, it shall be unlawful:
(1)
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, creed, religion,
sex, national origin, physical or mental handicap, marital status,
parenthood or age.
(2)
To discriminate
against any person in the terms, conditions or privileges of a sale
or rental of a dwelling or in the provision of services or facilities
in connection therewith because or race, color, creed, religion, sex,
national origin, physical or mental handicap, marital status, parenthood
or age.
(3)
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, creed, religion, sex, national origin, physical
or mental handicap, marital status, parenthood, age or an intention
to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.
(4)
To represent
to any person because of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national
origin, physical or mental handicap, marital status, parenthood or
age that any dwelling is not available for inspection, sale or rental
when such dwelling is in fact so available.
(5)
To induce
or attempt to induce any person to sell or rent any dwelling by representations
regarding the entry or prospective entry into the neighborhood of
a person or persons of a particular race, creed, religion, sex, national
origin, physical or mental handicap, marital status, parenthood or
age.
(Ordinance 95-03-22 adopted 3/22/95)
It shall be unlawful for any bank, building and loan association,
insurance company or other person whose business consists in whole
or in part in the making of 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, creed, religion,
sex, national origin, physical or mental handicap, marital status,
parenthood or age of such person or such persons associated therewith
or because of the race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin,
physical or mental handicap, marital status, parenthood, or age of
the present or prospective owners, lessees, tenants or occupants of
the dwelling or dwellings for which such loan or other financial assistance
is to be made or given.
(Ordinance 95-03-22 adopted 3/22/95)
It shall be unlawful for any person to deny another person access
to membership in, or participation in any multiple listing service,
real estate brokers' organization, or other service, organization
or facility relating to the business of selling and renting dwellings
or to discriminate against another person in the terms or conditions
of such access, membership or participation, on account of race, color,
creed, religion, sex, national origin, physical or mental handicap,
marital status, parenthood or age.
(Ordinance 95-03-22 adopted 3/22/95)
It shall be unlawful for any person to harass, threaten, harm,
damage or otherwise penalize any individual, group or business because
such individual, group or business has complied with the provisions
of this article or has exercised in good faith rights under this article,
or has enjoyed the benefits of this article, or because such individual,
group, or business has made a charge in good faith, testified in good
faith or assisted in good faith in any manner in any investigation,
or in any proceeding hereunder or has made any report to the city
manager. It shall also be unlawful for any person if he retaliates
against any person for making a complaint, testifying, assisting or
participating in any manner in a proceeding under this article.
(Ordinance 95-03-22 adopted 3/22/95)
(a)
These
restrictions are in coordination with the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA). The number of units which must meet ADA requirements of
accessibility is controlled by the ADA.
(b)
A person
commits an offense if he:
(1)
refuses
to permit, at the expense of a handicapped person, reasonable modifications
of existing premises occupied or to be occupied by the handicapped
person, if the modifications may be necessary to afford the handicapped
person full use of the premises; except that in the case of a rental,
the landlord may, where reasonable to do so, condition permission
for modification on the renter's agreeing to restore the interior
of the premises to the condition that existed before the modification,
reasonable wear and tear excepted;
(2)
refuses
to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or
services when the accommodations may be necessary to afford a handicapped
person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a housing accommodation;
(3)
fails
to design or construct a covered multi-family dwelling, for first
occupancy after March 13, 1991 (in accordance with the ADA), to have
at least one building entrance on an accessible route, unless it is
impractical to do so because of the terrain or unusual characteristics
of the site; or
(4)
fails
to design and construct a covered multi-family dwelling, for first
occupancy after March 13, 1991 (in accordance with the ADA), that
has a building entrance on an accessible route in such a manner that:
(A)
the public and common use areas of the dwelling are readily accessible
to and usable by a handicapped person;
(B)
all the doors designed to allow passage into and within all premises
are sufficiently wide to allow passage by a handicapped person in
a wheelchair; and
(C)
all premises within a dwelling unit contain the following features
of adaptive design:
(i)
an accessible route into and through the dwelling unit;
(ii)
light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats and other environmental
controls in accessible locations;
(iii)
reinforcements in the bathroom walls to allow later installation
of grab bars; and
(iv)
usable kitchens and bathrooms that allow a person in a wheelchair
to maneuver about the space.
(Ordinance 95-03-22 adopted 3/22/95)
(a)
Nothing
in this article shall apply to:
(1)
Any
single-family house sold or rented by an owner, provided that:
(A)
Such private individual owner does not own more than three (3) single
family houses at any one time;
(B)
If the owner does not reside in the house at the time of the sale
or was not the most recent resident of such house prior to the sale,
the exemption granted by this section shall apply only with respect
to one such sale within any twenty-four (24) month period;
(C)
Such bona fide private individual owner does not own any interest
in, nor is there owned or reserved on such person's behalf, under
any express voluntary agreement, title to or any right to all or any
portion of the proceeds from the sale or rental of more than three
(3) such single-family houses at any one time;
(D)
The sale or rental is made without the use in any manner of the sales
or rental facilities or the sales or rental services of any real estate
broker, agent or salesman, or of such facilities or services of any
person in the business of selling or renting of dwellings or of any
employee or agent of any such broker, agent, salesman or person; and
(E)
The sale or rental is made without the publication, posting or mailing
of any advertisement or written notice in violation of this article,
but nothing in this provision shall prohibit the use of attorneys,
escrow agents, abstractors, title companies and other such professional
assistance as necessary to perfect or transfer the title.
(2)
Rooms
or units in dwellings containing living quarters occupied or intended
to be occupied by no more than four (4) families living independently
of each other, if the owner actually maintains and occupies one of
such living quarters as his residence except that this defense is
not available if the offense involves a sale of all or part of the
housing accommodation.
(b)
For the purposes of subsection (a), a person shall be deemed to be in the business of selling or renting dwellings if:
(1)
He
has, within the preceding twelve (12) months, participated as principal
in three (3) or more transactions involving the sale or rental of
any dwelling or any interest therein;
(2)
He
has, within the preceding twelve (12) months, participated as agent,
other than in the sale of his own personal residence in providing
sales or rental facilities or sales or rental services in two (2)
or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling
or any interest therein; or
(3)
He
is the owner of any dwelling designed or intended for occupancy by,
or occupied by, five (5) or more families.
(c)
Nothing
in this article shall prohibit a religious organization, association
or society or a 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 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, national origin, physical or mental
handicap, marital status, parenthood or age.
(d)
Nothing
in this article shall prohibit a private club not in fact open to
the public, which as an incident to its primary purpose or purposes
provides lodgings which it owns or operates for other than a commercial
purpose, from limiting the rental or occupancy of such lodgings to
its members or from giving preference to its members.
(e)
Nothing
in this article shall bar any person from owning and operating a housing
accommodation in which rooms are leased, subleased or rented only
to persons of the same sex, which such housing accommodation contains
common lavatory, kitchen or similar facilities available for the use
of all persons occupying such housing accommodation.
(f)
Nothing
in this article shall prohibit the sale, rental, lease or occupancy
of any dwelling designed and operated exclusively for senior adults
and their spouses, unless the sale, rental, lease or occupancy is
further restricted on account of race, color, creed, religion, sex,
national origin, physical or mental handicap and marital status.
(g)
Nothing
in this article shall bar a person who owns, operates or controls
rental dwellings whether located on the same property or on one or
more contiguous parcels of property, from reserving any grouping of
dwellings for the rental or lease to tenants with a minor child or
children; provided however, in the event that said reserved area is
completely leased or rented, the person owning, operating or controlling
said rental dwelling may not refuse to rent or lease any other available
dwelling to the prospective tenant on the basis of the tenant's status
as parent or any other of the protected classifications set forth
in this article.
(h)
Nothing
is this article shall bar a person who is engaged in the business
of furnishing appraisals of real property from taking into consideration
factors other than race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial
status or national origin.
(i)
Nothing
in this article shall require compliance with Section 4.504 regarding
occupancy of a housing accommodation by a handicapped person if the
compliance would constitute a direct threat to the health or safety
of another person or result in physical damage to another person's
property.
(Ordinance 95-03-22 adopted 3/22/95)
No person shall violate any provision of this article, or knowingly
obstruct or prevent compliance with this article.
(Ordinance 95-03-22 adopted 3/22/95)
The director shall have the responsibility of administering
and implementing this article. The city manager may delegate the authority
to investigate and conciliate complaints to other designated city
employees.
(Ordinance 95-03-22 adopted 3/22/95)
(a)
Any
person who claims to have been injured by a discriminatory housing
practice or who believes that he will be irrevocably injured by a
discriminatory housing practice that is about to occur (hereinafter
referred to as the "charging party") may file a complaint with the
city manager. Such complaints shall be in writing and shall identify
the person alleged to have committed or alleged to be committing a
discriminatory housing practice and shall state the facts upon which
the allegations of a discriminatory housing practice are based. The
city manager shall prepare complaint forms and furnish them without
charge to any person upon request.
(b)
The city manager shall receive and accept notification and referral complaints from the U.S. Attorney General and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to the provisions of Title VIII, Fair Housing Act of 1968, Public Law 90284, and shall treat such complaints hereunder in the same manner as complaints filed pursuant to subsection (a) above.
(c)
All
complaints shall be filed within one hundred eighty (180) days following
the occurrence of an alleged discriminatory housing practice. Upon
the filing or referral of any complaint, the city manager shall provide
notice of the complaint by furnishing a copy of such complaint to
the person named therein (hereinafter referred to as the "respondent")
who allegedly committed or were threatening to commit an alleged discriminatory
housing practice. The respondent may file an answer to the complaint
within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the written complaint.
(d)
All
complaints and answers shall be subscribed and sworn to before an
officer authorized to administer oaths.
(e)
If at
any time the city manager shall receive or discover credible evidence
and shall have probable cause to believe that any person or persons
have committed a discriminatory housing practice as to which no complaint
has been filed or is about to be filed, the city manager may prepare
and file a complaint upon his own motion and in his own name and such
complaint shall thereafter be treated in the same manner as a complaint
filed by a person aggrieved.
(Ordinance 95-03-22 adopted 3/22/95)
(a)
Upon
the filing or referral of a complaint as herein provided, the city
manager shall cause to be made a prompt and full investigation of
the matter stated in the complaint; provided however, that before
any charge becomes accepted for investigative purposes, the city manager
or an investigator shall have personally reviewed with the charging
party the allegations contained therein and shall have determined
that said charge comes within the provisions of this article. In the
event such review results in the determination that a particular charge
does not come within the provisions of this article, the charging
party shall be given a clear and concise explanation of the reasons
why it does not.
(b)
If the
city manager determines that there is not probable cause to believe
that a particular alleged discriminatory housing practice has been
committed, the city manager shall take no further action with respect
to that alleged offense.
(c)
During
or after the investigation, but subsequent to the mailing of the notice
of complaint, the city manager shall, if it appears that a discriminatory
housing practice has occurred or is threatening to occur, attempt
by informal endeavors to effect conciliation, including voluntary
discontinuance of the discriminatory housing practice and to obtain
adequate assurance of future voluntary compliance with provisions
of this article. Nothing said or done in the course of such informal
endeavors may be made public by the investigator, the conciliator,
the charging party or the respondent or be used as evidence in a subsequent
proceeding without the written consent of all persons concerned.
(d)
Upon
completion of an investigation where the city manager has made a determination
that a discriminatory housing practice has in fact occurred, if the
city manager is unable to secure from the respondent an acceptable
conciliation agreement, then the city manager will refer the case
to the city attorney for prosecution in municipal court or to other
agencies as appropriate. With such recommendation the city manager
shall refer the entire file to the city attorney, who shall make a
determination as to whether to proceed with prosecution of such complaint
in municipal court.
(Ordinance 95-03-22 adopted 3/22/95)
A person who violates a provision of this article commits a
criminal offense. A person is guilty of a separate offense for each
day or part of a day during which a violation is committed, continued
or permitted. A criminal offense under this article is punishable
by a fine in accordance with the general penalty provision set forth
in Section 1.109 of this code.
(Ordinance 95-03-22 adopted 3/22/95)
