For the purpose of this division, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein:
The calendar age of an individual eighteen (18) years of
age or over.
Any set of principles, rules, opinions and precepts formally
expressed and seriously adhered to or maintained by a person.
An act that is unlawful pursuant to this division.
Any building, structure or portion thereof which is occupied
as, or designed and intended for occupancy as, a residence by one
or more families or 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 or a group of individuals living
together under one common roof.
Functions such as, but not limited to, caring for one’s
self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking,
breathing, learning and working.
An individual’s status as a single, married, divorced,
widowed or separated person.
A person’s status as a parent or legal guardian of
a child or children under the age of eighteen (18).
Includes one or more individuals, corporations, partnerships,
associations, labor organizations, legal representatives, mutual companies,
joint stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees,
fiduciaries, and any other organization or entity of whatever character.
Any physical or mental impairment which substantially limits
one or more major life activities. Physical or mental impairment 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.
A person fifty-five (55) years of age or older.
(Ordinance 04-186, sec. 1, adopted 11/23/04)
This division 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 USC 1691).
All aggrieved parties shall retain the rights granted to them by title
VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended, and the Federal
Equal Credit Opportunity Act. In construing this division, it is the
intent of the city that the courts 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 04-186, sec. 2, adopted 11/23/04)
Except as exempted it shall be unlawful for any person to:
(1)
Refuse
to sell or rent, after the making of a bona fide offer, or 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, sex,
religion or national origin, physical or mental disability, marital
status, parenthood or age.
(2)
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, creed, sex, religion
or national origin, physical or mental disability, marital status,
parenthood or age.
(3)
Make,
print, publish, or cause to be made, printed or published any notice,
statement or advertisement regarding the sale or rental of a dwelling
that indicates any preference, limitation or discrimination based
on race, color, creed, sex, religion or national origin, physical
or mental disability, marital status, parenthood or age, or any intention
to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.
(4)
Represent
to any person because of race, color, creed, sex, religion or national
origin, physical or mental disability, 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)
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, color, creed, sex, religion
or national origin, physical or mental disability, marital status,
parenthood or age.
(Ordinance 04-186, sec. 3, adopted 11/23/04)
It shall be unlawful for any bank, building and loan association,
insurance company or other corporation, association, firm or enterprise
whose business consists in whole or in part of the making of commercial
or residential 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 any such person in the fixing of the amount,
interest rate, brokerage points, duration, or other terms or conditions
of such loan or their financial assistance, because of:
(1)
The
race, color, creed, sex, religion or national origin, physical or
mental disability, marital status, parenthood or age of such person
or of any person associated with him in connection with such loan
or other financial assistance; or
(2)
The
race, color, creed, sex, religion or national origin, physical or
mental disability, marital status, parenthood or age of the present
or prospective owner, lessees, tenants, or occupants of the dwelling
or dwellings for which such a loan or other financial assistance is
to be made or given.
(Ordinance 04-186, sec. 4, adopted 11/23/04)
It shall be unlawful for any person to deny access to or membership
or participation in any multiple listing service, real estate brokers’
organization or other service, organization or facility relating to
the business of selling or renting dwellings, or to discriminate in
the terms or conditions of such access, membership or participation,
on account of race, color, creed, sex, religion or national origin,
physical or mental disability, marital status, parenthood or age.
(Ordinance 04-186, sec. 5, adopted 11/23/04)
(a)
Nothing
in this division shall apply to:
(1)
The rental of units in dwellings containing living quarters occupied
or intended to be occupied by no more than four families living independently
of each other if the owner actually maintains and occupies one of
such units as his residence.
(2)
The rental of a single room in a dwelling containing living quarters
occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than one family if
the person offering such room for rental actually maintains and occupies
the remainder of such dwelling as his residence and not more than
four such rooms are offered.
(3)
The sale or rental of any single house by a private individual who
owns such house, provided that:
(A)
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 dwellings or of any employee
or agent of any such broker, agent, salesman, or person;
(B)
The sale is made without the publication, posting or mailing of any
advertisement or written notice in violation of this division (this
shall not prohibit the use of attorneys, escrow agents, abstractors,
title companies, and other such professional assistance as necessary
to perfect or transfer the title);
(C)
The owner does not own more than three single-family houses at the
time of the sale; and
(D)
The owner does not own any interest in, nor is there owned or reserved
on his behalf, under any express or voluntary agreement, title to
or any right to all or any portion of the proceeds from the sale or
rental or more than three such single-family houses at any one time.
If the owner does not reside in the house at the time of sale
or was not the most recent resident of such house prior to the sale,
the exemption granted by this subsection shall apply only with respect
to one such sale within any twenty-four-month period.
(b)
Nothing
in this division 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 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,
national origin, sex, mental or physical disability, marital status,
parenthood or age.
(c)
Nothing
in this division shall prohibit a bona fide private club, not in fact
open to the public, which as an incident to its primary purpose provides
lodging 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.
(d)
Nothing
in this division shall bar any person from owning and operating a
housing accommodation in which a room or rooms are leased, subleased
or rented only to persons of the same sex, when such housing accommodation
contains common lavatory, kitchen or similar facilities available
for the use of all persons occupying such housing accommodation.
(e)
Nothing
in this division 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.
(f)
Nothing
in this division 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 division.
(Ordinance 04-186, sec. 6, adopted 11/23/04)
The mayor shall appoint and the city council shall confirm a
fair housing administrator (hereinafter referred to as “administrator”),
who shall have the responsibility for implementing this division.
The administrator may delegate his authority to investigate and conciliate
complaints to other city employees under his direction.
(Ordinance 04-186, sec. 7, adopted 11/23/04)
(a)
Any
person who claims to have been injured by a discriminatory housing
practice who believes he will be irrevocably injured by a discriminatory
housing practice that has occurred or is occurring (hereinafter referred
to as the “charging party”) may file a complaint with
the administrator. 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
administrator shall prepare complaint forms and furnish them without
charge to any person, upon request.
(b)
A
copy of all complaints filed with the city shall also be forwarded
to the Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Division of the Region VI
office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(c)
The
administrator shall provide for free administrative counseling to
those complainants who wish to file a private suit for relief in the
local, state, or federal court.
(d)
If
at any time the administrator shall receive or discover credible evidence
and shall have probable cause to believe that any person or persons
have committed or are committing a discriminatory housing practice
as to which no complaint has been filed, the administrator 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.
(e)
The administrator 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 90-284, and shall treat such complaints hereunder in the same manner as complaints filed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(f)
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 administrator shall provide
notice of the complaint by furnishing a copy of such complaint to
the persons named therein who allegedly committed or were threatening
to commit an alleged discriminatory housing practice. The accused
may file an answer to the complaint within fifteen (15) days of receipt
of the written complaint.
(g)
All
complaints and answers shall be subscribed and sworn to before an
officer authorized to administer oaths.
(Ordinance 04-186, sec. 8, adopted 11/23/04)
(a)
Upon
the filing or referral of a complaint as herein provided, the administrator
shall cause to be made a prompt and full investigation of the matter
stated in the complaint.
(b)
If
the administrator determines that there is not probable cause to believe
that a particular alleged discriminatory housing practice has been
committed, the administrator 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 complaints, the administrator 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 adequate
assurance of future voluntary compliance with the provisions of this
division. Nothing said or done in the course of such informal endeavors
may be made public by the administrator, by the complainant or by
any other party to the proceedings without the written consent of
all persons concerned.
(d)
Upon
completion of the investigation and informal endeavors at conciliation
by the administrator, but within thirty (30) days of the filing of
the complaint with the administrator, if the efforts of the administrator
to secure voluntary compliance have been unsuccessful, and if the
administrator has made a determination that a discriminatory housing
practice has in fact occurred, the administrator shall recommend to
the city attorney that such violations be prosecuted in the municipal
court. With such recommendations, the administrator shall refer his
entire file to the city attorney. The city attorney shall, within
thirty (30) days after such referral, make a determination as to whether
to proceed with prosecution of such complaint in municipal court.
If the city attorney determines to prosecute, he shall institute a
complaint and prosecute same to conclusion within thirty (30) days
after such determination or as soon thereafter as practicable.
(Ordinance 04-186, sec. 9, adopted 11/23/04)
This division is cumulative in its legal effect and is not in
lieu of any and all other legal remedies which the person aggrieved
may pursue.
(Ordinance 04-186, sec. 10, adopted 11/23/04)
It shall be unlawful for any person to harass, threaten, harm,
damage or otherwise penalize any individual, group or business because
he or they have complied with the provisions of this division, because
he or they have exercised his or their rights under this division,
or enjoyed the benefits of this division, or because he or they have
made a charge, testified or assisted in any investigation or in any
proceeding hereunder or have made any report to the administrator.
(Ordinance 04-186, sec. 11, adopted 11/23/04)
The administrator and the city attorney are authorized to cooperate
with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Attorney
General pursuant to the provisions of title VIII, Fair Housing Act
of 1968, Public Law 90-284, and may render such service to the Secretary
as they shall deem appropriate to further the policies of this division.
(Ordinance 04-186, sec. 12, adopted 11/23/04)
In order to further the objectives of this division, the administrator
may conduct educational and public information programs.
(Ordinance 04-186, sec. 13, adopted 11/23/04)
(a)
Any person, firm, or corporation violating any provision of this division shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined a sum not to exceed an amount stated in section 1.01.009 of this code for each violation. Each day a violation continues after passage of seventy-five (75) days from date of the filing of the initial complaint with the administrator shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
(b)
Any
person, firm, or corporation violating any provision of this division
may be enjoined by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, and
this remedy is in addition to any other penalty provision.
(Ordinance 04-186, sec. 14, adopted 11/23/04)
