(a)
There
is hereby adopted a residential code known as the International Residential
Code, with the most current published edition. The effective date
of said technical code shall be one year after publication. Such code
is published in book form and is to be maintained in the community
development director’s office and is referred to, incorporated
herein, and made a part hereof for all purposes. Provided, however,
that in the event any conflict may arise between the provisions of
the code adopted by the provisions of this article and any other applicable
provisions of this Code, state law, or city ordinance, rule or regulation,
the provisions of this Code, state law or city ordinance, rule or
regulation shall prevail and be controlling.
(1969 Code, sec. 15-1; Ordinance
1146, sec. 1, adopted 3/10/87; Ordinance 1231, sec. 1, adopted 4/8/92; Ordinance 1255, sec. 1, adopted 7/13/94; Ordinance 1375, sec. 1, adopted 8/28/02)
(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, or 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 and unjust
denial or deprivation of such inalienable rights which is within the
power and the proper responsibility of government to prevent.
(1969 Code, sec. 15-21; Ordinance 1298, sec. I, adopted 11/19/96)
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 18 years of age or
over.
means the city secretary or authorized personnel.
means any set of principles, rules, opinions, and precepts
formally expressed and seriously adhered to or maintained by a person.
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, caring 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 under the age of 18 years.
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.
includes:
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.
means a person 55 years of age or older.
includes to lease, to sublease, to let and otherwise to grant
for a consideration the right to occupy premises not owned by the
occupant.
(1969 Code, sec. 15-22; Ordinance 1298, sec. II, adopted 11/19/96)
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 USC 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 Opportunity Act. In construing this article, it is the intent
of the city commission that the courts shall be guided by the federal
court interpretations of title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968,
as amended, and the Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act, where appropriate.
(1969 Code, sec. 15-23; Ordinance 1298, sec. III, adopted 11/19/96)
Except as exempted by section 30-28, 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 of 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 of advertisement with respect to the sale or rental of a
dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation of or discrimination
based on race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, physical
or mental handicap, marital status, parenthood, 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 of a particular race, color, creed, religion, sex, national
origin, physical or mental handicap, marital status, parenthood, or
age.
(1969 Code, sec. 15-24; Ordinance 1298, sec. IV, adopted 11/19/96)
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 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,
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.
(1969 Code, sec. 15-25; Ordinance 1298, sec. V, adopted 11/19/96)
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.
(1969 Code, sec. 15-26; Ordinance 1298, sec. VI, adopted 11/19/96)
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
secretary.
(1969 Code, sec. 15-27; Ordinance 1298, sec. VII, adopted 11/19/96)
(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 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 subsection shall apply only with respect
to one such sale within any 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 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, 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 families living independently
of each other, if the owner actually maintains and occupies one of
such living quarters as his residence.
(b)
For the purposes of subsection (a) of this section, a person shall be deemed to be in the business of selling or renting dwellings if:
(1)
He
has, within the preceding 12 months, participated as a principal in
three or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling
or any interest therein;
(2)
He
has, within the preceding 12 months, participated as an agent, other
than in the sale of his own personal residence in providing sales
or rental facilities or sales or rental services in two 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 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, creed, religion, 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 and incident to its primary purpose 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, when 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 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.
(1969 Code, sec. 15-28; Ordinance 1298, sec. VIII, adopted 11/19/96)
No person shall violate any provision of this article or knowingly
obstruct or prevent compliance with this article.
(1969 Code, sec. 15-29; Ordinance 1298, sec. IX, adopted 11/19/96)
The city secretary shall have the responsibility of administering
and implementing this article. The city secretary may delegate the
authority to investigate and conciliate complaints to other designated
city employees.
(1969 Code, sec. 15-30; Ordinance 1298, sec. X, adopted 11/19/96)
(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 secretary. 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 secretary shall prepare complaint forms and furnish them without
charge to any person, upon request.
(b)
The city secretary 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.
(c)
All
complaints and answers shall be filed within 180 days following the
occurrence of an alleged discriminatory housing practice. Upon the
filing or referral of any complaint, the city secretary shall provide
notice of the 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 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 secretary shall receive or discover credible evidence
and shall have probable cause to believe that any person has committed
a discriminatory housing practice as to which no complaint has been
filed or is about to be filed, the city secretary may prepare and
file a complaint upon his own name and such complaint shall thereafter
be treated in the same manner as a complaint filed by a person aggrieved.
(1969 Code, sec. 15-31; Ordinance 1298, sec. XI, adopted 11/19/96)
(a)
Upon
the filing of a complaint as herein provided, the city secretary 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 secretary 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 secretary determines that there is not probable cause to believe
that a particular alleged discriminatory housing practice has been
committed, the city secretary 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 secretary 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 city secretary, the city commission,
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 secretary has made a
determination that a discriminatory housing practice has in fact occurred,
if the city secretary is unable to secure from the respondent an acceptable
conciliation agreement, then the city commission must, upon a majority
vote, refer the case to the city attorney for prosecution in the municipal
court or to other agencies as appropriate. With such recommendation
of the city secretary and the referral of the city commission, the
city secretary shall refer his entire file to the city attorney. The
city attorney shall, after such referral, make a determination as
to whether to proceed with prosecution of such complaint in municipal
court.
(1969 Code, sec. 15-32; Ordinance 1298, sec. XII, adopted 11/19/96)
Any person violating any provision of this article shall be deemed guilty of an offense and, upon conviction shall be punished as provided in section 1-6. The violation thereof shall be deemed a separate offense, and shall be punished accordingly. Provided, however, compliance may be further sought through injunctive relief in the district court.
(1969 Code, sec. 15-33; Ordinance 1298, sec. XIII, adopted 11/19/96)
