HomeMy WebLinkAbout1968-1063 ORDINANCE NO. //0C:3
AN ORDINANCE relating to fair housing in the City of Yakima; defin-
ing terms; defining and prohibiting unfair housing
practices; establishing a Review Board for the enforce-
ment of this ordinance; declaring violations hereof
to be misdemeanors and providing a penalty for such
violations.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF YAKIMA:
Section 1. Definitions. As used in this Chapter, unless a
different meaning clearly appears from the context, the following
words, phrases and terms shall have the following meanings ascribed
to them:
(1) "Housing Accommodations" means any dwelling, dwell-
ing unit, house, room, boardinghouse, apartment, building or
other structure, facility, lot or parcel of land in the City
of Yakima which is used or intended to be used, or arranged
or designed to be used, as, or improved with, a residential
structure for one or more human beings.
(2) "Dwelling" means any building containing one or
more dwelling units.
(3) "Dwelling Unit" means any suite of rooms for occupancy
by one family containing space for living, sleeping, and
preparation of food, and containing toilet and bathing
facilities.
(4) "Person" means one or more individuals, partnerships,
or other organizations, corporations, legal representatives,
trustees, trustees in bankruptcy and receivers.
(5) 'Owner" means one or more persons who own, lease,
sublease, assign or otherwise transfer, or who operate, manage,
have charge of or control, or who have the right of ownership,
possession, management, charge of or control of, a housing
accommodation, on their own behalf or on behalf of another.
(6) "Prospective Occupant" means any person who seeks to
purchase, lease, sublease or take an assignment or other
transfer of a housing accommodation.
(7) "Real Estate Broker" means any person who for a fee,
commission or other valuable consideration, lists for sale,
sells, purchases, exchanges, leases, subleases, assigns or
otherwise transfers a housing accommodation of another, or who
negotiates or offers or attempts to negotiate the sale, pur-
chase, exchange, lease, sublease, assignment or other transfer
of a housing accommodation of another, or who holds himself
out as engaged in the business of selling, listing for sale,
purchasing, exchanging, leasing, subleasing, assigning or
otherwise transferring a housing accommodation of another, or
who collects the rental for the use of a housing accommodation
of another.
(8) "Real Estate Agent, Salesman or Employee" means any
person employed by a real estate broker to perform or assist
in the performance of any or all of the functions of a real
estate broker.
(9) "Unfair Housing Practice" means any act prohibited
by this Chapter.
(10) "Person Aggrieved" means any person against whom any
alleged unfair housing practice has been committed.
(11) "Discriminate" or "Discrimination" means any dif-
ference in treatment in the sale, lease, sublease, assignment
or transfer, or in the financing of, any housing accommodation
because of race, color, religion, or national origin.
Section 2. Unfair Housing Practices.
A. By an. Owner. It shall be unlawful, and it shall con-
s stitute an unfair housing practice, fdr any owner because of
race, color, religion or national origin of an occupant or
prospective occupant to:
(1) Refuse to sell, lease, sublease, assign or otherwise
transfer any housing accommodation, after the receipt of a bona
fide offer, or to refuse to negotiate for the sale, lease, sub-
lease, assignment or other transfer of any housing accommoda-
tion, to any prospective occupant;
(2) gxpell or evict an occupant from a housing
accommodation; or
(3) , Liscriminate against an occupant or prospective
occupant in the price, terms, conditions or privileges of sale,
lease, sublease, assignment or other transfer, or concerning
the occupancy of a housing accommodation or in the furnishing
of any related facilities or service.
B. By Real Estate Broker, Agent, Salesman or Employee.
It shall be unlawful, and it shall constitute an unfair housing
practice, for any real estate broker, agent, salesman or
employee, because of race, color, religion or national origin
of an occupant, purchaser or prospective occupant to:
(1) Represent to any prospective occupant that any hous-
ing accommodation is not available for inspection, sale, lease,
sublease or other transfer when such housing accommodation is
in fact so available, or refuse or intentionally fail to show
a prospective occupant any housing accommodation listed, or
otherwise available for sale, lease, sublease, assignment or
other transfer;
(2) Refuse or intentionally fail to transmit to an owner
any reasonable and bona fide offer to purchase, lease, sublease
or otherwise assign or transfer a housing accommodation; or
(3) Otherwise discriminate against an occupant, purchaser
or prospective purchaser of a housing accommodation.
C. By Lender. It shall be unlawful, and it shall consti-
tute an unfair housing practice, for any person, bank, building
and loan association, insurance company or other person, cor-
poration, association, firm or enterprise whose business con-
e sists in whole or in part in making real estate loans, to deny
a loan or other financial assistance to a person applying there-
for for the purpose of purchasing, constructing, improving,
repairing or maintaining a housing accommodation, or to dis-
criminate against any person in the fixing of the amount,
interest rate, duration or other terms or conditions of a loan
or other financial assistance, because of the race, color,
religion or national origin of such person or of any person
associated with such person in connection with such loan or
other financial assistance, or because of the purposes of such
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loan or other financial assistance, or because of the present
or prospective occupants of the housing accommodation with
regard to which such loan or other financial assistance is
sought.
D. By Owner, Real Estate Broker, Agent, Salesman, Employee
or Lender. It shall be unlawful, and it shall constitute an
unfair housing practice, for any owner, real estate broker,
agent, salesman, employee or lender, to:
(1) Require any information, make or keep any record or
i use any form of application containing questions or entries con-
cerning race, color, religion or national origin in connection
with the sale, lease, sublease, assignment or other transfer of
any housing accommodation, except as required by Federal regula-
tions; or
(2) Make, print or publish, or cause to be made, printed
or published, any notice, statement or advertisement with regard
to the sale, lease, sublease, assignment or other transfer of a
housing accommodation which indicates any preference, limitation
or discrimination based on race, color, religion or national
origin, or which indicates an intention to make any such prefer-
ence, limitation or discrimination.
E. By Owner, Real Estate Broker, Agent, Salesman, Employee,
Lender and Others. It shall be unlawful, and it shall constitute
an unfair housing practice, for any person to:
(1) Induce or attempt to induce, for profit, any person
to sell, lease, sublease, assign or otherwise transfer any
housing accommodation by representations regarding the entry or
prospective entry into the neighborhood of the housing accommo-
dation of any person or persons of a particular race, color,
religion or national origin;
(2) Deny any person access to or membership or participa-
tion in any multiple listing service, real estate brokers'
organization or other service, organization or facility relating
to the business of selling, leasing, subleasing, assigning or
other transferring of housing accommodations, or to discriminate
against any person in the terms or conditions of such access,
membership or participation on account of race, color, religion
or national origin; or
(3) Coerce, intimidate, threaten or interfere with any
person in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on account of his
having exercised or enjoyed, or on account of his having aided or
encouraged any other person in the exercise or enjoyment of, any
right granted or protected by this Chapter. This subsection may
be enforced by appropriate civil action without first exhausting
administrative remedies provided by Section 5 of this Chapter.
Section 3. Exemptions.
• A. Religious Organizations and Private Clubs. 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 persons of the same religion,
or from giving preference to such persons, unless membership in
such religion is restricted on account of race, color or national
origin. Nor shall anything in this Chapter prohibit a private
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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.
B. Other Exemptions.
(1) Nothing in this Chapter shall apply to any occupant of
a housing accommodation in which he or members of his family
reside who rents or leases a room or rooms in such housing
• accommodation to another person or persons, such room or rooms
not constituting a separate independent dwelling unit, insofar
as this Chapter might otherwise apply to that rental or leasing
of a room or rooms.
(2) Nothing in this Chapter shall apply to rooms or dwell-
ing units in housing accommodations containing dwelling units
occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than four
families independently of each other if the owner in
title actually maintains and occupies one of such dwelling units
as a residence at the time the alleged unfair housing practice
was committed. "Owner in title" for the purpose of this sub-
section means the person holding title to the property, or a
purchaser under a real estate contract, having the right to
sell, lease, sublease, assign or otherwise transfer any dwell-
ing unit which is a part of such housing accommodation, and the
definition of "Owner" contained in Section 1 of this Chapter
shall not apply to this subsection.
Section 4. Review Board
A. Review Board Created - Membership.
A Review Board is hereby created and established to admin-
ister the provisions of this Chapter, which Board shall consist
of the following members, who shall serve without compensation:
(1) One selected by the Yakima City Council from its mem-
bership;
(2) One selected at large by the Yakima City Council, who
shall be a resident of the City of Yakima;
(3) One selected by the Yakima City Council, who shall be
a member of the Executive Board of the Mayor's Committee on
Human Rights and a resident of the City of Yakima;
(4) One selected by the Yakima City Council from practic-
ing clergymen residing in the City of Yakima;
(5) One selected by the Yakima City Council from school
classroom teachers residing in the City of Yakima;
(6) One selected by the Yakima City Council from the mem-
bership of the Central Washington Rental Properties Association,
•
who shall be a resident of the City of Yakima; and
(7) One selected by the Yakima City Council who shall be
a real estate broker, agent or salesman who shall be a resident
of the City of Yakima.
B. Terms of Membership.
The term of membership on the Review Board by the member
from the Yakima City Council shall coincide with that member's
term as a City Councilman.
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The initial term of the member selected at large by the
Yakima City Council, and of the member selected from the
Executive Board of the Mayor's Committee on Human Rights, shall
be for one year. Thereafter, their successors' terms of member-
ship shall be for three years.
The initial terms of the members who are clergymen and
school classroom teachers shall be for two years. Thereafter,
their successors' terms of membership shall be for three years.
The initial term of the member selected from the Central
Washington Rental Properties Association, and of the member who
is a real estate broker, agent or salesman, shall be for three
years. Thereafter, their successors' terms of membership shall
be for three years.
No member of the Review Board shall serve more than two
consecutive terms.
D. Disqualification of Member. Any Review Board member
who ceases to be a resident of the City of Yakima shall thereby
be disqualified from continued membership on the Board.
If the Review Board member selected from the Executive
Board of the Mayor's Committee on Human Rights ceases to be a
member of that Board, or the clergyman member ceases to be a
practicing clergyman, or the school classroom teacher member
ceases to be a school classroom teacher, or the member from the
Central Washington Rental Properties Association ceases to be
a member of that Association, or the real estate broker, agent
or salesman member ceases to engage in those business activi-
ties, that member shall thereby be disqualified for continued
membership on the Board.
Any member of the Review Board who fails to attend three
consecutive meetings of the Board shall thereby be disqualified
for continued membership on the Board, unless an absence is
excused by a vote of a majority of the remaining members of
the Board.
In the event a vacancy is created on the Board by any dis-
qualification, then a new member shall be selected in the same
manner as was the former member to fill the vacancy thereby
created for the balance of the unexpired term.
D. Organization of Review Board - Meetings - Records -
Rules and Regulations. The Review Board shall elect one of its
members as Chairman and may elect such other officers as it
deems necessary. The Review Board shall hold meetings at
regular intervals, but not less frequently than once every
three months, and shall hold special meetings whenever neces-
sary or desirable for the performance of its functions as
provided by this Chapter. Four members of the Review Board
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business and a
majority vote of members present is necessary for any official
• action taken by the Review Board. The Review Board shall keep
records of its activities, functions and orders, and shall keep
minutes of its meetings and all actions taken. A copy of the
minutes of each meeting of the Board, and of all actions taken
by it, shall be furnished to the City Manager of the City of
Yakima and by him furnished to each member of the Yakima City
Council. Additional reports and information concerning the
activities, functions and orders of the Review Board shall be
furnished to the City Manager and members of the Yakima City
Council at the request of the City Manager.
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The Review Board may adopt rules and regulations, not
inconsistent with the provisions of this or any other City
ordinance, for its own government and for its administration
of the provisions of this Chapter.
Section 5. Procedure and Enforcement.
A. A complaint of an unfair housing practice may be filed
by any person aggrieved, which complaint shall be in writing,
signed and sworn to under oath by the person aggrieved, and filed
with the Yakima City Clerk within thirty (30) days from the date
of the occurrence of the act or conduct complained of. Such
complaint shall state the name of the person aggrieved, the name
or other specific identification of the person who allegedly com-
mitted the unfair housing practice, the address or specific
designation of the housing accommodation concerning which the
alleged unfair housing practice was committed, and shall include
a statement of the facts giving rise to the complaint, along
with any other information deemed necessary by the Review Board
to administer the provisions of this Chapter, and which may be
required by any rule or regulation of the Review Board. The
City Clerk shall forthwith mail a copy of any complaint filed
hereunder to the last known address of the person complained
against.
B. Upon receipt of any such complaint, the Review Board
shall process it in substantially the following manner:
(1) The Review Board shall immediately make such investi-
gations of such complaint as it deems necessary and advisable.
All departments of the City and all committees and commissions
of the City shall cooperate in the making of such investigations
upon the request of the Review Board, and the results and the
facts and circumstances of such investigations shall be reduced
to writing and made a part of the records of the Review Board
for its use and the use of the City Council or other depart-
ments of the City when pertinent.
(2) Upon completion of the investigation by the Review
Board, if the Board finds and determines that there is no
probable cause to support the complaint, it shall forthwith
enter its order dismissing such complaint and send a copy there
of to the complainant and the person complained against by
registered or certified mail to their last known addresses.
If the Board finds and determines that there is probable
cause to support the complaint that an unlawful act of dis-
crimination has been committed, the Board shall immediately
endeavor to eliminate the alleged unlawful practice by confer-
ence, conciliation or persuasion.
(3) If such efforts are unsuccessful, the Chairman of the
Review Board shall fix a time and place for a hearing upon the
complaint. Notice of the time and place of such hearing shall
be served personally upon the complainant and the person com-
• plained against or by registered or certified mail sent to
their last known addresses. The time fixed for said hearing
shall be not less than fifteen (15) days nor more than thirty
(30) days from the date of service of the notice of said hear-
ing. When served by registered or certified mail, "date of
service" shall mean the date of mailing.
The person complained against shall have ten (10) days
after date of service of said notice of hearing in which to file
with the Review Board an answer to the complaint against him.
•
Such hearing shall be open to the public and notice thereof
shall be given to the news media as required by R.C.W. Chapter
42.32, as amended.
(4) In the event said person complained against does not
appear at such hearing, the Review Board shall enter such fact
upon its record and enter a default order to cease and desist.
If the Review Board finds from the evidence that the person
complained against has engaged in any unfair practice as in this
Chapter provided, it shall enter an order requiring such person
to cease and desist from continuing the commission of any such
• unlawful acts or committing other and further acts in connection
with such alleged discrimination.
In the event that a default order is entered against such
person complained against as above provided, or in the event of
the findings and determination that the person complained of was
engaged in an unfair practice, copies of said orders shall be
served personally upon the complainant and the person complained
against or by registered or certified mail sent to their last
known addresses.
(5) If the order to cease and desist, whether entered by
default or otherwise, is not fully complied with by the person
complained against within ten (10) days from the date of service,
if served personally, or from the date of mailing, if served by
certified or registered mail, a copy of the complaint and the
written record of the investigations and proceedings had there-
on shall be filed with the City Attorney as the basis for the
issuance of a criminal complaint against such person and the
prosecution thereunder in the same manner as violations of other
criminal ordinances are prosecuted.
411 (6) All complaints and records relating to or connected
t shall be private and confidential records of the Review
Board until the fixing of the date for the hearing on the com-
plaint as hereinabove provided. It shall be unlawful for any
member of the Review Board to make public or divulge to any per-
son other than the City Manager, the City Attorney or a member
of the Yakima City Council any information contained in any such
complaint or records of the Review Board, except for the purpose
of court proceedings. Any member of the Review Board shall have
the right to examine and use any such complaint or records when
necessary for the proper functioning of the Review Board.
(7) Any person complained against shall have the right
of review of the order of the Review Board to "cease and desist ",
above provided for, to the Superior Court, Yakima County, Wash-
ington, if proper application is made therefor within ten (10)
days from the issuance of such order.
Section 6. Review Board May Seek Iniunction to Prevent Transfer
of Property. In the event that the Review Board finds that an actual
or threatened violation of this section will result in a sale or
transfer in violation of the purposes of this Chapter, the Review
• Board, by and through the City Attorney of the City of Yakima, shall
apply to the Superior Court of the State of Washington in and for
Yakima County to enjoin such threatened transfer, if the Review Board
further finds that the person aggrieved stands to be irreparably
injured unless the Court issues such an order, and that said
aggrieved person has no adequate remedy at law.
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Section 7. City-Federal Cooperation on Complaints.
The Review Board and all officers and officials of the City
shall cooperate with the Federal Government, through its proper
representatives, for the furnishing of services relating to the
administration and enforcement of Federal and local fair housing
laws, and in furtherance of such cooperative efforts, the proper
officials of the City may enter into agreements with the Federal
Government as provided for in Section 816, Title VIII, of the Federal
Fair Housing Law. Such agreement shall be approved by resolution of
the City Council beford it shall be in effect.
411 ,
Any complaintd referted to at filed with the City by the Federal
Government pursuant tb said Title VIII, Fair Housing, shall be
processed and enforced in accordance with the provisions contained
in this Chapter.
,
Section 8. Penqlty for Violation. Any person who shall violate
or fail to comply with any provision of this Chapter shall le deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished
by a fine in any amount not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00)
or by imprisonment in the City Jail for a term not exceeding six (6)
months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each day that any
person shall continue to violate or fail to comply with any provision
of this Chapter shall be considered as a separate offense.
Section 9. Severability. Should any section, paragraph,
sentence, clause or phrase of this Chapter be declared unconstitu-
tional or invalid for any reason, the remainder of this Chapter shall
not be affected thereby.
Section 10. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect
thirty days after its passage, approval and publication as provided
411 by law and by the City Charter.
_ AK,
'ASSED B THE CITY COUNCIL, signed and approved this c-..1 6 day
P , 1
of . - , 1968.
S (/
L-7,-, MAYOR
ATT ST:
CITY CL RK -------...
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