9.12.010 - Citation of provisions-Purpose. back to top
A. This chapter shall be known as the St. Anthony fair housing ordinance.
B. The purpose of this chapter is to establish fair housing practices by ordinance in the city and to avoid discrimination and segregation in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex.
(Ord. 658 §1, 1978).
9.12.020 - Definitions. back to top
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
A. "Commission" means the St. Anthony fair housing commission established by this chapter.
B. "Dwelling" means 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.
C. "Dwelling unit" means a suite of rooms for occupancy by one family containing space for living, sleeping, and preparation of food, and containing a toilet and bathing facilities.
D. "Housing accommodations" include any dwelling house, building, apartment, dwelling unit, or other structure, facility, lot or parcel of land in the city which is used or intended to be used for the accommodation of one or more human beings, and shall include rooming units in dwellings or boardinghouses.
E. "Lender" means banks, insurance companies, savings or building and loan associations, credit unions, trust companies, mortgage companies, or other persons engaged wholly or partly in the business of lending money for the financing or acquisition, construction, repair, or maintenance of a housing accommodation.
F. "Manager" means a person who operates, manages, controls, has charge of, or has the right of management or control over housing accommodations on behalf of another, but does not own housing accommodations.
G. "Owner" means a person who owns a housing accommodation.
H. "Person aggrieved" means any person against whom any alleged unfair housing practice has been committed.
I. "Prospective borrower" means a person who seeks to borrow money to finance the acquisition, construction, repair, or maintenance of a housing accommodation.
J. "Prospective occupant" means a person who seeks to purchase, lease, rent, or sublease a housing accommodation.
K. "Real estate agent, salesman, or employee" means any person employed by real estate broker to perform or assist in the performance of any or all of the functions of a real estate broker.
L. "Real estate broker" means any person who for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration, lists for sale, sells, purchases, exchanges, leases, or subleases or negotiates or offers or attempts to negotiate the sale, purchase, exchange, lease, rent or sublease of a housing accommodation of another, or holds himself out as engaged in the business of subleasing of a housing accommodation of another, or collects the rental for the use of a housing accommodation of another.
M. "Respondent" means any person who is alleged to have committed an unfair housing practice.
N. "Rooms or rooming units" include individual sleeping rooms with or without private bath in a home, boardinghouse or roominghouse. A room in which two or more persons sleep constitutes a single room or rooming unit.
O. "Sex" refers to gender, male or female.
P. "Unfair housing practice" means any act prohibited by this chapter.
(Ord. 658 §2, 1978).
9.12.030 - Prohibited acts. back to top
A. An owner or manager shall not, because of race, color, religion, national origin or sex of an occupant, purchaser, prospective occupant, or prospective purchaser:
1. Refuse to sell, lease, rent, or sublease a housing accommodation to a prospective occupant;
2. Expel or evict an occupant from a housing accommodation;
3. Discriminate against an occupant or prospective occupant in the price, terms, conditions, or privileges of sale, lease, rent, or sublease, or occupancy of a housing accommodation, or in the furnishing of any related facilities or service.
B. A real estate broker, agent, salesman, or employee shall not, because of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex of an occupant, purchaser, prospective occupant, or prospective purchaser:
1. Refuse or intentionally fail to list a housing accommodation for sale, lease, rent, or sublease;
2. Refuse or intentionally fail to show to a prospective occupant the housing accommodation listed for sale, lease, rent, or sublease;
3. Refuse or intentionally fail to transmit to an owner any reasonable offer to purchase, lease, rent, or sublease a housing accommodation.
C. A lender shall not, because of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex of a borrower or prospective borrower:
1. Deny to a prospective borrower a loan for the acquisition, construction, repair, or maintenance of a housing accommodation;
2. Discriminate against a borrower or prospective borrower in the terms, conditions, or privileges of such a loan.
D. An owner, manager, real estate broker, agent, sales-man, employee, or lender shall not:
1. Require any information, make or keep any record, or use any form of application containing questions or entries concerning race, color, religion, national origin, or sex in connection with the sale, lease, rent, or sublease of any housing accommodation;
2. Post, publish, circulate, or cause to be posted, published, or circulated any notice statement or advertisement which relates to the sale, lease, rent, or sublease, acquisition or financing of any housing accommodation which indicates directly or indirectly a preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination, based on race, color, religion, national origin, or sex;
3. Discriminate against a person in any manner because he has complied or proposed to comply with the provisions of this chapter or has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this chapter;
4. Induce or attempt to induce for profit any person to sell or rent any dwelling by representations regarding the entry or prospective entry onto the neighborhood of a person or persons of a particular race, color, religion, national origin, or sex;
5. Represent to any person because of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex that any dwelling is not available for inspection, sale, or rental when such dwelling is in fact so available.
(Ord. 658 §3, 1978).
9.12.040 - Exclusions. back to top
A. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to include, or to apply to any bona fide club, fraternal or religious organization and, where public use for the purpose of profit is carried on by a bona fide club, fraternal or religious organization, such use is covered by this chapter.
B. Nothing in this chapter shall apply to a housing accommodation which contains four or less dwelling units, four or less rooming units, or any combination of dwelling units or rooming units of four or less if the owner actually maintains and occupies one of such rooming units or dwelling units as his residence. This exemption shall apply to only one dwelling for any one owner.
C. Nothing in this chapter shall be interpreted to prohibit any person from making a choice from among prospective purchasers and tenants of property on the basis of factors other than race, color, religion, national origin or sex.
D. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the use of lawyers, escrow agents, title companies, and such other professional assistance as may be necessary to perfect or transfer the title to property.
E. Nothing in this chapter shall limit an owner's right to expel or evict an occupant or tenant from a housing accommodation for any reason permitted by law, or lawfully agreed upon by contract, provided that such action is not based on race, color, religion, national origin or sex of the occupant.
(Ord. 658 §4, 1978).
9.12.050 - Fair housing commission-Created-Powers and duties. back to top
A. There is created the city fair housing commission. This commission shall consist of each member of the city council with the mayor as chairman of the commission. The terms of office of the commissioners shall run concurrent with each term of office as councilman and mayor.
B. The city fair housing commission shall have the following powers and duties:
1. The commission shall adopt the rules and regulations for its own procedures not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter or any ordinance of the city. These rules shall provide for notification of commission members by the chairman in advance of meetings.
2. Meetings of the commission shall be held at least annually, at the call of the chairman, and at such other times as the commission may determine. A quorum of four or more members shall be necessary before the commission may transact business.
3. Any person aggrieved by an unfair housing practice may file with the commission a statement of compliant upon a form prescribed by the commission and sworn to under oath by the person aggrieved. Such statement of compliant shall state the name of the person who is alleged to have committed the unfair housing practice, the address of the housing accommodation concerning which the alleged unfair housing practice has been committed, and a brief statement of the facts giving right to the statement of complaint.
4. The commission shall investigate and review, as soon as possible, each statement of complaint to determine whether there are reasonable grounds for believing that an unfair practice has been committed.
5. If fifty-one percent or more of the commission members present at a commission meeting having a quorum, determines that such reasonable grounds exist, it shall issue its complaint against the person who is alleged to have committed the unfair housing practice. Such complaint need not be limited to matters which are pertinent to offenses under this chapter. Such complaint shall state the name of the respondent, his address, and the name of the person aggrieved, the address of the housing accommodation concerning which the alleged unfair housing practice has been committed, a statement that the commission has reasonable grounds to believe that the respondent has committed an unfair housing practice, and a brief statement of the facts upon which the commission bases such belief.
6. The commission shall cause a copy of the complaint or complaints to be served upon the respondent by certified or registered mail, or by personal service, stating the time and place of hearing on a complaint or complaints.
7. The commission shall attempt, by means of education, conference, conciliation, mediation, negotiation and persuasion, to eliminate any unfair housing practice which is the subject of a statement of complaint filed with the commission.
The commission is specifically authorized and encouraged to engage in informal discussions with the respondent, or his representatives, for the purpose of reaching an agreement to the effect that any violation of this act will not be continued or repeated. Upon arriving at such an agreement satisfactory to the commission, further proceedings shall be terminated as long as the termination agreement is not violated. The terms of conciliation agreed to by the parties may be reduced to writing and incorporated into a conciliation agreement to be signed by the parties. Such agreement is for conciliation purposes only and does not constitute an admission by any party that the law has been violated. The chairman of the commission shall sign such agreement on behalf of the commission. It shall be an unfair housing practice to violate or fail to adhere to any provision contained in a conciliation agreement.
8. The commission may hold hearings, call witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, and request the production of examination of any books, papers, documents, or records relating to any proceeding before the commission. However, these powers will not be invoked in informal discussions as described in subsection B (7) of this section. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to permit searches without permission of the owners of a house, apartment, or other housing accommodation for the administration of this chapter.
9. The commission shall admit and give probative, at any hearing, to evidence which would commonly be accepted by a reasonably prudent man in the conduct of his affairs as having probative value.
10. The commission shall make a record of evidence admitted at the hearing, including a verbatim transcript if requested by the person aggrieved, the respondent, or commission; provided, that the commission may require that the cost of any such transcript or of the reproduction thereof shall be borne by the party requesting such transcript or reproduction.
11. The commission shall, as soon as possible, make findings and determine whether or not an unfair housing practice has been committed.
12. If fifty-one percent or more of the commission members present at a commission meeting having a quorum finds that an unfair housing practice has been committed it shall issue an order directed to the respondent setting forth the findings of the commission and directing the respondent to cease such discrimination. Failure of the respondent to cease the practices set forth in the order shall constitute a violation of this chapter punishable under Section 9.12.070.
13. If the commission finds that the respondent has not engaged in an unfair housing practice, the commission shall issue an order dismissing the complaint.
14. The commission shall serve its order on the person aggrieved and the respondent in accordance with the procedure set forth in subsection B(6) of this section.
15. To administer this section, Section 9.12.060, and other sections of this chapter, the city fair housing commission shall have the right to summon persons making accusation and persons accused of unfair housing practices and other persons as witnesses. Any peace officer of the city must serve a summons at the request of the commission. Any person or persons who wilfully refuse to obey a summons to appear before the city fair housing commission shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and may be fined up to one hundred dollars a day for a maximum of three days for failure to appear before the commission.
16. The commission may conduct research on and study unfair housing practices in order to develop more effective methods for eliminating unfair housing practices, and may publish or cause to be published the results of such research and study when in the judgment of the commission such publications will aid in the elimination of unfair housing practices. However, the fair housing commission shall not expend city funds for research or call in an outside consultant for this research without the approval of the city council.
17. The commission shall keep abreast in federal and state law affecting open housing and make recommendations to the mayor and city council of changes in the fair housing ordinances necessary to keep the ordinances in conformity with federal and state law. The commission shall render to the mayor at least once per year a written report of the activities of the commission since the last report of the commission.
The fair housing commission is authorized to accept federal, state, or other assistance in formulating or carrying out programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices, and to cooperate with federal, state and local agencies in carrying out such programs.
C. No statement of complaint may be filed with the commission more than six months after the alleged unfair housing practice has been committed; provided, that in the event of a continuing violation of alleged unfair housing practice, such period shall not commence until after the last day upon which the alleged unfair housing practice has been committed.
(Ord. 658 §5, 1978).
9.12.060 - Remedies for persons accused of unfair housing practices. back to top
It is the intent of this chapter to protect persons unfairly accused of discrimination as well as persons who may be discriminated against in the matter of unfair housing practices. Any person or persons aggrieved by an act prohibited or alleged to be prohibited by this chapter is given the right under Section 9.12.050 to file with the commission a statement of complaint. If such person or persons does not file a complaint under Section 9.12.050 and continues to make public his complaint in speech, writing, or demonstration, the person or group accused of discrimination in matters pertaining to this chapter shall have the right to bring this accusation to the attention of the city fair housing commission. The fair housing commission shall hear the views of the person or group accused of discrimination and the person or persons making the accusation, shall investigate the accusation, and shall render an opinion as soon as possible as to whether the accusation was true or false. The fair housing commission may request the person or persons making the accusation and the person or persons accused of discrimination to refrain from airing their controversy in public during the period of investigation of the complaint by the fair housing commission. The records of the fair housing commission shall be open to any court in libel or other proceedings requesting data on unfair accusations made under this chapter.
(Ord. 658 §6, 1978).
9.12.070 - Judicial review and penalties. back to top
A. Any person against whom an order is issued or directed by the commission shall have a right to seek review of the commission's order by trial de novo, in the court of Fremont County, state of Idaho.
B. Where any person or owner refuses to comply with an order issued by the commission within thirty days following the effective day of the order, then and in that event the commission shall submit and file a written report of the complaint or complaints, and the proceedings thereon with the city prosecutor as a basis for the issuance of a criminal complaint against such person or owner and the prosecution thereunder in the same manner as violations of other criminal ordinances are prosecuted.
The person aggrieved shall make, sign, and swear to the complaint before the city prosecutor.
C. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars per day. Each day such violation is continued, or permitted to continue, shall constitute a separate offense up to a total of three days. However, each new violation will constitute a separate offense also having a maximum penalty of one hundred dollars per day for up to three days.
D. Continuance of an alleged unfair housing practice on any day or days during the pendency of a hearing before the court of Fremont County, state of Idaho, during a subsequent appeal to a higher court shall not constitute an offense for the purpose of this act.
E. In the event that the commission finds that a violation of this chapter will result from a pending or threatened sale or transfer which violates this chapter as contemplated herein, the commission, by and through the city attorney, shall have the right to apply to the District Court of the State of Idaho to enjoin such pending or threatened transfer or sale. Such action shall be predicated upon:
1. Finding by the commission that the person aggrieved will be irreparably injured unless the court issues such order;
2. That said person aggrieved has no adequate remedy at law.
(Ord. 658 § 7, 1978).