Analysis of Impediments

On October 11 the Marin County Board of Supervisors (BOS) approved a report on discrimination that still exists in Marin under federal fair housing law and an action plan to address this. These documents are: the Analysis of Impediments (AI) and Implementation Plan.

It is important to note that there is a difference between affordable housing and fair housing. Fair housing is the ability to buy or rent housing without being subject to discrimination based on race, color, disability, religion, gender, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, age or source of income. Lack of affordable housing may be identified as one barrier to fair housing, but many other issues may result in unfair access to housing.

Marin’s local jurisdictions, both county and cities, actively seek federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. These funds are allocated locally to many non-profit organizations that provide valuable services for our children, elderly, disabled and underserved.

Last year, the Federal Housing and Community Development Agency (HUD) audited Marin’s use of HUD grants, and raised several concerns, requiring a response by October 30 (extended at our request from the original May 21 deadline to allow time for more community input). HUD questioned what guides Marin and its 11 cities’ fair housing policies, noting that minorities are heavily concentrated in Marin City and the Canal in a County that is 75% white. They also noted that Marin and its cities have inadequately tracked how federal dollars are being spent.

The AI identifies barriers to fair housing choice which include laws, regulations, administrative procedures, and practices that may have the effect of limiting housing choices for groups protected by fair housing law. The AI Plan is the County’s commitment to making fair housing a priority and identifies actions the County will take to address and prevent the barriers identified. HUD requires us to go beyond the absence of illegal discrimination; there is an obligation to take local action to change past patterns that emerge from historic inequalities and to promote inclusion and diversity.

There was extensive public outreach over the past 7 months, including 8 public meetings that were led by the CDBG Priority Setting Committee (which consists of elected representatives from each of Marin’s cities and the County). As current Chair of CDBG, I appointed a subcommittee to attend the public hearings and report back to the full committee. I want to thank Novato Mayor Pro Tem, Denise Athas; San Rafael Councilmember, Greg Brockbank; and Mill Valley Mayor, Ken Wachtel for their valuable contribution to the final report.

I also want to thank a group that formed during this process, the Action Coalition for Equity. Their help was critical in giving a voice to the protected groups and helping build the plan into a meaningful set of actions to help address disparities in our community for equal opportunity, discrimination and fair housing.

The full CDBG Committee voted to send the AI and the Implementation Plan to the BOS for approval. Mill Valley, Novato, San Rafael, San Anselmo, Corte Madera and the County voted Yes; Sausalito voted No. Representatives from Larkspur, Tiburon, Fairfax; and Belvedere were unable to attend the final meeting, but were fully apprised of the plan and able to provide input. The BOS unanimously approved both documents.

Some of the items outlined in the AI Plan include: make fair housing and equal opportunity a more visible and comprehensive part of the CDBG and HOME Program project selection for receipt of Federal Grant monies; expand CDBG Priority Setting Committee to include non-elected community representatives of protected classes; sponsor workshops on civic participation and recruitment of minorities for board and commission positions; diversify development of affordable housing with multiple strategies and types of housing (such as advocated for by many neighborhood groups in my district of Novato); support legislation to prevent predatory lending practices; provide more information in Spanish and Vietnamese; continue to encourage landlord Section 8 participation; and reword guiding principles in zoning ordinances and development regulations that may be a pretext for discrimination.

The AI does not mandate that affordable or market rate housing meet racial diversity quotas. It does not require cities to meet predetermined housing density requirements or increase a jurisdiction’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) per the Housing Element process.

The AI Plan is structured with the County taking the lead on implementation. The commitment for performance falls primarily on the County, but some recommendations also apply to the cities as well as local non-profit organizations. Some cities, including Novato, have already implemented key recommendations, such as inclusionary zoning. Working collaboratively with the CDBG committee, each local jurisdiction will identify any gaps they may have, and decide what actions they will take to affirmatively further fair housing in our community

Title VI from the 1963 Civil Rights Acts bars discrimination by government agencies receiving federal dollars. Failure to do so carries consequences far beyond losing CDBG funds. In 2009, Westchester County, a wealthy, mostly white suburb of New York, was found in a federal ruling to have accepted CDBG funding while failing to advance fair housing in accordance with federal guidelines. To settle the resulting lawsuit with potential damages in the hundreds of millions, Westchester agreed to repay $30 million to HUD, as well as to supply an additional $30 million for construction of 750 units of fair and affordable housing over the next seven years in areas of the County with low African-American and Hispanic populations. If Westchester fails to meet the terms of the settlement agreement, it will become liable for penalties that require them to fund the construction of additional housing.

I look forward to working with our residents and elected officials as we implement the AI Plan. The participation and collaboration among various interest groups, members of the protected classes, elected officials and County staff has been outstanding.

What started out as a contentious process ended with mutual understanding, trust and respect by all participants with the goal of making Marin County a more welcoming and tolerant home for our entire community.

For more information visit: www.marincdbg.com

To watch the Oct 11 BOS meeting visit: www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/BS/Archive/Meetings.cfm

To read the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice Report, click on the links below.
Report prepared by Caroline Peattie and Jessica Tankersley of Fair Housing of Marin for the Marin County Community Development Agency - and Approved by the Marin County Board of Supervisors on October 11, 2011

To read the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice Implementation Plan, click here.