SR-407-001 (3)
e e g-B
Z/ p 7- ...- 00 /
CA:RMM:pd SEP 1 3 1983
C~ty Counc~l Meet~ng 9-13-83 Santa Mon~ca, Call.fornl.a
STAFF REPORT
TO:
Mayor and City Council
FROM:
Cl.ty Attorney
SUBJECT:
Ord1nance Amending Munl.cl.pal Code Sectl.ons 4702
and 4703 and Adding Sectl.on 4706 Relat~ng to
Age D~scrl.ml.natl.on l.n Housl.ng
INTRODUCTION
The City'S Chl.ld DiSCrl.mination Ordinance (Santa Monica
Mun~clpal Code Sections 4700-05) was adopted October 9, 1979,
and became effective November 8, 1979.
(Full text appears in
Appendl.x A.)
Santa Monica l.8 one of nine local~t~es in
California which ban antl-chLldren rental poll.c~es.
The other
local ]urlsdl.ctlons are the County of Santa Clara and the
cltles of Los Angeles,
San Francisco,
Davl.s,
Palo Alto,
Berkeley, Oakland, and Santa Cruz.
Since the adoptl.on of the City'S ordl.nance, several
enforcement problems have been encountered by the Santa Monl.ca
Fair Housl.ng Program whlch are not covered by the ordlnance or
by the California Supre~e Court declslon In Marlna POlnt, Ltrl.
v. Wolfson, 30 Cal. 3d 721, 640 P.2d 115, 180 Cal. Rptr. 496
(1982) .
(In Wolfson, the Californla Supre~e Court held that
rental discriminatlon against familles With chl.ldren vlolated
the Unruh CiVil Rlghts Act.)
~-B
1
SfP 1 3 1983
e
e
Accord1ng to the Census Bureau, as reported 1n the
Clty'S Hou5lng Element, Santa Monlca lost 3,530 chlldren and
3,187 farnlly households fro~ 1970 to 1980. The 20% decllne 1n
the number of Santa Monlca's chlldren lS In dramatic contrast
to the Clty of Los Angeles WhlCh experlenced only a 12%
decllne 1n the number of chlldren durlng the same lO-year
per1od. Hous1ng d1scr1ffi1natlon aga1nst famllles wlth ch1ldren
l5 one of the factors contr1but1ng to Santa Mon1ca's
slgnlflcant loss of ch1ldren.
Program 38 of the Hous1ng Element addresses the problem
of houslng d15cr1mlnat1on aga1nst famll1es. It prov1des:
"The Clty shall study the effectlveness of the current Falr
Houslng for Chlldren Ord1nance and shall prepare any necessary
amendments to l.mprove lts effectl.veness."
Accordlngly, this Staff Report descrlbes several
loopholes In the current ordlnance and recommends ways to
close them.
2
e
e
A..lfALYSIS
A. Occupancy Llmltatlons.
As mentloned 1n the Santa Monlca Falr Houslng Program's
Semlannual Report to the Clty Cauncll (February 22, 1983),
arbltrarlly low occupancy llmltatlons for rental houslng
lnterfere wlth effectlve falr houslng enforcement and have a
dlsproport1onate effect on famllles with chlldren. Farn1lles,
by deflnlt1oD, conslst of more than one person. Consequently,
occupancy 11mltatlons WhlCh allow no more than one person per
unlt exclude all famll1es. Occupancy llffiltatlons WhlCh allow
no more than ODe person per bedroom requlre that a couple wlth
two chl1dren rent a four-bedroom apartment even though a
two-bedroom apartment may be ldeal for thelr needs. Fam1lles
wlth chlldren cannot break down lnto smaller groups, as
all-adult groups often do, 1n order to f1nd shelter.
The d1sproportlonate l~pact of strlct occupancy
llmltatlons for famll1es wlth chlldren lS not allevlated by
the C1ty'S adopt1on of the Unlform Housing Code. The Unlfor~
Houslng Code lS wrltten only to prevent overcrowdlng, not to
address the lssue of underutll1zatlon. Underutl11zatlon not
only d1scr1ffilnates aga1nst faffill1es, but also lntenslfles the
houslng shortage (l.e., fewer and fewer persons are housed by
a constant number of unlts). Santa Mon1ca wlll be unable to
meet lts commltment to provlde adequate famlly houslng lf
systematlc underutlllzatlon contlnues to neutrallze galDs made
by other hous1ng programs of the Clty.
3
e
e
as s~st faIT1~1 ~es
"reasonableness"
by
of
SectLon 4703(d) currently attempts to
plac~ng the legal burden of prov~ng the
occupancy llM1tat1ons on the person
MUUlclpal
Code
offering the llnlt for rent. Thus far, however, we are unaware
of any fam~ly pUrsu~ng thlS lssue ~n court. The expense and
length of Iltlgatlon are strong dlSlncentlves.
what
There are
1S meant
qUlcker and less expens1ve
by "reasonable occupancy
ways to clar1fy
llmltatlons" for
fam~lles wlth chlldren.
For example. ant1-d1scrimLnat1on
ord1nances 1n the follow1ng cltles contaln speclfLc standards
regard1ng occupancy:
CLty of Oakland. A c~ty ordinance proh1b1ts refus1ng to
rent to fam~lles based on occupancy Ilffiltatlons unless the
number of famlly members exceeds the maXlmum allowed under the
UnLform HousLng Code.
Clty of Palo Alto. A Clty ordlnance prohlblts llmlt~ng
occupancles to fewer than two person per bedrooM, unless that
exceeds the number allowed by the Unlform Houslng Code.
Zero-bedrooM unlts can be Ilm1ted to one person. Occupancy
llmlts do not apply to newborn lnfants durlng the term of any
lease 1n effect on the day of blrth. The ordlnance requlres
that all occupancy llmltatlons be un1formly lmposed and e1ther
posted on the prem1ses or contalned In a wrltten POllCY.
rules, or not1ce.
C1ty of Santa Cruz. A Clty ordlnance prohlb~ts refus~ng
to rent to a famlly wlth m~nor chlldren based on occupancy
llmlts ~f the number of occupants does not exceed both the
4
e e
Un~form Hous~ng Code standards and two persons ~n a
zero-bedroom un~t, three persons ~n a one-bedroom un~t, f~ve
persons ~n a two-bedroom unlt, or two persons per bedroom for
three- to s~x-bedroom un~ts.
Mlnors under two years of age
are not counted as occupants.
Washlngton, D.C.. A c~ty ord~nance establlshes a
rebuttable presumptlon that lllegal d~scrlm~nat~on has
occurred ~f a fam~ly w~th m~nor ch~ldren lS refused houslng 1n
order to malnta~n occupancy l~mlts strlcter than two persons
per bedroom plus one, or, 1n zero-bedroom apartMents, two
persons.
The
accompanYlng
ord1nance
replaces
the
vague
"reasonableness"
standard In Munlc~pal Code Sect~on 4703(d)
wlth a speclflc occupancy standard contalned In a new
subdlvlSlon (g) to Beetlon 4702. Occupancy standards cannot
be more restrlctlve than two persons for each bedroom, plus
one addltlonal person for each unlt. Zero bedroom unlts could
be occupled by two
chlldren under the
persons. For purposes of the sectlon.
age of two do not count as a person for
calculatlug occupancy restrlctlons.
The approach taken by the new Sectlon 4702(g) lS slmple
for landlords and tenants to understand and wlll be easy for
the Clty to enforce.
It lS lmportant to note that the new Bectlon 4702(g)
establlshes occupancy standards solely for the purpose of
determlnlng discrlmlnatlon based upon occupancy standards.
The requlrements of the Unlform Housing Code are unaffected.
5
e
e
In v~rtually all cases, Sect~on
restr~ct~ve than the Un~form
4702(g)'s standards are ~ore
Hous~ng Code. Of course, a
landlord may establ~sh occupancy standards under the more
generous Un~form Houslng Code prov~5~ons.
B. Injunct~ve Rel~ef.
Frequently, by the t~me a v~ct~m can prove that
d~scrlm~nat~on has occurred, the apartment has been rented to
someone else. Th~s d~scourages v~ct~ms from flllng complalnts
and hampers enforcement efforts.
At the present tlme,
the Clty'S ordlnance does not
contaln a provlslon relatlng to prlvate partles seeklng
equltable rellef. Although the Clty clearly has jurlsdlctlon
to seek equltable rellef to enforce the ordlnance (~
Munlclpal Code Sectlon 1200), and although lt lS probable that
prlvate partles can also seek equ~table rellef to enforce the
ordlnance, lt 15 des~rable to add a section clearly lndlcating
that e(putable rellef may be sought by a varlety of persons to
enforce the ordlnance.
The followlng citles have lncluded ln their local
ordlnances provlslons relatlng to equltable rellef:
Clty of Berkeley. A Clty ordlnance authorlzes the c~ty
attorney to bring an actlon for ~njunctlve rel~ef WhlCh wlll
falrly represent the protected class.
Clty of Oakland. A city ord~nance authorlzes any
aggrleved person, the dlstr~ct attorney, the Clty attorney, or
any person who wlll fa~rly represent the protected class to
brlng an actlon for lnJunctlve rellef.
6
e
e
C~ty of Palo Alto. A c~ty ord~nance author~zes the c~ty
attorney, any aggr~eved person, other law enforcement
agencles, the dlstrlct attorney or any person or entlty whlch
wlll falrly and adequately represent the ~nterests of the
protected class to brlng an actlon for lnjunctlve rellef.
Clty of Santa Cruz. A Clty ordlnance authorlzes the
Clty attorney, any aggrleved person, or other law enforcement
agency to brlng an actlon to enjoln violat~ons of the
ordlnance.
Accordlngly, the proposed ord~nance adds Mun~clpal Code
Sectlon 4707 relating to equltable rellef.
C. Surcharges.
Sectlon 4702(f), WhlCh prohlblts charging additlonal
rent based on "age, parenthood, pregnancy, or the presence of
a mlnor Chl1d" lncludes thlS exemptlon: "Provided, however,
that thlS subsectlon shall not apply lf Proposltion Q of the
November 6, 1979, munlclpal electlon falls." (Proposltlon Q
provlded for vacancy decontrol and would have tled annual rent
lncreases to the Consumer Prlce Index.)
Proposltlon Q falled to W1U voter ~pproval. The fallure
of Proposltlon Q lmplles that surcharges can be lev led on the
basls of age, parenthood, pregnancy or the potentlal or actual
occupancy of a mlnor Chlld wlthout vlolatlng the Clty'S Chlld
DlscrlMlnatlon Ordlnance. However, Sectlon 4702(b) prohlblts
dlscrlrnlnatlon 1n the terms or condlt1ons of tenancy based on
"age, parenthood, pregnancy, or the potent1al or actual
7
e
e
tenancy of a punor chl.ld. " Thl.S can
prohl.bl.t surcharges.
The accompanY1.ng ord1.nance deletes
wh1.ch 1.5 lnternally l.nCOns15tent and
be 1nterpreted to
the above exernptl.on
confll.cts wlth the
nondlscrlmlnatory lntent of the ordlnance.
D. Forty Percent Quota for Chlldren.
Sectl.on 4703(b) allows d1.SCrlmlnatlon agal.nst eXlsting
and prospectlve tenants w1.th chlldren 1.n "those apartments
where at least 40% of the unl.ts are rented to faml.ll.es wl.th
chlldren. "
Thl.S 1.S a well-l.ntent1.oned attempt to aVQ1d abnormally
hlgh concentratl.ons of chlldren in some bUlld1ngs. It 1.S 1n
confll.ct, however,
Wl.th the purposes of ant1.-dl.scr1.minatlon
ordlnances.
(For example, state houslng law does not permit
dlscrlmlnatlon on the basls of race,
sex, rellg1.0n, or age
slm1.ply because a certal.n percentage of the bUl.ldlng 1S of the
same race, sex, rellglon, or age.) Reach1ng a 40% quota for
ch1.ldren should not be grounds for refuslng to rent to
faml11es
tenants.
wlth chlldren or eV1.ctlng prevlously chlldless
It lS also doubtful that a homeseeker wlth ch1.1dren
would be able to determlne the accuracy of a clalm that a
bU1.1dlng had reached ltS 40% Ilmlt.
ThlS quota provlslon makes falr houslng investlgatlon
and
enforcement
more
compl1.cated,
tlme-COnSlll111ng,
and
unavoldably
ordlnance
deletes
Sectlon
other tenants. The accompanYlng
4703(b) regardlng quotas for
dlsruptlve to
8
e
e
chlldren, as both lnconslstent wlth the purposes of the
ordlnance and unworkable.
E. Dlscrlmlnatory Inqulrles.
The Santa Monlca Falr Houslng Program has recelved
complalnts regardlng screenlng practlces of landlords and
rental agencles. Prospectlve tenants are stlll belng asked,
orally and on wrltten appllcatlons, lf they have children.
The result of these lnqUlrles 15 that famllles w1th chlldren
are belng screened out of the process even before belng
consldered on thelr merlts. The accompanYlng ord1nance adds
Seetlon 4702(h) to prohlblt such 1nqulrles prlor to the rental
of a houslng accomnodatlon.
Slm1lar proscr1pt1ons have been
lneluded 1n the ord1nances of other cltles.
F. ClarlfYlng Changes.
The followlng changes have been made to clarlfy the
scope of the ordlnance:
Sectlon 4702 (lntroductlon). The introductlon to
Seetlon 4702 has been amended to clearly deflne the persons to
WhlCh the ordinance applles. Currently, the sectlon lndlcates
that It appl1es to persons offerlng a unlt for rent or lease.
ThlS language 1S sUbJect to an lnterpretatlon, erroneous 1n
our oplnlon. that the ordlnance only appl1es to the rentlng
process and does not apply once a unlt 1S rented. Therefore,
the lntroduct1on has been amended to lndlcate that lt applles
to persons offerlng, rentlng, leaslng. or llstlng unlts, along
wlth thelr authorlzed agents and employees.
9
e
e
Sectlon 4702(a).
Dlscrlmlnatory eVlctlons have been
clearly
lncluded
Wl.thln
the
scope of the prohl.b1ted
actlvitles.
Section 4702(c).
The phrase "for 1nspect1on or rental"
1S added to the end of the subdl.vlsl.on solely for purposes of
clar1ty.
Sectl.on 4702(a),
(b),
( c ) , and
(d). Each of these
subdl.v1s1ons
refers to proscr1bed act1v~ty l.n terms of
dlSCr1ffil.nat1on on the basls of "age, parenthood, prenancy, or
the potentl.al or actual tenancy of a IYl1nOr chlld." Because
the use of the word "tenancy" may not be legally approprlate
In connectl.on w1th a fl11nOr chlld, the word "tenancy" has been
changed to "occupancy," whlch 18 more encQITlpaSs1ng 10 1ts
def~n1tlon.
Sect10n 4702(d).
The term "rental unJ..t" 1S changed to
"housJ..ng
accommodatlon,"
whlch l5 the terml.nology used
throughout the ordlnance.
Sect10n 4702(f). As lnd1cated above, throughout the
ordl.nance the phrase "age, parenthood, pregnancy, or the
potent1al or actual tenancy of a !lunor ch.lld" 1S used. ThlS
subdl.v1slon uses "age, parenthood, pregnancy, or the presence
of a ITllnOr chlld." The subd1vls1on has been changed,
conslstent wlth the changes dl.scussed above, to "age,
parenthood, pregnancy, or the potentl.al or actual occupancy of
a l'unor chl.ld."
10
tit
-
Sect~on 4703 (c) .
Th~s exempt~on currently prov~des that
no person ~s requ~red to wa~ve "standards" w~th respect to
occupancy or density.
does not ~nd~cate
The prov1s1on ~s amblguous because ~t
the standards to wh~ch ~t refers.
Accord1ngly,
the
word "standards" has been changed to
"federal,
state, or local law."
(The subd1v~slon has been
changed from "(c)" to U(b)" because of the deletlon of the 40%
quota provislon dlscussed above.)
RECOW1ENDATION
It 1S respectfully recommended that the accompanY1ng
ord~nance be lntroduced for flrst readlng.
PREPARED BY:
Robert M. Myers, C~ty Attorney
11
e
.
CA : Rr'1M : pd
C~ty Counc~l Meet~ng 9-13-83
Santa Mon~ca, Cal~forn~a
ORDINANCE NUMBER
(C~ty Counc~l Ser~es)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
ADDING SECTION 4706 TO THE
SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE AND
AMENDING SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE
SECTIONS 4702 AND 4703
RELATING TO DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN
AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Sect~on 4702 of the Santa ~1on~ca ~1unlclpal
Code ~s amended to read as follows:
Sectl.on
4702.
Prohl.blted
Actl.vltles.
It shall be unlawful for any
person
offerlng
for
rent or lease,
renting, leasl.ng, or llstlng any housl.ng
accommodation, or any authorlzed agent or
employee of such person, to do or attempt
to do any of the followlng:
(a) Refuse
to rent or lease a
hous~ng accommodatlon, serve a notlce of
termlnatlon
of
tenancy,
COIT\Flence an
unlawful detalner action, or otherWlse
deny to or wlthhold from, any person or
persons, a houslng accommodation on the
1
e
e
bas~s of age, parenthood, pregnancy, or
the potentlal or actual occupancy of a
minor chlld.
(b) Dlscrlffilnate agalnst any person
In the terms, condltlons, or prlvlleges of
the rental of a houslng accommodation or
ln the provlslon of serVlces or facilltles
ln connectlon therewlth, on the baS1S of
age, parenthood, pregnancy,
potent1al or actual occupancy
Ch1ld.
or the
of a rn1nor
(c) Represent to any person, on the
baS1S of age, parenthood,
pregnancy, or
the potentlal or actual occupancy of the
ffi1nor Chlld that a hous1ng accommodatlon
lS not avallable for 1nspectlon or rental
when such hous1ng accommodatlon 1S ln fact
avallable for lnspectlon or rental.
(d) Make, pr1nt, or publlSh, or
cause to be Made,
prlnted, or publ1shed
any
notlce,
stateMent,
slgn,
advertlsement, appllcatlon, or contract
wlth regard to a houslng accomrnodatlon
offered by that person that lndlcates any
preference,
Ilmltatlon, or dlscrlffi1natlon
wlth
respect
to
age,
parenthood,
2
e
e
pregnancy, or the potentlal or actual
occupancy of a Mlnor Chlld.
(e) Include in any rental agreement
or lease for a houslng accommodat1on a
clause provld1ng that as a cond1tlon of
cont1nued occupancy, the tenants shall
remaln chlldless or snaIl not bear
ch1ldren
or otherW1se not malntaln a
household w1th a person or persons of a
certaln age.
( f)
Charge addltional rent for
living 1n a houslng accommodat2on
baS1S of aqe, parenthood,
persons
on the
pregnancy, or the potentlal or actual
occupancy of a mlnor Ch11d.
(g) Except to comply with the floor
area requlrements of the Uniform Houslng
Code adopted by Munlclpal Code Sect10n
8106, 11mlt the nUMber of occupants, enter
lnto any rental agreement or lease
Ilmltlng the number of occupants, or to
enforce 1n any manner a term, condltion,
or covenant of a rental agreement or lease
Wh2Ch Ilmlts the number of occupants
unless the nUMber of occupants exceeds two
persons per bedroom, plus one add1t1onal
person per houslng accOmMOdatlon, or, 1n
3
e
e
'!
the case of zero-bedroom hOUS1Ug
accommodations, two persons. For the
purpose of thlS Sectlon, mlnors under two
years of age are not consldered occupants.
(h) Pr~or to rentlng a hous~ng
accommodatlon, lnquire, orally or In
wrlting, as to the ages, parenthood,
pregnancy, number of mlnor ch~ldren, or
farolly composltlon of prospectlve
occupants, except to establ~sh that the
number of occupants wlll not exceed the
occupancy standards set forth 1n Bectlon
4702(g) or to establ1sh that the tenant
slgn1ng the rental agreement or lease 15
elghteen (18) years of age or older.
SECTION 2. Sectlon 4703 of the Santa Monlca Munlclpal
Code 15 a~ended to read as follows:
SECTION 4703: Exempt~ons.
conta1ned 1n thlS Chapter shall
or be construed:
Nothll'1g
apply to
(a) To affect a
accommodat1on deslgned and
exclusl vely for sen.lor adults,
hous1ng
operated
and the lr
spouses, or any nurslng home, convalescent
home, or retlrement home.
4
e
e
(b) To wa1ve any federal, state, or
local law relat1ng to occupancy or
dens1ty.
SECTION 3.
Sect10n 4706 15 added to the Santa Mon1ca
Mun1c~pal Code to read as follows:
SECTION 4706. Equ1table Relief. An
act10n for equ1table rellef to secure
compllance wlth the provlslons of thlS
Chapter may be commenced by
Attorney, D1strlct Attorney,
the Cl ty
or by any
person,
corporatlon,
assoc1at1on,
or
ent1ty actlng for the 1nterests of ltself,
ltS meMbers, the general publlC, or the
protected class.
SECTION 4. Any prov1s10n of the Santa Monica Municlpal
Code or appendlces thereto lncons1stent wlth the provlslons of
thlS ordlnance, to the extent of such lncons1stencles and no
further, lS hereby repealed or modlfled to that extent
necessary to glve full force and effect to the provls1ons of
thlS ord1nance.
SECTION
5.
If any seetlon,
subsect1on,
sentence,
clause, or phrase of th1S ordlnance lS for any reason held to
be 1nval1d or unconstltut1onal by a decls10n of any court of
competent jur~sdlctlon, such decls10n shall not render ~nval1d
the remalnlng portlons of the ordlnance. The C~ty Councll
hereby declares that lt would have passed th~s ordlnance and
each and every sectlon,
subsectlon,
sentence,
clause, or
5
e
e
phrase not declared ~nval1d or unconstltutlonal w~thout regard
to whether any port1on of the ord1nance would be subsequently
declared lnval1d or unconstltut~onal.
SECTION 6.
The Mayor shall SlgO and the Clty Clerk
shall attest to the passage of th1S ord1nance. The Clty Clerk
shall cause the same to be publ~shed once 1n the off1c1al
newspaper w1thln 15 days after ~ts adopt~on.
The ord1nance
shall become effect1ve 30 days from lts adoptlon.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
~ '--.~ -
ROBERT M. MYERS \J
C1ty Attorney
6