SR-407-001 (7)
Cl-'. RLK:dd .. '!P1-tJOI a
Cauncll Meetlng~O-09-79 Santa Monica~allfarnia
S'l'AFF REPORT
oA
OCT 9 1979
TO: Mayor and City Cauncll
FROH: Cl ty Attorney
SUBJECT: Proposed Ordlnance wlth regard ta age discrimlnatlon
in houslng.
INTRODUCTION
~hlS report trans~lts for second readlng a proposed
ordlnance relatlng to age dlscrinlnatlon in hauslng. This
ordlnance was lntroduced at the September 25, 1979, councll
meetlng and amended by CounCll.
BACKGROUND
The ordinance as amended contalns the followlng:
Sectlon 4700 makes six leglslatlve :l:indlngs. They are:
(a) That arbltrary dlscrlmlnatlon against tenants
\Vl th minor clllldren exists 1n the C1 ty.
(b) That thlS d1scr1mlnatlon threatens the publ1C
health and welfare of fam111es with chJldren.
(c) That thlS dlscrimination encourages famllles
to leave the Clty WhlCh results 1n fewer stable, lntergenera-
tlonal nelghborhoods, the closure of schools and the reduction
of social and recreatlonal serV1ces for children and famllles.
(d) That this dlscrimination affects all racial,
ethnlc, and econom1C groups but falls prlrnarily on Rlnority
and slngle parent famllles.
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OCT 9 1979
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(e) That promotlng and ensuring houslng without
d1scrlmlnatlon on the basls of age or family composlt1on
1S consistent wlth the Housing Element of the General Plan.
(f) That lt 15 against the publlC POllCY of the
C1ty to discrlmlnate ln rental houslng on the basis of age,
parenthood, pregnancy or the potentlal or actual tenancy of
a minor Ch1ld.
Section 4701 defines three terms. They are:
(a) Housing accommodation. Any property located
in the Clty which is rented residential houslng purposes.
(b) Senlor Adult. A person Slxty-two (62) years
of age and older.
(c) ~hnor Chlld. A child or chlldren under 18
years of age.
Section 4702 proh1blts a person who offers a unit for
rent or lease or his authorlzed agent or employee from d01ng
several th1ngs. This section makes lt unlawful to:
(a) Refuse to rent to any person because of thelr
age, parenthood, pregnancy or mlnor chlld.
(b) Dlscrlffilnate agalnst any person ln terms,
condltlons or privile?es of the rental llnlt or serVlces or
facllltles on a basls of age, parenthood, pregnancy or the
tenancy of a minor child. ThlS would appear to 19nore
dlscrlffilnatlon WhlCh might be valid as a safety measure such
as restrlcting SWimMlng pool access to lnfants. However,
dlscrlffi1natlon can be legally interpreted as unlawful
dlscrim1nation or unreasonable dlscrl~lnation. Thus, restrictlng
facllities for valid safety reasons would still be permisslble.
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(c) Represent to any person that a rental unit
1S unavailable when lt is avallable because of that persons
age, parenthood, pregnancy or the potentlal or actual
tenancy of a minor Chlld.
(d) Make, print, or publish or cause or cause
to be made, printed, or publlshed any notlce statement, sign,
advertlsement, application or contract regardlng a unit
offered by the same person that indlcates a preference,
llmltatlon or dlscriminatlon with respect to age, parenthood,
pregnancy or the potentlal or actual tenancy of a mlnor Chlld.
(e) Include in a rental agreement a condltlon that
a tenant remain chlldless.
(f) Increase rent because of a person's age,
parenthood, pregnancy or presence of a Minor Chlld. However,
this sectlon \~ill not apply lf Proposltlon Q falls.
The origlnal Section 4703 from the first reading was
deslgned to reach p~rsons other than those offerlng a unit
for rent. It was amended by Council to be llmited to "any
person offering a unlt for rent", thus renderlng it identlcal
to Sectlon 4702(d). For thlS reason, lt has been deleted
and the followlng sectlons have been renumbered. This ln
no way affects the intent of the aMendment and ~s merely
a clerlcal adjustment.
Sectlon 4703 IlSts four exemptlons to the ordinance.
These are:
(a) Houslng units designed for sen~or adults,
their spouses, nurslng, convalescent or retirement homes.
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(b) Those apartments where at least forty (40)
percent of the unlts are rented to famllles wlth chlldren.
(c) Any vlolation of occupancy or denslty standards.
(d) When the Slze of the famlly exceeds the
reasonable living space of the unit. ThlS sectlon was added
by amendment and 1S practlcally the same as 4704(c) except
that lt places the burden of provlng the reasonableness of
the standard on the person offerlng the unlt for rent.
Section 4704 points out that this ordlnance ln no way
prevents a person offering a unit for rent from requlrlng
certaln financlal obligation so long as thlS obllgatlon
lS not based on age, parenthood, pregnancy, or the tenancy
of a mlnor child.
Section 4705 sets forth the C1Vll remedy for vlolatlon
of this ordlnance. A vlolator would be liable for actual
damages for each vlolation plus up to three tlrnes the amount
of actual damages or $500.00, whichever lS More. The
prevalllng party would recelve reasonable attorney fees.
ALTI:RlJATlVES
The Clty Council may either adopt the ordlnance as sub-
IDltted, amend the ordinance, or reJect the ordlnance.
RECOHMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the ordlnance be
adopted as submltted.
Prepared By: Rlchard L. Knickerbocker
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CA RL!( : dd
Caunell Meetlng 4If-09-79
Santa Monlca, 11lfornla
..
ORDINANCE NUMBER 1139
(C1ty Council Ser1es)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COu~CIL
OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA ADDING
TO ARTICLE IV, CHAPTER 7, ENTITLED
HOUSING ANTI-DISCRIMINATION CODE
TO REGULATE DISCRI~INATION I~
HOUSING BASED ON AGE.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF ~HE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES
HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 7 1S hereby added to Art1cle
IV of the Santa Monica Mun1clpal Code to read as follows:
SECTION 4700. Flndings and Purpose.
The Clty Council f~nds and declares:
(a) That arbltrary dlscrlffilnation agalnst tenants
w1th Nlnor chlldren eXlsts 1n the Clty of Santa Mon1ca.
Cb) That the eXlstence of such dlscrl~lnatlon
poses a substantlal threat tD the publlC health and welfare
of a large segment of the communlty, namely, fa:rulles r.!ith
chlldren.
(el That the overall effect of such discrlmination
1S to encourage the fllght of famil1es from the Clty of
Santa lbnlca, resulting 1n the deellne of stable, lnter-
generat10nal ne~ghborhoods, the closure of schools, and
the reductlon of soclal and recreational serVlces for chlldren
and thelr fam~lles.
Cd) That such dlscrlffilnatlon cuts across all raclal.
ethnlc, and econO~lC llnes, but falls ~ost heavlly on ffilnorlty
and slnqle parent familles wlth chlldren.
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(e) That it ~s cons~stent with the Hous~ng Element
of the General Plen to proMote and ensure open and free
cho~ce of hous~ng without d~scr~mination on the basis of
age or family compos~t~on.
(f) That because housing is a fundaroental necessity
of l~fe, ~t lS against the public policy of the Clty of
Santa Ifonica to dl.scrl.m~nate In rental 'housing based upon
age, parenthood, pregnancy, or the potential or actual
tenancy of a m~nor Chlld.
S~CTION 4701: Defin~tlons.
The following words or phrases used 1n this ordinance
have the follo~lng meanings:
(a) Houslng Accornnodatlon. Any property located
in the C~ty of Santa Mon~ca rented for resldentlal hous~ng
purposes.
(b) Senior Adult. A person SlXty-two (62) years of
age or older.
ec) Mlnor Chlld. One or more chlldren under the
age of eighteen (18) years.
SECTIon 4702: Prohlblted Activitles.
It shall be unlawful for any person offer~ng a un~t
for rent or lease, or any author~zed agent or employee of
such person, to do or attempt to do any of the following:
(a) Refuse to rent or lease a housing acco~~odation,
or ctherWlse deny to or wlthholo from, any person or persons,
a hous~ng acco~odation on the bas~s of age, parenthood, pregnancy
or actual tenancy of a minor Chlld.
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(b) Dlscrrmlnate against any person ln the terms,
condltions, or pr1vlleges of the rental of a housing accom-
modation or In the provi51on of services or facilltie5 in
connectlon therewlth, on the basis of age, parenthood, preg-
nancy, or the potentlal or actual tenancy of a minor chlld.
(c) Represent to any person, on the basls of age,
parenthood, pregnancYt or the potential or actual tenancy
of the mlnor Chlld that a housing acco~modatlon 15 not
available for lnspectlon or rental when such houslng accom-
modatlon 15 ln fact available.
(d) Make, prlnt, or publish, or cause to be made,
printed, or published any notice, statement, slgn, advertisement,
appllcatlon, or contract with regard to a rental unlt offered
by that person that indlcates any preference, liwitation, or
dlscriwlnatlon with respect to age, parenthood, pregnancy,
or the potential or actual tenancy of a minor child.
ee) Include in any rental agreement or lease for
a housing accomrnodatlon a clause providlng that as a condltlon
of continued tenancy, the tenants shall remain chlldless or
shall not bear chlldren or otherwlse not malntain a household
wlth a person or persons o~ a certaln age.
(f) Charge addltional rent for persons Ilvlng ln
a houslng accommodatlon on the baSlS of age, parenthood,
pregnancy, or the presence of a rnlnor child. Provided, however,
that thlS subsectlon shall not apply ~f PrOposltlon Q of the
November 6, 1979, munlclpal electlon falls.
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SEC':'IOlJ 4703. EXef"lptlons.
Noth~ng contalned In thlS ordlnance shall aDply
to or be construed:
(a) To affect a houslnq acco~modation deslgned
and operated excluslvely for senior adults, and thelr spouses,
or any nurslng home, convalescent home, or retlrement home,
(b) To affect those apartments where at least
forty (40) percent of the unlts are rented to fa~llles wlth
chlldren.
(c) To walve any standards with reference to
occupancy or denslty.
(d) To force a person to rent a houslng accoIT~oda-
tlon to a famlly whose total number of persons exceeds the
reasonable llvlng space avallabJe ln the rental unlt. In any
actlon brought pursuant to BectloD 4705 o~ thlS ordlnance,
the person offering the unlt for rent sh?ll have the burden
of provlng the reasonableness of the occupancy standard.
SECTION 4704. FlnanClal Obllgatlon Requlrements
~ot Prohlblted.
Tnls ordlnance shall not prohlbit the person offerlng
a unlt for rent or lease or any authorlzed agent or employee
of such person from requirlng the same flnanClal obllgat~on
from all prospect~ve tenants. However, no discrlIDlnatlon
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the amount or manner of payment of sald flnanClal obllgat1on
shall be permitted based upon age, parenthood, pregnancy, or
the potentlal or actual tenancy of a ffilnor Chlld.
SECTION 4705. Clvil ReMedy.
Any person who vlolates the provislons of thls
ordlnance lS liable for actual daMages, lf any, wlth regard
to each and every such vlolatlon and such addltlonal amount
as may be determlned by a Jury, or the court sittlng without
a Jury, up to three tiQes the aMount of actual danages, or
$500.00, whlchever lS greater. In addltion, the prevalllng
party in any actlon under this seetlon shall be entltled to
reasonable attorney's fees.
SECTION 2. Any provlslons of the Santa !illulca
Munlclpal Code or appendlces thereto lnconslstent therewlth,
to the extent of such lnconslstencles and no further, are
hereby repealed or modlfled to that extent necessary to
affect the proV1S1ons of thlS ordlnance.
SECTIO~ 3. If any sectlon, subsectlo~, sentence,
clause or phrase of thlS ordinance 1S for any reason held
to be lnvalld or unconstltutlonal by a decislon of any
court of competent Jurlsdlctlon, such declslon shall not
affect the valldlty of the remainlng portlons of the
ordlnance. The City Councll hereby declares that It would
have passed this ordlnance and each and every sectlon,
subsectlon, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared lnvalld
or unconstltutlonal ~lthout regard to whether any portlon
of the ordlnance would be subsequently declared lnvalld or
unconstltutlonal.
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SE(,TIO~ 4. The ~1ayor shall s1.gn and the C1. ty Clerk
shall attest to the passage of this ordinance. The C~ty
Clerk shall cause the same to be publlshed once l.n the
officlal newspaper wlthln fifteen (IS) days after lts adopt1.on.
The ordlnance shall becone effectlve after thlrty (30) days
fro~ lts adoption.
APPROVED AS TO FOm1:
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(/f~'-l /.~ i/J::;~/d2,__._____~__
\,./RrCR~RD L. KNICXERBOCI~ER
Clty Attorney
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ADOPTED AND APPROVED THIS
9th
DAY
OF October
1Q....;9
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MAYOR
(~ '. /
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~L~"U--i'_"'''" J-/L-....;...r../lf
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE"
No, 1139 ) WAS DULY AND REGULARLY INTRODUCED AT A MEETING OF
THE CITY COU;';C I L ON THE 2 5th DAY OF September ) 1979 ; THAT
THE SAID ORDINANC~ WAS THEREAFTER DULY ADOPTED AT A MEETING
C C 9th D!1V, O!:', October
OF THE ITY OUNCIL O~ THE "
1079
" ..)1
BY THE FOLLOWING COUNCIL VOTE:
{lVC'" .
{-II L~.
[OU~K I U1Er-mE;:{S :
BanbYlCk, Yannatta Goldway,
ReeL, van den Steenhoven 0
T .
uennlng:s,
NOES:
[OUNC 1 U"',E!'1BERS :
Scott
ABSENT:
[OUNC I U1Ef-1BEf\S :
None
ATTEST:
~Y"J- ;;;;ccj}Z ~
6l4y [~RK