SR-11-13-1979-10CSanta Monica, California, November 5, 1979
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Housing Commission
SUBJECT: Fair Housing Counseling and Information Service -
Westside Fair Housing Council
Introduction
M
NCIV % 3 9179'
This report transmits the Housing Commission's recommendation regarding a
proposal from the Westside Fair Housing Council, a non - profit organization,
to reinstate a fair housing counseling service and public information program
to the citizens of Santa Monica which has been suspended.
Background
Until July 1, 1979, the Westside Fair Housing Council (WFHC) provided fair
housing information and counseling services to Santa Monica residents. They
are primarily funded by the City of Los Angeles through the Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) program; and as of July 1, WFHC was instructed not to provide
assistance to anyone living outside the City of Los Angeles.
A survey of community service agencies in Santa Monica revealed that WFHC has
always handled fair housing complaints for Santa Monica, and no other agency in
Santa Monica provides this service. Callers are still referred to WFHC, or
advised to contact an attorney. None of the Santa Monica agencies are interested
in adding this service to their existing program at this time.
There are several HUD - approved precedents for the type of arrangement proposed
by WFHC, where general area fair housing agencies provide services to local
Mayor and City Council _2_ November 5, 1979
jurisdictions. Examples are:
ation contracts with the City of Carson.
o Long Beach Fair Housing Found
o West San Gabriel Fair Housing Council contracts with the cities of
West Covina and Pasadena.
o San Fernando Valley Fair Housing Council contracts with the City
of Burbank.
Discussion
The WFHC has an excellent track record and they are offering Santa Monica an
opportunity to continue receiving the services of their well-established
organization, professional and volunteer resources, and already - developed
outreach program which includes bilingual materials. (Samples of brochures,
newsletters, clippings and vacancy listings are available on request.) Fair
housing counseling is an eligible CDBG activity and reprogrammed or contingency
funds are available to cover the costs of adding a Santa Monica component to
WFHC as proposed.
Westside Fair Housing Council is located in West Los Angeles near Santa Monica
and Westwood Boulevards. This is a new location, closer to Santa Monica than
when they were serving this community. Their office is available to Santa Monica
residents by bus on Santa Monica Boulevard. Most of the contacts are by
telephone, and a call to their office from Santa Monica is local.
The above information was submitted to the Housing Commission at their meeting
of October 22, 1979• They unanimously endorsed this proposal for a six -month
period, and recommend that during that time the possibility of the City
establishing this service within Santa Monica be explored. The Commissioners
also feel that a detailed work plan and monitoring mechanism should be developed.
Mayor and City Council -3- November 5, 1979
Alternatives
1. Elect not to fund a fair housing counseling service and public
information program at this time.
2. Direct staff to develop a proposal for establishing a fair
housing service within the City as soon as possible.
3. Direct City Manager to execute a six -month contact with WFHC
which will include a detailed work plan and monitoring mechanism,
and then proceed to explore the possibility of establishing
this service within the City.
Recommendation
The Housing Commission of the City of Santa Monica and City staff recommend
that City Council approve Alternative No. 3, and authorize the City Manager
to execute a six -month contract with WFHC and prepare an analysis of a fair
housing service within the City.
Prepared by: John Hemer
Nancy McFarland
JH: NM: mh
Attachment
(213) 475-9671
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
FAIR HOUSING PROGRAM
1979 - 1980
August 9, 1979
RATIONALE
ciety and our cities are such that
The history of our so
d unable to live in a
many minorities feel unwelcome an
city such as Santa Monica.
Years of actual exclusion and steering have essentially
circumvented fair housing laws and resulted in the
existence of suburban cities with a miniscule minority
population and/or a clustered concentration. Such is
this situation,
the case in Santa Monica. To offset
rmation and assistance
concerted effort to provide info
to minorities is required.
Fair Housing is a high priority of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, which provides funding
for fair housing under Housing
and Community Development
Block Grants. Section 570.900 (j) of the Federal Register
and HUD's certificate of assurance are i2f uis under
the Civil Rights Act.
Westside Fair Housing Council has the resources, st the City of Santa Monica
exper-
ience and credibility to assi
in complying with these provisions. The revised 1970
census population figures for Santa Monica indicate that
the Black population accounts for 4.6% of the total
population of 93,000. This is compared with a Hispanic
subpopulation of 12.1 %, white 81.2% and other 2.1 %1
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HISTORY
The Westside Fair Housing Council was created in 1968
by a coalition of .the Monica Fair Housing Council,
lisades Human Relations
Culver City Neighbors, Pacific Pa
Council, Westchester Human Relations Council and Brent-
wood Human Relations Council, all volunteer organizations
who knew that "Good Neighbors Come in All Colors." In-
corporated as a tax - exempt, non - profit organization with
a Board of Directors, full and part -time staff, volunteer
checkers and volunteer lawyers, it has served more than
2600 homeseekers.
A total of $64,000 has been awarded to minority home -
seekers who were denied housing on racial grounds.
$28,000 has been awarded in the last three years alone.
The first lawyer's seminar on housing discrimination
held in Los Angeles was sponsored by the Westside
Council.
The Council has published 'Open Housing Under Law" and
Ri hts', two pamphlets which are now being
"Your Housing g ations
used throughout Los Angeles. The Council investig
were the basis for consent decrees filed by the U.S.
Justice Department. Four which were filed in the last
few years have resulted in three apartment management
companies being required to list their vacancies with
HISTORY
the Westside Fair Housing Council
and to comply with
regulations of the, Department of Housing and Urban
Development,
latest victory was a
Westside Fair Housing Council's
precedent setting affirmation action award of $10,000.
Possible only because of our de-
Our program has been ined hundreds of
dicated volunteers. We have tra
people in fair housing laws, checking procedured and
conciliation methods.
Despite the fact that people's priorities have shifted
since the height of the Civil Rights movement of the
sixties, we have succeeded in building a dues - paying
membership of over 420 concerned citizens, 180 of whom
are Santa Monica residents. These include people from
every walk of lifer our former homeseekers as well as
noted figures from the entertainment industry and every
level of government.
We operated solely on membership donations and fund
raising activities until July, 1976, when we began
support form the City of Los Angeles through
receiving
ck Grant Program. The grant
its Community Development Blo
allowed us to provide a fair housing program solely within
the boundaries of the City of Los Angeles.
Many honors have been received throughout the council's
history- WFHC was honored with the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Fair Housing Award presented by the Southern Christian
Leadership West in,1978 and also received an award from
the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission in 1979•
Former WFHC President, Ms. Audrey Harris, received the
Community Relations Conference of Southern California
Award as the Fair Housing Volunteer of the year,
Executive Director Blanch Rosloff was presented with a
ouncilwoman Pat Russell.
certificate of Appreciation by C
Board member and Conciliator Sylvia Geiselman received
the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission award in
July, 1979•
We have approached the challenge of an expanding fair
housing program by building on our tradition of innovative
service. Some examples of our work activities include:
Developing a new concept called the "Housing
Huddle ", which is designed to give interested
citizens an opportunity to meet together and
discuss current housing problems. To date,
we have held four such "Housing Huddles"
Strengthening the conciliation procedure by
developing a handout for owners managers, and
holding a training session for new conciliators.
Enlarging our volunteer recruitment and training
efforts, and conducting five Checker Training
Sessions. Typically our 70 -plus volunteers
contribute annually over 1500 hours of their
time to the program.
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- Developing an intern component for utilizing the
time and talent of college students. Six interns
have been involved yearly.
- Making arrangements to be a work -site for CETA
Title I Trainees.
- Organizing a meeting of our volunteer attorneys
to discuss the ramifications of our increase of
client service responsibilities.
- Conducting nine Fair Housing Information Days
yearly at locations throughout our service area.
- Developing a mechanism for distributing fair
housing literature to public libraries, real
estate offices, and community organizations.
More than 2,000 copies of "Your Housing Rights',
500 Fair Housing Flyers, 700 copies of the
Westside Fair Housing Council's informational
brochure, and 100 Fair Housing Posters have been
distributed annually.
In addition to directing these types of program activities,
we also raise over $10,000 yearly through such activities
as note card sales, theater parties, the Doris Jean Wilson
Memorial Fund Appeal and a grant from the Sidney Stern
Memorial Trust. These funds have been used primarily to
support the WFHC programs, specifically to pay for items
not covered by contracts. In addition, more than $5,000
worth of in -kind services have been generated annually to
support the Council's activities. These include: account-
ing services, legal advice, xeroxing and the donation, by
a Santa Monica firm, of computer- mailing labels.
This report has given some idea of the history and recent
activities of the Westside Fair Housing Council, as well
as its degree of community support. Our goal, when we
s
began, was to insure the legal right of all citizens to
live in the housing of their choice, and we will continue
to work toward this goal until equal housing opportunity
is a reality.
A PROPOSAL TO THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA:
A FAIR HOUSING PROGRAM
The Westside Fair Housing Council proposes to implement,
in the City of Santa Monica, a comprehensive Fair Housing
Work Program to investigate and resolve complaints of
illegal housing discrimination, and a broad public infor-
mation campaign about equal opportunity in housing.
A meaningful program of education and action is now
proposed to the city of Santa Monica by the Westside Fair
Housing Council as follows:
I. PUBLIC INFORMATION PROGRAM
A program will be developed and implemented by WFHC
to promote fair housing for all segments of the com-
munity of Santa Monica. All information will be
disseminated in bi- lingual form: Spanish- English.
WFHC will:
A. Publish and distribute pamphlets, brochures,
flyers, posters, etc.
B. Produce and distribute radio and television
spots.
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C. Prepare and publish newspaper advertisements,
press releases, bill - boards, bus - boards, etc.
D. Seek invitations for public appearances, radio
and television interviews, speeches, participation
in conferences, etc.
E. Plan special events; Fair Housing, seminars,
Fair Housing monthly activities, etc.
II. COMMUNITY SERVICES PROGRAM
A program will be developed and administered by
Westside Fair Housing; Council to advance equal housing
opportunities for all persons and to encourage compli-
ance with all fair housing laws and regulations
throughout the city of Santa Monica. Utilizing both
professional and volunteer services the council will:
A. Develop community profile information services
to aid minority homeseekers.
B. Receive, refer, process and record complaints
of illegal housing discrimination.
C. Cooperate with community and government agencies,
business and industry in program development in-
formation and service exchanges.
D. Promote Affirmative Action among local real
estate boards and brokers, property owners and
managers, banking and lending institutions.
(213) 475 -9671
Executive Director
BLANCHE ROSLOFF
Housing Counselor
AARON C. TAYLOR
Housing Outreach Specialist
EARL ADAMS
Secretary /Bookkeeper
ADA STEWART
Housing Aide
CATHY MAYORKAS
Board of Directors
President
FLOYD GRANT
Vice Presidents
NANCY CLARK
ERNIE FELTON
DOROTHY THOMAS
Secretary
DOROTHY PERRY
Treasuers
ANNE FROEHLICH
FRED MAUTNER
Members of the Board
SARA BERMAN
BLYDEN BOYLE
SCOTT BOWERSOCK
DENNIS DEVERMONT
CAROLE FOX
SYLVIA GEISELTMN
DICK GIESBERG
AUDREY HARRIS
ANDY MEYER
JACKIE WATSON
ELEANOR REHM WHITE
Newsletter Editor
MARJORIE SCHWARTZ
Honorary Member of the Board
DR. CHARLES Z. WILSON
FAIR HOUSING PROGRAM FOR THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
W.F.H.C. BUDGET - SIX MONTHS
PERSONNEL:
Housing Counselor /Investigator $7,500
Housing Counselor Aide (50o Time) 3,000
Clerk /Typist (50% Time) 3,000
Fringes (i.e. Taxes etc.) @ 12% 1,620
Total $15,120
Consumable Supplies
600
Postage
500
Mileage @ 17C per mile
200
Telephone and Installation
900
Insurance
100
Advertising
1,500
Printing
2,000
Space @ 5180 per month
1,080
Total
$6,880
Grand Total $22,000
presented at this time was
a recommendation Of the
carding a proposal from westsia Fair Hmatiog
Item 1C'�° o counseling and information
of the
agenda Commission regof a fair - housing d Blanche Rosoloff
Housing roviSion ort was presented an Q the ',lest Los Angeles Area,
Council f °the staff rep �ency. C°_ u�clmb
a Council, now servicing her ag recommen anon,
service. Fair Housing the offered Y the staff
;Vestside focus of rnat ce5Number 3 of faith Westside
outlined the Alternative Contract Vo. 'al7(Ck plan and
9§9 moved to
approve of a si:c month
Will include a detailed WO rth possibility
cuti cil which ro teed to e:c lore qa, or p Pro
C °� with staff to P City, Second by � � chaYhis service within the ng Coldway• Yannatta nd jayy,
atta Rhoden and Mayor
affirmative: Counings, Reed,
Council Vote_: Jennings+
Hambrick
Councilmenber Scott pVen
Absent:
Negative: den Steenh
Councilmember van
CITY COUNCIL MEETING - NOUEbIBER 13, 1979