Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing in Oregon

Pegge McGuire, Executive Directorwww.fhco.org

503-223-8197 x112

11/17/2014 1

The Fair Housing Council of Oregon (FHCO) is a Private, Non-Profit, Non-Partisan

Organization Serving the Entire State of Oregon

Promoting and protecting fair housing rights

(since 1990)

Providing expert testimony in fair housing litigation and in housing

policy discussions

Supporting local jurisdictions with

technical guidance on fair housing impacts of

zoning, land use, housing, policies and practices

Facilitating community conversations on fair housing impacts of laws, rules,

polices, and practices related to creating, accessing, or using housing or

housing related programs or services

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What is Fair Housing?

•The set of federal, state, and local laws that protect individuals based on their membership in a protected class from individual or systemic discrimination

•The body of case law and HUD regulations interpreting FHAA and other fair housing laws that require publicly supported housing and housing programs to proactively remove barriers to access and stability in housing

•Proactive elimination of segregation and promotion of equal opportunity access to housing (intentional inclusion and strategic community investment)

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Who is Covered by Fair Housing Protections?

•Race

•Color

•National Origin

•Religion

•Sex (Gender)

•Familial Status (children under 18)

•Disability (broadly defined, requires barrier removal)

•Marital Status

•Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity

•Source of Income (now including HCV participants)

•Survivors of Domestic Violence

Illegal Discrimination in Housing

•Direct Discrimination•Overt and covert

•Systemic Discrimination•Disparate impact•Policies and practices that perpetuate segregation

1 in 10 report discrimination

4,000 calls per year, 400 formal intakes, 100 complaints, 65 “for

cause” charges

Rental

Lending

Homeowner’s Insurance

Real Estate Sales

Zoning, Siting, Permitting

Neighbor-on-Neighbor Harassment

40% disability

25% race and ethnicity

25% familial status

10% religion, sexual orientation, etc.

Fair Housing Complaints in Oregon

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The Leavening in the Recipe

•Oregon Territory-20-39 stripes•80% of the Native population decimated by disease•1859-Slave vs. Free State (Eliminated from the constitution in the 1920’s)•1859 Chinese Exclusion (Repealed in the 40’s)•1920’s largest KKK this side of the Rockies•Anti-Immigrant activism through the 1940’s:• English, Germans, Scotch, Irish, Scandinavians• North Italians• Bohemians, Czechs, Poles, Lithuanians• Greeks• Russians, Jews• South Italians• Negroes• Mexicans11/17/2014 7

We’re From the Government,We’re Here to Help

•1940’s to 1980’s Institutional policies further solidify policies and practices leading to segregation

•FHA appraisal standards

•VA loan policies

•Transportation “improvements”

•Urban Renewal/Removal

•White flight

•1968 FHA enacted-Always included the AFFH req

•1994 A/I planning guide

•2013 HUD draft rule enacted to clarify the FHA mandate to address segregated housing patterns and promote diverse, inclusive communities

Who Must AFFH?

• Federal Funds Recipients

– Specifically, CDBG, HOME, HOPWA, ESG recipients

– PHAs

– Recipients of federal funds (including pass-through funding) from any of 22 other federal agencies-differing views on this interpretation

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Says Who…?Executive Order 11063

Requires executive agencies to fairly administer federal financial assistance programs and make their benefits “available to all Americans without regard to their race, color, creed, or national origin…”

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And, One More…

• Executive Order 12892, as

amended, requires federal

agencies to affirmatively further

fair housing in their programs and

activities, and provides that the

Secretary of HUD will be

responsible for coordinating this

effort.

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FDIC

HU

D C

PD

DO

I

The AFFH Seeks to Move from …

The Montgomery Institute

Treasury

USDA

DOD

HUD PIH

HUD FHEO

DOJ

VA

HHS

DOE

FreddieMac

DEd

CFPB

HUD CPD

FannieMae

DOI

SEC

FHA

FRB

DOT

Agencies Working as a Team to AFFH

The Montgomery Institute

Fair Housing, Needed Housing,Affordable Housing: Fair Housing Planning

Albany

Ashland

Beaverton

Bend

Corvallis

Eugene

Gresham

Hillsboro

Medford

Portland

Salem

Springfield

Clackamas County

Multnomah County

Washington County

Balance of State

Redmond

Grants Pass

Use federal funds to erase historic

patterns of discrimination

Prevent future segregation/

Promote integration

Redress past segregation patterns

Identify elements of segregation and integration

Identify areas concentrated by poverty, race and national

origin

Create access to areas of opportunity

Create an appropriate fair housing environment

Consider infrastructure investments in the past

Ensure robust public participation

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Steps Required by Federal Funds Recipients to AFFH

Conduct an analysis to identify impediments to fair housing choice within the jurisdiction

(an “Analysis of Impediments,” or

“AFH”);

Take appropriate actions to overcome

the effects of any impediments identified through that analysis;

and

Maintain records reflecting the analysis

and actions in this regard.

More Help From the Government

• HUD will provide baseline data

• Mapping tools

• An assessment template

– Not for states

• But, don’t stop there…

– Local knowledge, local data

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Assessment Template summary• Basic information on the entity making the submission

• Executive summary of the AFH finding and recommended actions

• Input on the public participation process

• Core analysis of the data

• Demographic summary (results of the analysis-trending)

• Segregation/Integration/Racial and Ethnic Concentration of Poverty analysis (special focus on immigrants and LEP community)

• Disproportionate housing needs by protected classes

• Disparities in access to opportunity and adverse community factors

• Disability access

• Fair Housing compliance and infrastructure and how has your agency supported those local efforts

• FH goals and priorities11/17/2014 17

Local Indicators of Barriers toEqual Opportunity in Housing

-Separate is Not Equal•Education: school performance, test scores, graduation rates, teacher ratios, free school lunch percentages

•Economic Development: land use policies, zoning decisions, incentives for mixed use and affordable housing, affirmative marketing

•Economic Health in the Neighborhood: job opportunities, grocery stores, publicly funded economic development/infrastructure investments

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A Few More Indicators•Accessibility of housing: near transportation and services, barrier free, meets design and construction standards

•Location, availability, accessibility of housing: unit sizes, accessible features, environmental features

•Special considerations: group homes, mixed income, first time homebuyer (gentrification), foreclosures and other predatory indicators, public transportation and LIDs, environmental issues

•Additionally protected classes

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HUD Review

• Plans submitted to HUD

– HUD may return all or a portion of the assessment

– Deemed “accepted” after 60 days, unless otherwise notified

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Collaborative Planning and Input•Local governments

•PHAs

•Regions (need not be contiguous and can cross borders)

•Informs consolidated Plans, Capital Fund Plans, PHA plans, and other strategic investment opportunities

•Sustainable Communities Initiative is a best practice and was the trial run

•Measurable goals and objectives set and outcomes documented

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USDADODVA

HHS

Federal Financial

Regulators

Non-Governmental Organizations

Grantees

HUD FHEOHUD CPDHUD PIH

Other HUD Offices

State and Local Governments

Banks and Regulated Financial Entities

Citizen Participation

The Montgomery Institute

Sustainable Inclusive Communities Free of Discrimination

Oregon land use statutes in place since 1973, establishes 14 goals for land use (#10 is related to housing)

Department of Land Conservation and Development adopts policy and reviews plans

Local governments plan and regulate land use (submit plans and amendments to LCDC for review and approval)

Goal 10 Establishes the requirement for jurisdictions to

assess and plan for “needed housing”

in a variety of price ranges, rent

levels, housing types

A few notable exceptions since

adoption in 1973:

Accessibility for people with disabilities

Considerations for affirmatively furthering fair housing

Policies to help rectify the detrimental effects of gentrification on historically underserved communities

Land Use Planning the Oregon Way

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Changing the RecipeChanging the Paradigm

•Challenge our assumptions and standards

•Has the decision-making process included robust input from a broad spectrum of the impacted populations and viewpoints of historically underserved communities?

•What does the data tell us?

•What is the legitimate business reason for the rule, policy, practice?

•What are the barriers created by our current process/rule?

•Is there a less discriminatory way to accomplish our goals?

A Few Opportunities to Considerin Future AFFH Work

•Modifications to Goal 10 to incorporate provisions of Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing•Assign a role for OHCS to participate in the periodic review of local plan amendments for AFFH issues•Create a process for statewide housing planning across state agencies engaged in housing development and subsidy using public funds (OHCS, OHA, DHS, DOC, etc.)•Housing is part of a system that includes environment, transportation, education, quality of life, non-traditional partners (e.g. DOT, DEQ, ODOE, DOE, etc.) should be required to consider their impacts on housing opportunity

Q & A?

Next session will talk about what communities can do to affirmatively further fair housing.

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