Analysis of Impediment to Fair Housing Choice
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Analysis of impediments to fair housing choice City of evanston, ILLINOIS revised edition april 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 introduction 3 purpose of the ai 4 legal trends in fair housing enforcement 6 fair housing choice 8 the federal fair housing act 10 THE ILLINOIS HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 11 local discrimination prohibitions 11 comparison of accessibility standards 12 methodology 13 analytical approach 13 development of the ai Demographic and 17 housing market conditions 14 overview of settlement patterns 44 housing inventory 15 population trends 49 home ownership and protected class status 24 racial and/or ethnic concentrations 50 household size and protected class status 30 quantifying integration 51 housing costs 32 race/ethnicity and income 55 foreclosure 34 residential segregation by income 36 disability and income 37 familial status and income 39 ancestry and income 40 employment and protected class status 41 distribution of neighborhood opportunity TABLE OF CONTENTS records of housing evaluation of current 57 discrimination 111 fair housing profile 58 existence of fair housing complaints 102102 PROGRESS SINCE PREVIOUS AI 62 local involvement in fair housing lawsuits 102102 FAIR HOUSING infrastructure 64 Review of public general fair housing sector policies 123 observations 63 policies governing investment of funds in housing and community development impediments to fair 70 appointed boards and commissions 125 71 accessibility of residential units housing choice 72 language accommodations 73 zoning fair housing action plan 75 land use and comprehensive planning 131 83 public housing and voucher programs 85 property taxes 85 public transit private sector 96 policies and practices 89 mortgage lending 101 north shore - barrington association OF REALTORS 101011 NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING some extent, according to stakeholders, these patterns represent a preference among minority populations to self-segregate, as is the case with the Hispanic community. EXECUTIVE An analysis of housing discrimination complaints and test results revealed evidence SUMMARY of unequal treatment in the local sales and 1 rental markets, particularly on the basis of race and disability. City residents benefi t from a wide array of state and local protections as well as the federal Fair Housing Act. Cook The preparation of this Analysis of Impediments County’s ordinance eliminates source of to Fair Housing Choice (AI) serves as a income as a legal basis of discrimination component of the City of Evanston’s efforts against voucher holders, a move designed to satisfy the requirements of the Housing to advance desegregation efforts. A recent and Community Development Act of 1974, as update to Evanston’s Fair Housing ordinance amended, which requires that any community expands the protected classes to match those receiving Community Development Block listed at the county level plus gender identity. Grant (CDBG) funds affi rmatively further fair housing. The AI is a review of local regulations The AI’s review of public policies covered the and administrative policies, procedures and aspects of local government most closely tied to practices affecting the location, availability housing, including the City’s entitlement grants and accessibility of housing, as well as an programs, appointed boards and commissions, assessment of conditions, both public and building codes enforcement, language private, that affect fair housing choice. accommodations, land use regulations, public housing, taxes and transit. The City’s The City built the context for analysis by entitlement programs and comprehensive examining demographic, economic and planning efforts refl ect a community goal housing market trends within the framework of to preserve and create affordable housing access to housing opportunities. Evanston’s opportunities, also demonstrated by the total population has remained relatively steady Plan for Affordable Housing, the Affordable during the last 10 years, despite a loss in the Housing Fund and the Inclusionary Housing City’s Black population that refl ects regional Requirement. A few policy items, including a settlement patterns. Contrary to national buffer requirement on group homes and the trends, Evanston has seen an increase in nuisance premises ordinance, raise potential married couples with children and a decrease fair housing issues. in single-parent households, which may refl ect the community’s rising housing costs. Private-sector policies were also evaluated from a fair housing perspective. A thorough The historic quality and diversity of Evanston’s review of mortgage application data suggested housing stock represent a community strength. that upper-income minorities are more likely to The majority of residential structures built more experience loan denials or high-cost lending than 60 years ago are inaccessible to persons than lower-income White applicants. with disabilities, who are in disproportionate need of affordable housing. More than half Though many of the impediments identifi ed in of homes in Evanston are condominiums or this report are beyond the direct control of the apartments. City of Evanston, the City bears responsibility for identifying these issues and developing Census data indicate that racial and ethnic strategy to ensure that its housing market is as minorities, persons with disabilities and open and inclusive as possible. Affi rmatively female-headed households with children furthering fair housing is an ongoing process are more likely to experience poverty and that requires the leadership of elected offi cials, unemployment. Segregated settlement and the development of this plan is the next patterns are still evident, though integration step toward increasing fair housing choice in has increased within the last 10 years. To Evanston. 1 This analysis noted policy and programmatic strengths in the City’s efforts to create and integrate affordable housing opportunities. Additionally, it exists in a region that addresses fair housing issues proactively, as demonstrated by the Regional Housing Initiative and the Fair Housing Equity Assessment produced by CMAP. The impediments to fair housing choice identifi ed in this report include the following, explained in detail and accompanied by recommended action steps starting on Page 118: • Gaps in strategy to meet the needs of the growing limited-English- speaking population • The growing mismatch between incomes and housing costs • Diffi culties for people with disabilities in accessing decent, affordable, suitable housing • Persistence of housing discrimination • Barriers to the formation of non- traditional households • The concentration of voucher holders in racially concentrated areas of poverty • Potential for political infl uence in the siting and approval of affordable housing development • Lack of transit connections to suburban employment centers • Improvements needed in some policy documents • A need for more representative boards and commissions • Fair housing issues with the nuisance premises ordinance, and • Patterns of disparity in private lending. 2 2 INTRODUCTION a. purpose of the ai The City of Evanston has prepared an Entitlement communities receiving CDBG Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing entitlement funds are required to: Choice to satisfy the requirements of the Housing and Community Development Act • Examine and attempt to alleviate of 1974, as amended. This act requires housing discrimination within their that any community receiving Community jurisdiction Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME • Promote fair housing choice for all Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) persons or Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds affi rmatively further fair housing. • Provide opportunities for all persons As a result, the City is charged with the to reside in any given housing responsibility of conducting its CDBG development, regardless of race, programs in compliance with the federal color, religion, sex, disability, familial Fair Housing Act. The responsibility of status or national origin compliance with the federal Fair Housing • Promote housing that is accessible to Act extends to nonprofi t organizations and and usable by persons with other entities that receive federal funds disabilities, and through the City. • Comply with the non-discrimination These requirements can be achieved requirements of the Fair Housing Act. through the preparation of an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice and implementation of recommended action items. The Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI) is a review of a jurisdiction’s laws, regulations and administrative policies, procedures and practices affecting the location, availability and accessibility of housing, as well as an assessment of conditions, both public and private, affecting fair housing choice. 3 b. legal trends in fair housing enforcement In recent years, the federal government geographic location of affordable housing has increasingly emphasized the obligation units that were created within the county that of grantees to affi rmatively further fair was the critical factor in the lawsuit, as the housing and, specifi cally, the way in which Center alleged that the county increased the entitlement communities comply with their pattern of racial segregation in Westchester required fair housing certifi cations. Each County. Furthermore, the suit charged that year when an entitlement community the county violated its cooperation agreements submits its Annual Plan to HUD, the chief with local units