Ordinance No. 2,6209 08 -4
ORDINANCE NO. 2620
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN
DECLARING THE POLICY OF THE CITY TO BE IN FURTHERANCE
OF THE RIGHT OF EACH INDIVIDUAL TO PROVIDE HIMSELF AND
HIS FAMILY A DWELLING, INCLUDING FINANCING THEREOF,
WITHOUT REGARD TO RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, NATIONAL
ORIGIN, SEX OR SOURCE OF INCOME; DEFINING TERMS;
ADOPTING REGULATIONS CONCERNING FINANCING OF DWELLING;
PROVIDING REGULATIONS CONCERNING BROKERAGE SERVICES;
PROVIDING CERTAIN EXEMPTIONS AND EXCLUSIONS; SETTING UP
A PROCEDURE FOR THE HANDLING OF COMPLAINTS; OUTLINING
THE DUTIES OF THE CITY ATTORNEY AND THE AUTHORITY OF
THE ADMINISTRATOR; FORBIDDING INTIMIDATION; CONTAINING
A SEVERANCE CLAUSE; PROVIDING A PENALTY; PROVIDING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE; AND PROVIDING FOR THE PUBLICATION
THEREOF.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
BAYTOWN:
Section 1. Purpose.
(1) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the City of
Baytown to bring about, through fair, orderly and
lawful procedures, the opportunity for each person to
obtain housing without regard to his race, color,
religion, sex or source of income.
(2) It is further declared that this policy is grounded
upon a recognition of the inalienable right of each
individual to provide for himself and his family a
dwelling according to his own choosing; and further,
that the denial of such rights through considerations
based upon race, color, religion, national origin, sex
or source of income is detrimental to the health,
safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the City of
Baytown and constitutes an unjust denial or deprivation
of such inalienable right which is within the power and
proper responsibility of government to prevent.
Section 2. Definitions.
(1) "Administrator" means the individual designated Housing
Director by the City Manager.
(2) "Discriminatory Housing Practice" means an act that is
unlawful under Sections 3, 4, and 5.
(3) "Dwelling" means any building, structure or portion
thereof which is occupied as, or designed and intended
for occupancy as, a residence by one or more families,
and any vacant land which is offered for sale or lease
for the construction or location thereon of any such
building, structure or portion thereof.
(4) "Family" includes a single individual.
(5) "Person" includes one or more individuals, corporations,
partnerships, associations, labor organizations, legal
ra
representatives, mutual companies, joint stock companies,
trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees
in bankruptcy, receivers, fiduciaries, and any other
organization or entity of whatever character.
(6) "To Rent" includes to lease, to sublease, to let and
otherwise to grant for a consideration the right to
occupy premises not owned by occupant.
Section 3. Discrimination in the sale or rental of
housing.
Except as exempted by Section 6, it shall be unlawful for
any person to:
(1) Refuse to sell or rent after the making of a bona fide
offer, or to refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental
of, or otherwise make unavailable or deny, a dwelling
to any person because of race, color, religion, national
origin, sex or source of income;
(2) Discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions,
or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling, or in
the provision of services or facilities in connection
therewith, because of race, color, religion, national
origin, sex or source of income;
(3) Make, print or publish, or cause to be made, printed or
published any notice, statement or advertisement, with
respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates
any preference, limitation or discrimination based on
race, color, religion, national origin, sex or source
of income, or an intention to make any such preference,
limitation or discrimination.
(4) Representing to any person because of race, color,
religion, national origin, sex or source of income that
any dwelling is not available for inspection, sale or
rental when such dwelling is in fact so available.
(5) For profit, or with
to induce or attempt
rent any dwelling by
entry or prospective
person or persons of
national origin, sex
the hope or expectation of profit,
to induce any person to sell or
representations regarding the
entry into the neighborhood of a
a particular race, color, religion,
or source of income.
Section 4. Discrimination in the financing of housing.
It shall be unlawful for any bank, building and loan associa-
tion, insurance company or other corporation, association,
firm or enterprise whose business consists in whole or in
part in the making of commercial real estate loans, to deny
a loan or other financial assistance to a person applying
therefor for the purpose of purchasing, constructing,
improving, repairing or maintaining a dwelling, or to dis-
criminate against him in the fixing of the amount, interest
rate, duration or other terms or conditions of such loan or
other financial assistance, because of the race, color,
religion, national origin, sex or source of income of such
person or of any person associated with him in connection
with such loan or other financial assistance, or the purposes
of such loan or other financial assistance, or of the present
or prosective owners, lessees, tenants or occupants of the
dwelling or dwellings in relation to which such loan or
other financial assistance is to be made or given.
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Section 5. Discrimination in the provisions of brokerage
services.
It shall be unlawful to deny any person access to or member-
ship or participation in any multiple listing service, real
estate brokers organization or other service, organization
or facility relating to the business of selling or renting
dwellings, or to discriminate against him in the terms or
conditions of such access, membership, or participation, on
account of race, color, religion, national origin, sex or
source of income.
Section 6. Exemptions and exclusions.
There shall be exempted from the application of Section 3:
(1) The sale or rental of any single house by
a private individual who owns such house, provided
that:
(a) the sale or rental is made without the use in any
manner of the sales or rental facilities or the sales
or rental services of any real estate broker, agent or
"N salesman, or of such facilities or services of any
person in the business of selling or renting dwellings,
or of any employee or agent of any such broker, agent,
salesman or person (but nothing in this provision shall
prohibit the use of attorneys, escrow agents, abstractors,
title companies or other such professional assistance
as necessary to perfect or transfer the title); and
(b) the sale is made without the publication, posting
or mailing of any advertisement or written notice in
violation of Section 3c of this article; and
(c) the owner does not own more than three (3) single
family houses at the time of the sale; and
(d) the owner does not own any interest in, nor is
there owned or reserved on his behalf, under any express
or voluntary agreement, title to or any right to all or
any portion of the proceeds from the sale or rental of
more than three (3) single family houses at the time of
the sale; and
(e) if the owner does not reside in the house at the
time of the sale or was not the most recent resident of
the house prior to the sale, the exemption granted by
this subsection shall apply only with respect to one
such sale within any twenty -four (24) month period.
(2) The rental of rooms or units in dwellings contain-
ing living quarters occupied or intended to be occupied
by no more than four (4) families living independently
of each other if the owner actually maintains and
occupies one of such living quarters as his residence.
(3) Nothing in this ordinance shall prohibit a religious
organization, association or society or any nonprofit
institution or organization operated, supervised or con-
trolled by or in conjunction with a religious organization,
association, or society, from limiting the sale, rental or
occupancy of dwellings which it owns or operates for other
than a commercial purpose to persons of the same religion or
from giving preference to such persons, unless membership in
such religion is restricted on account of race, color,
national origin, sex or source of income.
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(4) Nothing in this ordinance shall prohibit a private club
not in fact open to the public, which as an incident to its
"11 primary purpose or purposes provides lodgings which it owns
or operates for other than a commercial purpose, from
limiting the rental or occupancy of such lodgings to its
members.
Section 7. Complaints.
(1) Any person who claims to have been injured by a discrim-
inatory housing practice or who believes that he will be
irrevocably injured by a discriminatory housing practice
that is about to occur (hereafter referred to as "person
aggrieved ") may file a complaint with the administrator.
Such complaints shall be in writing and shall identify the
person alleged to have committed or alleged to be about to
commit the discriminatory housing practice and shall set
forth the particulars thereof. The administrator is directed
to prepare and adopt from time to time standard complaint
forms and to furnish them without charge to any person
aggrieved.
(2) The administrator shall receive and accept notification
and referral of complaints from the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development pursuant to the provisions of Title VIII -
Fair Housing Act of 1968, Public Law 90 - -284, and shall
treat such complaints in the same manner as complaints filed
directly by the person aggrieved.
(3) If at any time the administrator shall receive or
discover credible evidence and shall have probable cause to
believe that any person or persons have committed a discrim-
inatory housing practice as to which no complaint has been
filed or is about to be filed, the administrator may prepare
and file a complaint upon his own motion and in his own name
and such complaint shall thereafter be treated in the same
manner as a complaint filed by a person aggrieved.
(4) Upon the filing or referral of any complaint, the
administrator shall furnish a copy of the same to the person
or persons named in the complaint.
(5) All complaints shall be filed within 180 days after the
alleged discriminatory housing practice occurred. Complaints
, shall state the facts upon which the allegations of a discrim-
inatory housing practice are based. Complaints may be
reasonably and fairly amended at any time. A respondent may
file an answer to the complaint against him. Both complaints
and answers shall be signed.
Section 8. Investigation.
(1) Upon the filing or referral of a complaint as herein
provided, the administrator shall cause to be made a prompt
investigation of the matter stated in the complaint.
(2) In connection with such investigation, the administrator
may question and take and record testimony and statements of
such persons who appear and may examine, record and copy
documents which are produced.
(3) During or after the investigation, the administrator
shall, if it appears that a discriminatory housing practice
act has occurred, or is about to occur, attempt by informal
endeavors to effect conciliation, including voluntary com-
pliance and adequate assurance of future voluntary compliance
with the provisions of this ordinance.
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908 -4d
(4) In the event conciliation is effected, the administrator
shall disclose nothing said or done in the course of such
"^ conciliation in such a way as to make public identification
of the person or persons named in the complaint without the
written consent of the persons concerned.
(5) Upon completion of the investigation by the administrator,
but within thirty (30) days of the filing of the complaint,
and if conciliation has not been effected, the administrator
shall recommend to the city attorney that such violation be
prosecuted.
(6) If the administrator shall determine that a discrim-
inatory housing practice has occurred and the efforts of the
administrator to secure voluntary compliance have been
unsuccessful, the administrator may certify in writing to
the city attorney that such discriminatory housing practice
has occurred and request the city attorney to prosecute such
violation.
Section 9. Cooperation with Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development.
r. The administrator
with the Secretary
to the provisions
Public Law 90 -284,
retary as shall be
of this ordinance.
is authorized and encouraged to cooperate
of Housing and Urban Development pursuant
of Title VIII - Fair Housing Act of 1968,
and may render such service to the Sec -
deemed appropriate to further the policies
Section 10. Unlawful intimidation.
It shall be unlawful for any person to harass, threaten,
harm, damage or otherwise penalize any individual, group, or
business because he or they have complied with the provisions
of this article, because he or they have exercised his or
their rights under this article, or enjoyed the benefits of
this article or because he or they have made a charge,
testified or assisted in any manner in any investigation, or
in any proceeding hereunder or have made any report to the
administrator.
Section 11. Penalty.
Any person, firm or corporation, violating the terms and
provisions of this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be fined in a sum
not to exceed Two Hundred and No /100 ($200.00) Dollars.
Section 12. Savings clause.
If for any reason any section, paragraph, subdivision,
clause, phrase or provision of this ordinance shall be held
invalid, it shall not affect any valid provisions of this or
any other ordinance of the City of Baytown, to which these
rules and regulations relate.
Section 13. Effective date.
This ordinance shall take effect from and after ten (10)
days after its passage by the City Council. The City Clerk
is hereby directed to give notice hereof by causing the
caption of this ordinance to be published in the official
newspaper of the City of Baytown at least twice within ten
(10) days after the passage of this ordinance.
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INTRODUCED, READ, and PASSED by the affirmative vote of
the City Council of the City of Baytown on this 8th day
of February , 1979
ATTEST:
EILEEN P. HALL, City Clerk
APPROVED:
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SCOTT BOUNDS, City Attorney
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