HUD Approves $115,000 Settlement with the City and County of Denver, Colorado, Resolving Claim of Disability Discrimination

 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has entered into a Voluntary Compliance Agreement / Conciliation Agreement with HUD grantees, the City and County of Denver, Denver’s Office of Community Planning and Development, and Denver’s Board of Adjustments. This Agreement resolves findings related to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act and the remaining allegations of violations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 109 of Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, and the Fair Housing Act. Read the Agreement, the Letter of Findings of Noncompliance, and the Revised Formal Determination of Noncompliance.

The Agreement resolves allegations that the Respondents violated the Fair Housing Act and were in noncompliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by denying a Denver, Colorado, household a variance to the Denver Zoning Code to construct an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) to meet the disability-related needs of a household member. Federal nondiscrimination laws prohibit disability discrimination against homeowners without disabilities who live or are associated with individuals with disabilities.

The agreement stems from a complaint that was filed by a same-sex, mixed race couple who applied to the City of Denver for a variance to the City’s ADU zoning code to construct an ADU with necessary accessibility features - a reasonable accommodation for the disabled mother of one of the Complainants. The complaint also alleged that the City’s reasonable accommodation request denial was based on the Complainants’ race and sexual orientation.

HUD conducted an investigation and issued a Letter of Findings in 2022 which found that the Respondents were in noncompliance with Section 504 and the ADA with respect to the City’s zoning processes. HUD found that the City violated its obligations under Section 504 and the ADA by failing to provide a reasonable accommodation to the Complainants and by lacking sufficient mechanisms to ensure compliance with its obligations to provide reasonable accommodations, resulting in discrimination against individuals with disabilities under Section 504 and the ADA.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Respondents will: (1) pay $115,000 to the Complainants; and (2) create a reasonable accommodation policy and guidelines within the City of Denver’s Office of Community Planning and Development, including tracking reasonable accommodations requests, and complete training requirements. As a result of the complaint, during the investigation the City revised its Zoning Code, which required a ballot initiative to amend the City of Denver’s Charter to change the Zoning Code to comply with the Fair Housing Act, Section 504, and the ADA.

Read the November 8, 2024 HUD release.

HUD Charges Nevada RV Resort with Discriminating Against Family with Children

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged the Owners Association and General Manager of Preferred RV Resort, a recreational vehicle resort in Pahrump, Nevada, with discriminating against a family with three minor children. Read the charge.

Pahrump is an unincorporated town in the southernmost part of Nye County, about 62 miles west of Las Vegas. The town is adjacent to the Nevada–California border.

The Fair Housing Act forbids discrimination against families with children under the age of 18.  This includes using discriminatory terms and conditions for families with children, making discriminatory statements about them, and harassing tenants because they have young children. “RV parks that offer options for long-term stays are required to abide by the Fair Housing Act and ensure that they are providing families with children the same terms and conditions as adults without children,” said Demetria L. McCain, HUD’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. 

HUD’s Charge of Discrimination alleges that Preferred RV Resort, which houses some visitors year-round and others for up to nine months, discriminated against families by placing unreasonable age restrictions on many of its amenities, including forbidding anyone under 18 years old from being in the outdoor swimming pool unattended, contrary to state law, and restricting children under 14 years old from using the property’s billiards room and spa. Also, it is alleged that the property’s management made statements criticizing parents about letting their children be unsupervised on the property.  Images on the resort’s website and promotional materials are only of adults using and enjoying the resort’s amenities and grounds, with no depictions of children or families.

A U. S. Administrative Law Judge will hear HUD’s Charge unless any party to the Charge elects to have the case heard in federal district court. If an administrative law judge finds, after a hearing, that discrimination has occurred, the judge may award damages to the family for their losses as a result of the discrimination, injunctive relief and other equitable relief, to deter further discrimination, payment of attorney fees, and civil penalties. If a federal court hears the case, the judge may also award punitive damages to the complainants.

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Read the September 14, 2023 HUD press release.