City code Chapter 13 language revised to mirror federal Fair Housing Act, commission told city approved the change

Commission staff reported that the city has revised local Chapter 13 language to align with the federal Fair Housing Act and that the City Commission has approved the change.

Staff said the earlier local wording had an exceptions clause (previously in section 13-104) that inadvertently applied broadly across multiple provisions and was therefore out of step with the Fair Housing Act. The corrected code relocates and narrows that exception to apply only where the federal statute allows, and the city adopted the revised language by repeal-and-replace.

"You'll notice we did a revision that we have already gone and it's been approved by the city commission because they have to do it," staff said. They explained the previous layout moved an exceptions provision so it applied to items where federal law does not provide an exception, and that the new wording mirrors the Fair Housing Act to achieve compliance.

Staff said they consulted HUD while preparing the changes and that HUD discouraged broader discretionary edits at this time. "HUD was not real keen on that right now," staff said, and recommended waiting to pursue discretionary amendments until HUD's administrative priorities shift.

No formal vote by the Human Relations Commission was recorded; the item was presented as an informational update and staff said they would return with any future discretionary recommendations after consulting HUD.