Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Fair Chance Housing ordinance sent to Policy & Services Committee after council debate over look‑back and exceptions
Summary
The council voted unanimously to send the draft Fair Chance Housing ordinance to the Policy & Services Committee for further work after members raised technical questions about the proposed two‑year look‑back for criminal convictions and whether that period should start at sentencing or at release from custody.
PALO ALTO — The Palo Alto City Council unanimously voted on April 14 to send a draft Fair Chance Housing ordinance back to the Policy & Services Committee for additional analysis and refinement rather than adopting it immediately. The ordinance would limit how landlords may use criminal‑history information in rental screening and would add procedural protections such as requiring a conditional offer before a background check and an individualized assessment before any adverse action.
Why it matters: Fair Chance Housing policies are designed to reduce barriers to housing for people with criminal history and to address disparate impacts on BIPOC communities. The proposed local ordinance would add city‑level procedures and enforcement tools beyond existing state protections; council members and community stakeholders agreed on the policy goal but asked staff to refine key technical provisions.
What staff proposed: Planning Department staff (project lead Rebecca Atkinson) presented a draft municipal code chapter that…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
