Oshkosh council directs staff to draft fair‑housing changes to limit blanket denials for arrest or conviction records

The Oshkosh Common Council directed staff to draft revisions to the city's fair‑housing ordinance to address blanket exclusions of applicants with arrest or conviction records.

Multiple speakers during public statements urged the council to remove automatic denial policies that prevent people with prior arrests or convictions from applying for housing. Jennifer Gardinerami, a housing advocate, said the proposed change "does not ban background checks" but "says you can't automatically deny someone housing just because they checked that box." She urged council to adopt language modeled on Dane County's ordinance and HUD guidance that requires consideration of relevance and recency.

Councilmember Larson, who introduced the discussion to staff, described multiple local experiences where applicants were denied offhand because of a criminal-history checkbox. After public testimony and council discussion, members gave clear direction to staff to draft ordinance language. Council asked staff to confirm legal boundaries (for example, state restrictions around certain registries or convictions) and to return with a proposed redline ordinance. Several council members also asked that the proposed ordinance include process transparency, such as an appeals or notice mechanism so applicants can learn why they were denied.

Councilmembers and public speakers emphasized that the change would not prohibit landlords from conducting reasonable background checks or from denying applicants when a record is directly relevant to safety or tenancy concerns; rather, the city seeks to prevent blanket bans that refuse anyone with any criminal record without individualized review.

Council gave direction to staff to prepare a draft ordinance and return with legal review and suggested administrative steps for implementation.