Takoma Park staff recommend city-led effort to strip unlawful racial language from identified deeds

Takoma Park staff presented a plan to remove unlawful discriminatory language from identified deeds and declarations of restrictive covenants and asked council for direction on three decision points: whether to apply the resolution to identified deeds or all deeds, how to provide legally required notice, and whether to assign the work to Historic Tacoma or to outside law firms.

Deputy city manager (staff) said the project would include research, modification of deed instruments (striking unlawful language), completion of the state modification form (CC-087) and submission to the Montgomery County Attorney for review and recording in land records. "The deliverable is amended deeds and declaration of covenants covering approximately 1,200 units that have been identified," the deputy city manager said during the presentation. Staff noted a two-to-three-year expected timeline and a project budget of approximately $145,000 allocated across FY26 and FY27 to cover outreach and legal review.

Historic Tacoma's Jim Douglas described the group's focused approach to mapping likely locations for covenants—primarily early-to-mid 20th century subdivisions—and cautioned that the project examined high-likelihood areas rather than every parcel in the city. He emphasized the practical challenge of retroactive, point-of-sale enforcement and explained why researching original deed language often requires tracing the chain of title back to the developer's first deed.

Council members pressed staff on risks and safeguards, including the potential for over‑striking language and delaying transactions if errors occur. Staff said mitigation includes: procurement of errors-and-omissions insurance, sample legal spot checks paid from the approved $55,000 FY27 allocation, and final review by the Montgomery County Attorney before recording. Staff recommended the notification route required by state law (publication in a newspaper of general circulation plus posting and outreach), but also canvassed options for supplemental outreach (city website, newsletter, targeted block notices) to increase owner awareness.

Council broadly supported staff recommendations and Historic Tacoma's involvement while asking staff to clarify several points in the draft resolution, especially the boundaries of "identified deeds" versus "all deeds." The council directed staff to return the revised resolution for a vote at the next regular meeting. "We are excited to see this move forward, and look forward to bringing it back for a council vote next week," a council member said.