Eye On Englewood

Link: http://EnglewoodStory.com

WHAT IS FAIR HOUSING?

"According to HUD, impediments to fair housing choice include actions or omissions in the state that constitute violations of the Fair Housing Act. The following issue [is] shown to be [a] potential impediment to fair housing choice in the State of Colorado:"

Number(14) is "Steering."
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"Steering is a practice of guiding prospective homebuyers or renters of protected classes (such as color, race,religion, disability, familial status, etc.) to areas with concentrations of persons in those groups." See, State of Colorado Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, 2005-2010, p 5.

In Englewood, the City Council, City Manager and even the City attorneys not only targeted but endorsed ongoing neighborhood harassment of the Bartnick household for housing four young people of Hispanic, black, Asian and mixed-race origin over a two-year period.

Follow up:

The Bartnicks wrote letters back in the fall of 2007, asking for a variance for their hospitality, or a permit. The City refused to acknowledge the first request, but upon the second, it sent a letter stating, "The City does not have an unlisted use permit. You have seven days to evacuate."

Seven days to evacuate. Seems clear to me that Englewood "steers" people out of their homes in single family zones just because of the color of their skin.

One neighbor, Gregg Allen Pickett, approached City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission four times during 2008 (May,Aug,Jul,Sep), heatedly complaining that the Bartnick's household had changed the character of his "Norman Rockwell neighborhood."

Now Mr. Pickett, being employed as a professor of Spanish at Denver University, specifically testified that he purposely reviewed the zoning ordinances when he purchased his Englewood home to make sure that he would not have to live next to students.

Council apologized to him for their error in zoning codes and for the inconvenience he and his wife Jessica have had to face.

The Bartnicks have been prosecuted three times by the City of Englewood for daring to allow people of color to sleep in their home.The last case was due for trial April 9th and 10th, but it has been moved to June 4th and 5th, in exchange for the Bartnick's waiver of rights.

"Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended in 1988,

“Prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents of legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and handicap (disability).”See, State of Colorado Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, 2005-2010, p 3.

Colorado statutes include marital status, creed and ancestry with those federal definitions of Fair Housing. It violates the law to refuse to make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities or to harass or interfere with a person exercising their Fair Housing rights.

[Governor Ritter's] report uses key informant interviews, in-house research, literature review, data collection/data evaluation and geographic information systems GIS) to update the State of Colorado Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing as a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD).

Further, impediments mean actions or omissions that are counter-productive to fair housing choice or that have the effect of restricting housing opportunities based on protected classes." (Ibid)

There is an old maxim, "all it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing." I, for one, would like to know how the Governor of Colorado puts teeth to this issue of discrimination, especially as to Home Rule cities, acting like a law unto themselves.
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