BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
1. Identify sources of tension between land-use and fair housing regulations through literature review 2. Research and evaluate cases of inclusive land-use policies
Land-use regulations* seek to promote the health and safety of communities. Some regulations, however, have effectively excluded certain populations from communities. While overtly discriminatory policies are a tool of the past, regulations with discriminatory effects still exist.
METHODOLOGY
Fair housing legislation** prohibits discrimination in housing, including land-use regulations that have discriminatory effects. Reconciling Fair Housing and Land-Use Regulations The goal of this project is to create a guiding document that encourages planners to step into the tension between land-use policy and fair housing regulations to promote both healthy 60 and accessible communities.
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RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1) How do land-use policies continue to create exclusive communities? 2) How are planning jurisdictions modifying these regulations to align with fair housing goals? #2 Changing Regulations for Residential Care and Group Homes
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Project by: Taylor Libolt Master’s candidate, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs Faculty advisor: Paavo Monkkonen Client: County of Los Angeles Department of Regional Planning
(Outlined in Black)
#1 Broadening Definitions of Family
Discriminatory definitions limit the number of unrelated persons who may comprise a family. As people with disabilities are more likely to live together in order to make living feasible, these definitions make it hard for these groups to find housing. Fair definitions focus on the functioning of a household as a single unit rather than the number of people. This promote singlefamily character while creating accessible communities.
Reconciling land-use policy with fair housing regulations *Land-Use Regulations:
#3 Providing Reasonable Accommodations
Persons with disabilities are uniquely able to request an accommodation or change to the zoning code if it will allow for equal use of the home. For example, a resident may request a change to allow for a service animal usually prohibited in a district.
Land-use definitions of “family” are often discriminatory.
Discriminatory land-use regulations foster exclusion of licensed residential care facilities (homes providing non-medical care to persons with disabilities) and group homes (such as sober living homes), by limiting the number allowed and requiring conditional use permits, for example. Model ordinances recognize these accepted uses in residential areas by right, therefore not requiring a special use permit or posing additional restrictions.
FINDINGS
Engaging the Tension:
Model reasonable accommodation ordinances do not require cumbersome paperwork, only the documentation necessary for understanding the need for the request. Furthermore, ordinances must be well publicized to the community and better understood by planning employees.
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DISCUSSION No document, no matter how thorough or well-written, can provide an answer key for these tough questions. This research encourages planners to think critically about the role of fair housing in their everyday work. It also attempts to help bridge the gap between fair housing and urban land-use planning literature. Ongoing research for this project focuses on the role that property right protection plays in motivating land-use decisions. Do land-use plans with increased citizen/political input—concerned with protecting property values—tend to make it more difficult for people of protected classes to enter these communities?
Separate “incompatible” uses into zones.
Regulate intensity of development in each zone, such as building density, setbacks, and height requirements.
**Major Fair Housing Legislation
California Fair Employment and Housing Act Fair Housing Act of 1968 Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 Protected Classes: Based on this legislation, it is illegal to discriminate in housing based on: Race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability (Federal and California) Gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, source of income, genetic information (Additional protected classes in California)