HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-209Fair Housing Ordinance Amendment
ORDINANCE NO 9 9 a oq
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS AMENDING SECTION 15-36 OF
THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS CLARIFYING
PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE ENFORCEMENT OF FAIR HOUSING COMPLAINTS,
PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS
SECTION I That Section 15-36 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Denton, Texas, is
hereby amended to read as follows, all provisions of this division not specifically changed herein
shall remain intact and in full force and effect
Sec. 15-36. Enforcement; complaints.
(a) Any person who claims to have been injured by a discriminatory housing practice
or who believes that he will be irrevocably injured by a discriminatory housing practice
that is about to occur, hereinafter referred to as the "person aggrieved," may file a
complaint with the administrator Complaints shall be in writing and shall contain such
information and be in such form as the administrator requires Upon receipt of such
complaint, the administrator shall furnish a copy of the complaint to the person who
allegedly committed or is about to commit the alleged discriminatory housing practice A
copy of all written complaints received by the administrator shall be forwarded to the Fair
Housing and Equal Opportunity Division of the Region VI office of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development Within thirty (30) days after receiving a complaint,
the administrator shall investigate the complaint and give notice in writing to the person
aggrieved, proposing one of the following actions
(1) the administrator will initiate action to resolve the complaint, or
(2) the administrator will not initiate action to resolve the complaint, or
(3) the administrator will forward the complaint to the U S
Department of Housing & Urban Development, Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity Division, for further action, if any
If the administrator initiates action to resolve the complaint, he or she shall proceed to try
to elnrimate or correct the alleged discriminatory housing practice by informal methods of
conference, conciliation and persuasion Nothing said or done in the course of such
informal endeavors may be made public or used as evidence in subsequent proceedings in
the municipal court without the written consent of the persons concerned
(b) [No change ]
(c) If, upon electing to mitiate action on the complaint, the administrator has been
unable to secure voluntary compliance with the provisions of this article within sixty (60)
days after the complaint was filed, yet reasonably believes that a discriminatory housing
practice has occurred, the administrator may refer such alleged violation to the city
attorney for prosecution
(d)
[No change]
(e)
[No change]
(f)
[No change]
SECTION II That if any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word in
this ordinance, or application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid by any court of
competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this
ordinance, and the City Council of the City of Denton, Texas, hereby declares it would have
enacted such remaining portions despite any such invalidity
SECTION III That this ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and
approval
PASSED AND APPROVED this the Bay of > 1999
ATTEST
JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM
HERBERT L PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY
_ ?2 . ¢
JAC ER, MAYOR
kGE 2