Experts share their thoughts on the fair housing landscape in Oregon.

1. Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
in Oregon
Pegge McGuire, Executive Director
www.fhco.org
503-223-8197 x112
11/17/2014 1

2. The Fair Housing Council of Oregon (FHCO)
is a Private, Non-Profit, Non-Partisan
Organization Serving the Entire State of
Oregon
Promoting and protecting
fair housing rights
(since 1990)
Providing expert
testimony in fair housing
litigation and in housing
policy discussions
Supporting local
jurisdictions with
technical guidance on fair
housing impacts of
zoning, land use, housing,
policies and practices
Facilitating community conversations
on fair housing impacts of laws, rules,
polices, and practices related to
creating, accessing, or using housing or
housing related programs or services
11/17/2014 2

3. What is Fair Housing?
•The set of federal, state, and local laws that protect
individuals based on their membership in a protected class
from individual or systemic discrimination
•The body of case law and HUD regulations interpreting
FHAA and other fair housing laws that require publicly
supported housing and housing programs to proactively
remove barriers to access and stability in housing
•Proactive elimination of segregation and promotion of
equal opportunity access to housing (intentional inclusion
and strategic community investment)
11/17/2014 3

4. Who is Covered by Fair Housing Protections?
•Race
•Color
•National Origin
•Religion
•Sex (Gender)
•Familial Status (children under 18)
•Disability (broadly defined, requires barrier removal)
•Marital Status
•Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity
•Source of Income (now including HCV participants)
•Survivors of Domestic Violence

5. Illegal Discrimination in Housing
•Direct Discrimination
•Overt and covert
•Systemic Discrimination
•Disparate impact
•Policies and practices that perpetuate
segregation

6. 1 in 10 report
discrimination
4,000 calls per year, 400 formal
intakes, 100 complaints, 65 “for
cause” charges
Rental
Lending
Homeowner’s Insurance
Real Estate Sales
Zoning, Siting, Permitting
Neighbor-on-Neighbor Harassment
40% disability
25% race and ethnicity
25% familial status
10% religion, sexual
orientation, etc.
Fair Housing Complaints in Oregon
11/17/2014 6

7. The Leavening in the Recipe
•Oregon Territory-20-39 stripes
•80% of the Native population decimated by disease
•1859-Slave vs. Free State (Eliminated from the constitution in
the 1920’s)
•1859 Chinese Exclusion (Repealed in the 40’s)
•1920’s largest KKK this side of the Rockies
•Anti-Immigrant activism through the 1940’s:
• English, Germans, Scotch, Irish, Scandinavians
• North Italians
• Bohemians, Czechs, Poles, Lithuanians
• Greeks
• Russians, Jews
• South Italians
• Negroes
• Mexicans 11/17/2014 7

8. We’re From the Government,
We’re Here to Help
•1940’s to 1980’s Institutional policies further solidify
policies and practices leading to segregation
•FHA appraisal standards
•VA loan policies
•Transportation “improvements”
•Urban Renewal/Removal
•White flight
•1968 FHA enacted-Always included the AFFH req
•1994 A/I planning guide
•2013 HUD draft rule enacted to clarify the FHA
mandate to address segregated housing patterns and
promote diverse, inclusive communities

9. Who Must AFFH?
• Federal Funds Recipients
– Specifically, CDBG, HOME, HOPWA, ESG
recipients
– PHAs
– Recipients of federal funds (including pass-through
funding) from any of 22 other federal
agencies-differing views on this interpretation
11/17/2014 9

10. Says Who…?
Executive Order 11063
Requires executive agencies to fairly
administer federal financial assistance
programs and make their benefits “available
to all Americans without regard to their race,
color, creed, or national origin…”
11/17/2014 10

11. And, One More…
• Executive Order 12892, as
amended, requires federal
agencies to affirmatively further
fair housing in their programs and
activities, and provides that the
Secretary of HUD will be
responsible for coordinating this
effort.
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12. FDIC
The AFFH Seeks to Move from …
HUD CPD
DOI
The Montgomery Institute

13. Agencies Working as a Team to AFFH
Treasury
USDA
DOD
HUD CPD
HUD FHEO
HUD PIH
DOJ
VA
DOE
FreddieMac
DEd
HHS
CFPB
FannieMae
DOI
SEC
FHA
FRB
DOT
The Montgomery Institute

14. Fair Housing, Needed Housing,
Affordable Housing: Fair Housing Planning
Albany
Ashland
Beaverton
Bend
Corvallis
Eugene
Gresham
Hillsboro
Medford
Portland
Salem
Springfield
Clackamas County
Multnomah County
Washington County
Balance of State
Redmond
Grants Pass
Use federal funds to
erase historic
patterns of
discrimination
Prevent future
segregation/
Promote integration
Redress past
segregation patterns
Identify elements of
segregation and integration
Identify areas concentrated
by poverty, race and national
origin
Create access to areas of
opportunity
Create an appropriate fair
housing environment
Consider infrastructure
investments in the past
Ensure robust public
participation
11/17/2014 14

15. Steps Required by Federal Funds
Recipients to AFFH
Conduct an analysis to
identify impediments
to fair housing choice
within the jurisdiction
(an “Analysis of
Impediments,” or
“AFH”);
Take appropriate
actions to overcome
the effects of any
impediments identified
through that analysis;
and
Maintain records
reflecting the analysis
and actions in this
regard.

16. More Help From the Government
• HUD will provide baseline data
• Mapping tools
• An assessment template
– Not for states
• But, don’t stop there…
– Local knowledge, local data
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17. Assessment Template summary
• Basic information on the entity making the submission
• Executive summary of the AFH finding and recommended actions
• Input on the public participation process
• Core analysis of the data
• Demographic summary (results of the analysis-trending)
• Segregation/Integration/Racial and Ethnic Concentration of
Poverty analysis (special focus on immigrants and LEP community)
• Disproportionate housing needs by protected classes
• Disparities in access to opportunity and adverse community
factors
• Disability access
• Fair Housing compliance and infrastructure and how has
your agency supported those local efforts
• FH goals and priorities
11/17/2014 17

18. Local Indicators of Barriers to
Equal Opportunity in Housing
-Separate is Not Equal
•Education: school performance, test scores, graduation
rates, teacher ratios, free school lunch percentages
•Economic Development: land use policies, zoning
decisions, incentives for mixed use and affordable
housing, affirmative marketing
•Economic Health in the Neighborhood: job opportunities,
grocery stores, publicly funded economic
development/infrastructure investments
11/17/2014 18

19. A Few More Indicators
•Accessibility of housing: near transportation and services, barrier free,
meets design and construction standards
•Location, availability, accessibility of housing: unit sizes, accessible
features, environmental features
•Special considerations: group homes, mixed income, first time
homebuyer (gentrification), foreclosures and other predatory
indicators, public transportation and LIDs, environmental issues
•Additionally protected classes
11/17/2014 19

20. HUD Review
• Plans submitted to HUD
– HUD may return all or a portion of the
assessment
– Deemed “accepted” after 60 days, unless
otherwise notified
11/17/2014 20

21. Collaborative Planning and Input
•Local governments
•PHAs
•Regions (need not be contiguous and can cross borders)
•Informs consolidated Plans, Capital Fund Plans, PHA plans, and other
strategic investment opportunities
•Sustainable Communities Initiative is a best practice and was the trial
run
•Measurable goals and objectives set and outcomes documented
11/17/2014 21

22. Sustainable Inclusive Communities
Free of Discrimination
USDA
DOD
VA
HHS
Federal
Financial
Regulators
Non-
Governmental
Organizations
Grantees
HUD FHEO
HUD CPD
HUD PIH
Other HUD Offices
State and Local
Governments
Banks and
Regulated
Financial
Entities
Citizen
Participation
The Montgomery Institute

23. Oregon land use
statutes in place
since 1973,
establishes 14 goals
for land use (#10 is
related to housing)
Department of
Land Conservation
and Development
adopts policy and
reviews plans
Local governments
plan and regulate
land use (submit
plans and
amendments to
LCDC for review
and approval)
Land Use Planning the Oregon Way
Goal 10
Establishes the
requirement for
jurisdictions to
assess and plan for
“needed housing”
in a variety of
price ranges, rent
levels, housing
types
A few notable
exceptions since
adoption in 1973:
Accessibility for
people with
disabilities
Considerations
for affirmatively
furthering fair
housing
Policies to help
rectify the
detrimental
effects of
gentrification on
historically
underserved
communities
11/17/2014 23

24. Changing the Recipe
Changing the Paradigm
•Challenge our assumptions and standards
•Has the decision-making process included
robust input from a broad spectrum of the
impacted populations and viewpoints of
historically underserved communities?
•What does the data tell us?
•What is the legitimate business reason for
the rule, policy, practice?
•What are the barriers created by our current
process/rule?
•Is there a less discriminatory way to
accomplish our goals?

25. A Few Opportunities to Consider
in Future AFFH Work
•Modifications to Goal 10 to incorporate
provisions of Affirmatively Furthering Fair
Housing
•Assign a role for OHCS to participate in the
periodic review of local plan amendments for
AFFH issues
•Create a process for statewide housing planning
across state agencies engaged in housing
development and subsidy using public funds
(OHCS, OHA, DHS, DOC, etc.)
•Housing is part of a system that includes
environment, transportation, education, quality
of life, non-traditional partners (e.g. DOT, DEQ,
ODOE, DOE, etc.) should be required to consider
their impacts on housing opportunity

26. Q & A?
Next session will talk about what communities
can do to affirmatively further fair housing.
11/17/2014 26