3R COMMITTEE
The 3R Committee meets on Tuesday 7/22. The public is welcome. LINK
FAIR HOUSING FOUNDATION
At the 3R Committee meeting, a presentation will be made by Barbara Shull and Violet Rodgriquez of the Fair Housing Foundation (from Los Angeles). LINK
The almost-daily Daily Pilot also has an article in today's paper about the Fair Housing Foundation (from Los Angeles). LINK
The city formerly partnered with the Fair Housing Council (from Orange County) (LINK), and the switch to the Fair Housing Foundation (from Los Angeles)doesn't appear to have been run past the City Council, the 3R Committee or citizens before it was made.
Why? This is a major decision. Shouldn't our elected and appointed officials have been consulted at public meetings, and shouldn't citizens have been able to comment on this before such a switch was made?
FROM LOS ANGELES
The Fair Housing Foundation (from Los Angeles) appears to primarily deal with housing concerns in Compton, Lynwood, South Gate, Huntington Park, Long Beach, South Los Angeles and similar Los Angeles cities and areas, while the Fair Housing Council (from Orange County)deals with cities in Orange County--where Costa Mesa is located.
So, why has City staff decided, apparently all on their own, to contract with an agency from Los Angeles that deals with inner city housing problems to take over from our own Orange County agency?
WHO IS WE?
Muriel Ullman, who lives in Long Beach and who is Costa Mesa's neighborhood improvement manager, told the almost-daily Daily Pilot: “We just decided that we wanted to go out and try a new company. Some communities had more issues [of fair housing] than we did. (?) Our main impetus is that we wanted a new level of service.”
Who is "we"? "We" is apparently not the City Council. "We" is apparently not the 3R Committee. "We" is apparently not the citizens of Costa Mesa. Is "we" Ms. Ullman? Were there others involved in the decision?
And, what does "we wanted a new level of service," actually mean? What was wrong with the old level of service?
REMEMBER THE BALBOA ISLAND CASE?
Remember the recent case from Balboa Island where a guy put up a rental sign and apparently ran a small ad in a newspaper or website saying a small unit behind his home was good for professionals, and then he got sued for discrimination?
The Fair Housing Foundation (from Los Angeles) has this to say about such a situation on their website. LINK
Q. I recently placed an advertisement for a vacant unit that read "A great building for single professionals." Was this legal?
A. It is illegal to advertise in a manner that states or suggests a preference. The advertisement you placed discourages families with children from applying to rent your vacant unit. It also discourages married couples and partnered couples form applying for your vacant unit.
WANT TO BE A TESTER?
How does the Fair Housing Foundation (from Los Angeles) work? Well, apparently one thing they do is hire "testers" who they pay to pose as home seekers (and presumably also as renters). LINK
If you're interested in being a tester, here's what the Fair Housing Foundation says about this on their website.
Qualifications
Must speak, read and write English fluently. Bilingual – alllanguages a plus. Need all ages, races, ethnicities, orientations, both sexes and persons with disabilities.
Job Description
Observe practices of apartment managers, real estate agents, lenders and other persons involved in the rental and sale of housing and report those observations to the Director of Investigations. May follow a profile and pose as a prospective home seeker or conduct residential survey. Conducts these investigations throughout the greater Los Angeles area including the south bay area, County of Los Angeles, Bellflower, Compton, Downey, Gardena Huntington Park, Long Beach, Lynwood, Norwalk, Paramount and South Gate.
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The Fair Housing Council (from Orange County) has a similar offer as indicated on their website:
The Fair Housing Council of Orange County is always looking for committed volunteers to help us investigate discrimination complaints. We do offer reimbursement for expenses such as mileage. If you, or someone you know, is interested in learning more about this opportunity, please contact the Fair Housing Council of Orange County at 714-569-0823.
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In navigating around the Fair Housing Foundation's (from Los Angeles) website we couldn't find a single name of any staff member or names of directors or of anyone else, so we're not sure who Barbara Shull or Violet Rodriquez are or what their jobs are with the Fair Housing Foundation (from Los Angeles).
Usually, such websites will have a section called "Who we are." Not this one. We did see on their website, however, that the Fair Housing Foundation (from Los Angeles) apparently has two offices. One is in South Central Los Angeles and one is in Long Beach.
Actually, the Fair Housing Council (of Orange County) doesn't show the names of staff members, the directors or anyone else either. And, that concerns us about this organization as much as it does about the one from Los Angeles.
Shouldn't the City deal with organizations that are transparent and which give, at a minimum, the names of the directors and top staff of those organizations?
Also, shouldn't making such a major change have been put before the City Council, the 3R Committee and the citizens of this city before it was made?# # #
A call to City Hall seeking comments from Ms. Ullman, indicated that Ms. Ullman is not in the office today.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.
