February 12, 2008
Kyle on Trial for Violations of Fair Housing Act
A lawsuit against the City of Kyle for violation of the federal Fair Housing Act started yesterday. The suit was filed by the national and Austin branches of the NAACP, the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin and the National Association of Home Builders. It alleges that Kyle has increased the cost of local housing by instituting revised zoning ordinances that increase the minimum living area of a home by 20 percent, increase minimum lot size by almost 14 percent, require that all buildings be covered in brick, stone or other approved masonry product, increase set-back requirements and require minimum 480 square foot garages. According to the NAACP, the resulting increase in prices disproportionately affects minorities and the Fair Housing Act prohibits cities from zoning in a way that excludes housing for certain classes of people, even if officials did not intentionally discriminate. To show their support for Kyle, the Cities of Manor, Round Rock, Pflugerville and Jonestown have filed an amicus brief in a fun question-and-answer format.
|
Advertisement: Austinist Continues Below!
Post a comment (Comment Policy)
It seems ridiculous to require things like masonry and 480sqft garages.
However, I can't afford a place in Westlake, no matter how small the house is. Why would this be any different?
I think the idea is that the City of Kyle took affirmative steps that made minorities unable to afford to live there, whereas homes in Westlake would be unaffordable even if there was no zoning. That said, if Kyle is found to have violated the law, cities like Austin and Westlake might be in trouble and cities like Manor, Round Rock, Pflugerville and Jonestown with very similar zoning to Kyle almost certainly would be in trouble.
I think that would be a step in the right direction then, although I know nothing about it.
Any way you cut it the inherent effect is still one of discrimination. By knowingly requiring substantive cost increases in the base price of a home the law creates an exclusionary bubble around the community. Like a high cover at a club, it's designed to keep the "riff raff" out. When does America writ large begin to turn back to creating communities based around inclusion rather than exclusion?
Don't minimum lot sizes (which are written into zoning laws across the country) do the same thing as this? There are plenty of places in this country with 1-2 acre lot size requirements where 50x100 foot lots would be more affordable for minorities and everyone else.
Same effect. Minimum lot sizes force some buyers to buy more land than they want. Kyle is forcing some buyers to buy more house than they want. Either way, new homes become more expensive.
Minimum-lot-size rules are more common than minimum-home-size rules, probably because they can be "justified" as a way to preserve open space and relieve congestion, which conceals their role as price supports.
I think the city of Kyle is probably is deep trouble. Just look at some of the zoning ordinances in question:
"Revised Zoning Ordinance 312-B: All residential properties must own and maintain an extensive Lawrence Welk record collection."
"Revised Zoning Ordinance 404-C: All driveway basketball hoops must be no taller than 8 feet, 6 inches."
I mean, how did they think they'd get away with this?