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O-229-M~ ~ CIT Y OF CLERMONT MISCELLANEOUS ORDINANCE No. 229-M AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CLERMONT, LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA, DECLARING IT TO BE THE POLICY OF THE CITY OF CLERMONT, FLORIDA, TO ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING BASED UPON RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, SEX, FAMILIAL STATUS, HANDICA P, OR NATIONAL ORIGIN, PROVIDING FOR DEFINITIONS, SPECIFYING EXEMPTIONS, SPECIFYING UNLAWFUL ACTS OF DISCRIMINATION IN THE SALE OR RENTAL OF HOUSING, SPECIFYING UNLAWFUL ACTS OF DISCRIMINATION OF BROKERAGE SERVICE, PROVIDING FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE ORDINANCE, PROVIDING FOR PROCEDURES FOR INITIATING AND ACTING UPON COMPLAINTS, PROVIDING FOR HEARINGS, PROVIDING FOR REMEDIES, PROVIDING FOR PROCEDURES FOR FILING REPORTS WITH THE REAL ESTATE COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH, PROVIDING FOR LIMITED INVALIDATION, PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY, PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE, AND PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION. The City Council of the City of Clermont, Lake County, Florida hereby ordains that: SECTION 1. DECLARATION OF POLICY. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the City of Clermont, Florida, in the exercise of its police power for the public safety, public health, and general welfare, to assure equal opportunity to obtain adequate housing by all persons,: regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status, or handicap and to that end, to eliminate discrimination in housing. SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS. When used herein: (a) "Council" means the City of Clermont, Florida. (b) "Dwelling" means any building, structure, or portion hereof which is occupied as or designated or intended for occupancy as a residence by one or more families, and any vacant land which is offered for sale or lease for the construction or location thereon of any such building, structure or portion thereof. (c) "Family" includes the single individual. (d) "Person" includes one or more individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations, labor organizations, legal representatives, mutual companies, point-stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, receivers and fiduciaries. CITYOF CLERMONT MISCELLANEOUS ORDINANCE No. 229-M Page -2- (e) "To rent" includes to lease, to sublease, to let and otherwise to grant for a consideration the right to occupy premises not owned by the occupant. (f) "Discriminatory housing practice" means an act that is unlawful under Sections 4, 5 or 6 of this ordinance. (g) "Handicap" means that a person has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities or that he or she has a record of having or is regarded as having such physical or mental impairment. (h) "Familial status" means one or more individuals (who have not attained the age of eighteen years) being domiciled with: 1. A parent or another person having legal custody of such individual or individuals, or 2. The designee of such parent or other persons having such custody with the written permission of such parent or other persons. The protection afforded against discrimination on the basis of familial status shall apply to any person who is pregnant or is in the process of securing legal custody of any individual who has not attained the age of eighteen years. SECTION 3. EXEMPTIONS. (a) Nothing in Section 4 (other than subsection (b) shall apply to: 1. Any single family house sold or rented by an owner; provided that such private individual owner does not own more than three such single family houses at any one time; and provided further that in the case of the sale of any such single family house by a private individual owner not residing in such house at the time of such sale or who was not the most recent resident of such house prior to such sale, the exemption granted by this subsection shall apply only with respect to one such sale within any twenty-four (24 ) month period; and provided further that of ter the effective date of this ordinance, the sale or rental of any such single family house shall be excepted from the application of this ordinance only if such house is sold or rented (a) without the use of any manner of sales or rental facilities or the sales or rental services of any real estate broker, agent, or • • CITY OF CLERMONT MISCELLANEOUS ORDINANCE No. 229-M Page -3- salesman or of such facilities or services of any person in the business of selling or renting dwellings or of any employee or agent of any such broker, agent, salesman or person and (b) withcut the publication, posting or mailing after notice of any of this title, but nothing in this provision shall prohibit the use of attorneys, escrow agents, abstractors, title companies and other such professional assistance as necessary to perfect or transfer the title, or 2. Rooms or units in dwellings containing living quarters occupied or intended to be occupied by no more than four (4) families living independently of each other, if the owner actually maintains and occupies one of such living quarters as his residence. (b) For the purposes of subsection (a), a person shall be deemed to be in the business of selling or renting dwellings if: 1. He has within the preceding twelve (12) months participated as principal in three (3) or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling or any interest therein, or 2. He has within the preceding twelve (12) months participated as agent, other than in the sale of his personal residence in providing sales or rental facilities or sales or rental services in two (2) or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling or any interest therein, or 3. He is the owner of any dwelling designated or intended for occupancy by or occupied by five (5) or more families. (c) Nothing in this ordinance shall prohibit a religious organization, association or society or any non-profit institution or organization operated, supervised or controlled by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association or society from limiting the sale, rental or occupancy of dwellings which it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose to persons of the same religion or from giving preference to such persons, unless membership in such religion is restricted on account of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status or handicap. Nor shall anything in this ordinance prohibit a private club not in fact open to the public, which as an incident to its primary purpose or purposes provides lodgings from which it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose, from limiting the rental or occupancy of such lodgings to its members or from giving preference to its members. CITYOF CLERMONT • MISCELLANEOUS ORDINANCE No. 229-M Page -4- (d) Nothing in this ordinance requires any person renting or selling a dwelling to modify, alter or adjust the dwelling in order to provide physical accessibility except as otherwise required by law. SECTION 4. DISCRIMINATION IN THE SALE OR RENTAL OF HOUSING. As made applicable by section 3 and except as exempted by sections 3 (a) and 7, it shall be unlawful: (a) To refuse to sell or rent after making a bona fide offer or to refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of or otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling to any person because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status or handicap. (b) To discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling or in provision of services or facilities in connection therewith because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status or handicap. (c) To make, print or publish or cause to be made, printed or published any notice, statement or advertisement with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, imitation or discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status or handicap or an intention to make any such preference, imitation or discrimination. (d) To represent to any person because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status or handicap that any dwelling is not available for inspection, sale or rental when such dwelling is in fact so available. (e) For profit to induce or attempt to induce any person to sell or rent any dwelling by representations regarding the entry or prospective entry into the neighborhood of a person or persons of a particular race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status or handicap. SECTION 5. DISCRIMINATION IN THE FINANCING OF HOUSING. It: shall be unlawful for any bank, building and loan association, insurance company or other corporation, association, firm or enterprise whose business consists in whole or in part in the making of commercial real estate loans to deny a loan or other financial assistance to a person applying therefore for the purpose of purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing or maintaining a dwelling or to discriminate against him in the fixing of tY~e amount, or financial assistance because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status or handicap of such • • CITY OF CLERMONT MISCELLANEOUS ORDINANCE No. 229-M Page -5- person or any person associated with him in connection with such loan or other financial assistance or of the present or prospective owners, lessees, tenants or occupants of the dwelling or dwellings in relation to which such loan or other financial assistance is to be made or given; provided that nothing contained in this section shall impair the scope or effectiveness of the exception contained in section 3. SECTION 6. DISCRIMINATION IN THE PROVISIONS OF BROKERAGE SERVICE. It shall be unlawful to deny any person access to or membership or participation in any multiple listing service, real estate brokers' organization or other service, organization or facility relating to the business of selling or renting dwellings or to discriminate against him in the terms or conditions of such access, membership or participation on account of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status or handicap. SECTION 7. ADMINISTRATION. (a) The authority and responsibility for administering this ordinance shall be with the Council. (b) The Council may delegate its functions, duties and powers to an appointed board, including functions, duties and powers with respect to investigating, conciliating, hearing, determining, ordering, certifying, reporting or otherwise acting as to any work, business or matter under this ordinance. (c) The Council or its appointed board shall: (1) Implement the provisions of this ordinance and rules and regulations promulgated hereunder and all ordinances, codes, rules and regulations pertaining to housing discrimination. (2) Receive, initiate, and investigate any and all complaints alleging violations of the ordinance, and take appropriate action to eliminate, conciliate, prevent, and/or initiate prosecution of any such violations. (3) Provide assistance in all matters relating to equal housing opportunity. (4) Publish and disseminate public information and educational materials relating to housing discrimination. C~ CITY OF CLERMONT • MISCELLANEOUS ORDINANCE No. 229-1~i Page -6- (5) Enter into written working agreements, as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this ordinance, with Federal, State and County agencies involved in reducing housing discrimination. (6) Administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence before it by subpoenas issued by the Council or its appointed board. (7) Take other informational, educational or persuasive actions to implement the purposes of this ordinance. SECTION 8. PROCEDURE. (a) Any person aggrieved by an unlawful practice prohibited by this ordinance must file a written complaint with the Counselor of its appointed board within forty-five (45) days after the alleged unlawful practice occurs. (b) Upon receipt of a complaint, the Council or its appointed board shall serve upon the individual charged with a violation (hereinafter referred to as the respondent) , the complaint and a written resume setting forth the rights of the parties including, but not limited to, the right of the respondent to a hearing on the matter before adjudication by the Council or its appointed board. (c) The Council or its appointed board shall immediately investigate the complaint. Within sixty (60) days from the date of the receipt of the complaint, the Council or its appointed board shall establish a written report with findings of fact. (d) Copies of the Council's or its appointed board's report shall be sent to the complainant and the respondent. Either may within ten (10) days after such services, request a hearing before the Council. (e) When the complainant or the respondent request a hearing by the Council or its appointed board, or when the Council or its appointed board determine that a hearing is desirable, the Council or its appointed board shall call and conduct such hearing in accordance with section 9 below. (f) The Council or its appointed board shall carry into execution the actions specified in its report, or if a hearing is held, shall carry into execution the actions determined upon by the Council or its appointed board in the hearing. • • CITYOF CLERMONT MISCELLANEOUS ORDINANCE No. 229-M Page -7- (g) The Council or its appointed board in its review or its hearing may determine: (1) That the complaint lacks ground upon which to base action for violation of this ordinance, or (2) That the complaint has been adequately dealt with by conciliation of the parties, or (3) That the case warrants filing charges against the offending party in the appropriate court. In some cases both conciliation and adjudicative orders or both adjudicative orders and initiation of court action may be indicated. (h) If the Council or its appointed board issues an adjudicative order to correct, adjust, conciliate, prevent or prohibit any unlawful act prohibited by this ordinance, and the respondent refuses or fails to comply with or obey such adjudication, the Council or its appointed board shall forthwith request that the State Attorney file a complaint in the appropriate court. The Council or its appointed board shall, at all times, provide the complainant with full and timely information as to all the alternatives available to him or her under local, state and federal law, including assistance to initiate judicial action if desired, under the circumstances. (i) The provisions of Rule 1.090, Florida Rules of Civil Procedure shall govern the computation of any period of time prescribed by this ordinance. (j) All papers or pleadings required by this ordinance to be served may be served by certified mail or in accordance with the provisions of Rule 1.080 (b), Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. SECTION 9. HEARINGS BEFORE THE COUNCIL. (a) When a hearing is required before the Council or its appointed board, as specified in section 8 (e) above, the Council or its appointed board. shall schedule the hearing and serve upon all interested parties a notice of time and place of the hearing. The hearing shall be held promptly, but not less than fifteen (15) days after service of such notice and of the Council's or its appointed board's written report (section 8 (d) above). (b) The parties or their authorized counsel may file such statements with the Council or its appointed board prior to the hearing date, as they deem necessary in support of their positions. The parties may appear before the Council or its appointed board in person or by duly constituted representative and may have the assistance of attorneys. The parties may present testimony and evidence, and the right to cross examine witnesses shall be preserved. All testimony shall be given under oath or by • • CITYOF CLERMONT MISCELLANEOUS ORDINANCE No. 229-M Page -8- affirmation. The Council or its appointed board shall not be bound by strict rules of evidence prevailing in courts of law or equity, but due process shall be observed. The Council or its appointed board shall keep a full record of the hearing, which records shall be public and open to inspection by any person, and upon request by any principal party to the proceedings the Council or its appointed board shall furnish such party a copy of the hearing record at cost. The constitutional rights of the respondent not to incriminate himself shall be scrupulously observed. (c) The Council or its appointed board shall make a finding of fact and determination of action to be taken (section 8 (g) above) . (d) The Council or its appointed board may issue subpoenas to compel access to or the production or appearance or premises, records, documents, individuals and other evidence or possible sources of evidence relative to the complaint at issue. (e) Upon written application to the Council or its appointed board, a respondent shall be entitled to the issuance of a reasonable number of subpoenas by and in the name of the Council or to the same extent and subject to the same limitations as subpoenas issued by the Council or its appointed board itself. Subpoenas issued at the request of a respondent shall show on their face the name and address of such respondent and shall state that they were issued at his request. (f) Witnesses summoned by subpoena of the Council or its appointed board shall be entitled to the same witness and mileage fees as are witnesses in proceedings in the state courts of Florida. Fees payable to a witness summoned by a subpoena issued at the request of a respondent shall be paid by him, unless he is indigent in which case the Council shall bear the cost of said fees. (g) Within ten (10) days after service of a subpoena upon any person, such person may petition the Council or its appointed board to revoke or modify the subpoena. The Council or its appointed board shall grant the petition if it finds that the subpoena requires appearance or attendance at an unreasonable time or place, that it requires production of evidence which does not relate to any matter under investigation, that it does not describe with sufficient particularity the evidence to be produced, that compliance would be unduly onerous or for other good reasons. (h) In case of refusal to obey a subpoena, the Council or its appointed board or the person at whose request it was issued may petition for its enforcement in the appropriate court. • CITYOF CLERMONT • MISCELLANEOUS ORDINANCE No. 229-M Page -9- SECTION 10. OTHER REMEDIES. Nothing herein shall prevent any person from exercising any right or seeking- any remedy to which he might otherwise be entitled or from filing of any complaint with any other agency or any court having proper jurisdiction. SECTION 11. REPORT TO THE REAL ESTATE COMMISSION. If a real estate broker, a real estate salesman or an employee thereof has been found to have committed an unlawful practice in violation of this ordinance, or has failed to comply with an order issued by the Council or its appointed board; the Council or its appointed board shall, in addition to the other procedures set forth herein, report the facts to the Real Estate Commission of the State of Florida. SECTION 12. CONFLICTING ORDINANCES REPEALED. All other ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict herewith to the extent of such conflict are hereby repealed. SECTION 13. LIMITED INVALIDATION. If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of the ordinance and the application of the provisions to other persons not similarly situated or to other circumstances shall not be affected thereby. SECTION 14. SEVERABILITY. Should any section or part of this section be declared invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such adjudications shall not apply or affect any other provision of this ordinance, except to the extent that the entire section or part of the section may be inseparable in meaning and effect from the section to which such holding shall apply. • • CITYOF CLERMONT MISCELLANEOUS ORDINANCE No. 229-M Page -10- SECTION 15. EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall be published as provided by law and it shall become law and take effect immediately upon its second reading and final adoption. First Reading this ~ day of 1990. Second Reading this Zed day of 1990. PASSED AND ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CLERMONT, LAKE COUNTY, FLORIDA, THIS Z.3 ra DAY OF 1990. CITY OF CLERMONT ROBERT A. POOL, MAY ATTEST: ph E. V Ile, City Clerk