August 13, 2009

New York’s Westchester County entered into a landmark settlement this week, agreeing to build hundreds of affordable homes and apartments in predominately white communities and to market those units to nonwhites. The settlement agreement is the culmination of a $180 million federal lawsuit initiated by the Anti-Discrimination Center of New York, Inc. 

The Anti-Discrimination Center filed its lawsuit against the county in 2007, alleging the county had failed to conduct a “meaningful” analysis of the impediments to fair housing choice within its jurisdiction. The lawsuit also alleged the county had failed to take appropriate action to overcome the effects of any impediments identified through the analysis arising from racial discrimination and segregation. Communities have to submit such an analysis to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a condition of receiving federal funding under various HUD programs. 

The Westchester settlement agreement could fundamentally alter how federal housing funds are used in predominantly white suburban jurisdictions throughout the country. First, the settlement agreement could result in similar lawsuits claiming that a local jurisdiction has failed to adequately analyze how race could affect access to fair housing. Plaintiffs could also allege that a local jurisdiction has failed to take remedial measures to overcome racial discrimination and segregation as impediments. Second, the settlement agreement will likely result in HUD more closely scrutinizing the impediments to fair housing analysis that jurisdictions submit.

For further information on this development or questions concerning preparation of an impediments to fair housing analysis, please contact Rahsaan J. Tilford or a BB&K attorney in the firm’s Municipal & Redevelopment Law Practice Group.