mark handler
SAWHORSE
Apartment owners settle lawsuit concerning disabilities access -
http://northsidesun.com/front-page-...ning-disabilities-access#sthash.6sYbTo0I.dpbs
lawsuit against six Mississippi-based developers has been settled for the amount of $350,000, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced. One of the developers is Dawn Properties of the Lexington Apartments on William Boulevard in Ridgeland. The six developers will collectively pay the $350,000 to settle claims they violated the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act by building apartment complexes that were inaccessible to persons with disabilities. The defendants also agreed to remove accessibility barriers. -
A portion of the $350,000 settlement will compensate 25 individuals harmed by the inaccessible housing. The other $250,000 will be related to retrofits. The justice department filed the lawsuit in May 2014 after conducting an independent investigation of a referral of complaints from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The complexes included in the suit include the Beach Club Apartments (Long Beach); the Belmont Apartments (Ocean Springs); the Grand Biscayne Apartments (Biloxi); the Belmont Apartments (Hattiesburg); the Lexington Apartments (Ridgeland); and Inn by the Sea Condominiums (Pass Christian). According to Ridgeland attorney Jerry Mills, Ridgeland was originally involved in the suit. “I motioned to dismiss the city and we were dismissed as a result,” he said. “It wasn’t a proper suit against the city for wrongful acts against the developers.” Mills said the cities of Hattiesburg, Gulfport and others were involved but were also dismissed within the first month of the suit, and the suit focused on the developers.
“The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was suing the developer (in Ridgeland) for a failure to comply with regulations that required accommodations for those with disabilities,” Mills said. -
The settlement follows an October settlement between Ridgeland and HUD, where Ridgeland brought the city zoning ordinance into compliance with HUD. “This amendment brings us into compliance with our agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,” said Mayor Gene McGee in a previous Sun article. The city and HUD came to an agreement in April. The agreement was publicly announced in late September of this year. According to HUD’s announcement, HUD filed a fair housing complaint against the city in 2015 after receiving reports that a number of apartment complexes faced possible demolition after the city instituted a new zoning requirement that lowered the allowable density. The nonconforming complexes had formulated amortization periods of time to comply before being destroyed. “The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful for cities and municipalities to enact housing ordinances that discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability,” HUD’s announcement states.
The full agreement between HUD and the city of Ridgeland can be found at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=FHEOCase04-16-4066-8... or through the HUD Web site. The amendment was passed 7-0 by the Ridgeland Board of Aldermen during the regular board meeting on October 18 of this year.
http://northsidesun.com/front-page-...ning-disabilities-access#sthash.6sYbTo0I.dpbs
lawsuit against six Mississippi-based developers has been settled for the amount of $350,000, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced. One of the developers is Dawn Properties of the Lexington Apartments on William Boulevard in Ridgeland. The six developers will collectively pay the $350,000 to settle claims they violated the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act by building apartment complexes that were inaccessible to persons with disabilities. The defendants also agreed to remove accessibility barriers. -
A portion of the $350,000 settlement will compensate 25 individuals harmed by the inaccessible housing. The other $250,000 will be related to retrofits. The justice department filed the lawsuit in May 2014 after conducting an independent investigation of a referral of complaints from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The complexes included in the suit include the Beach Club Apartments (Long Beach); the Belmont Apartments (Ocean Springs); the Grand Biscayne Apartments (Biloxi); the Belmont Apartments (Hattiesburg); the Lexington Apartments (Ridgeland); and Inn by the Sea Condominiums (Pass Christian). According to Ridgeland attorney Jerry Mills, Ridgeland was originally involved in the suit. “I motioned to dismiss the city and we were dismissed as a result,” he said. “It wasn’t a proper suit against the city for wrongful acts against the developers.” Mills said the cities of Hattiesburg, Gulfport and others were involved but were also dismissed within the first month of the suit, and the suit focused on the developers.
“The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was suing the developer (in Ridgeland) for a failure to comply with regulations that required accommodations for those with disabilities,” Mills said. -
The settlement follows an October settlement between Ridgeland and HUD, where Ridgeland brought the city zoning ordinance into compliance with HUD. “This amendment brings us into compliance with our agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,” said Mayor Gene McGee in a previous Sun article. The city and HUD came to an agreement in April. The agreement was publicly announced in late September of this year. According to HUD’s announcement, HUD filed a fair housing complaint against the city in 2015 after receiving reports that a number of apartment complexes faced possible demolition after the city instituted a new zoning requirement that lowered the allowable density. The nonconforming complexes had formulated amortization periods of time to comply before being destroyed. “The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful for cities and municipalities to enact housing ordinances that discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability,” HUD’s announcement states.
The full agreement between HUD and the city of Ridgeland can be found at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=FHEOCase04-16-4066-8... or through the HUD Web site. The amendment was passed 7-0 by the Ridgeland Board of Aldermen during the regular board meeting on October 18 of this year.