Chapter 7.04
GENERAL
Sections:
7.04.010 Declaration of policy.
7.04.010 Declaration of policy.
In the exercise of its power to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare, it is declared to be the public policy of Riverdale to assure fair housing and freedom from discrimination throughout the community, to protect the community from the effects of residential segregation by race, color, religion, sex, physical or mental disability, familial status, national origin, creed, marital status, unfavorable military discharge, sexual orientation, age or ancestry, and to secure to its citizens the economic, social, and professional benefits of living in a stable, integrated society. (Ord. 94-23 § 1, 1994)
7.04.020 Construction.
This title shall be construed according to the fair import of its terms, and shall be liberally construed to further the purposes and policy stated and the special purposes of the particular provisions involved. (Ord. 94-23 § 1, 1994)
7.04.030 Severability.
If any court of competent jurisdiction shall adjudge any provision of this title to be invalid, such judgement shall not affect any other provision of this title not specifically included in said judgement. If any court of competent jurisdiction shall adjudge invalid the application of any provision of this title to any person or circumstance, such judgement shall not affect the application of said provision to any other person or circumstance not specifically included in said judgement. (Ord. 94-23 § 1, 1994)
7.04.040 Definitions.
As used in this title, the following terms have the following meanings:
A. “Accessible,” when used with respect to the public and common use areas of a building containing covered multifamily dwellings, means that the public or common use areas of the building can be approached, entered and used by individuals with physical handicaps.
B. “Accessible route” means a continuous unobstructed path connecting accessible elements and spaces in a building or within a site that can be negotiated by a person with a severe disability using a wheelchair and that is also safe for and usable by people with other disabilities. A route that complies with the appropriate requirements of the American National Standards Institute’s ANSI A117.1-1986 or a comparable standard is an “accessible route.”
C. “Administrator” means the person designated by the corporate authorities of the village to administer the provisions of this title.
D. “Administering agency” means the agency designated by the corporate authorities of the village to investigate, conciliate, receive and initiate complaints pertaining to violation(s) of this title.
E. “Adjudicative agency” means the agency designated by the corporate authorities of the village to conduct hearings and adjudicate charges of violations of this title.
F. “Affirmative marketing” means attempting to attract all prospective buyers and renters with special efforts to attract persons of a race or national origin least likely to apply through the normal operations of the market place.
G. “Aggrieved party/person” includes any person who claims to have been injured by a discriminatory housing practice or believes that he or she will be injured by a discriminatory housing practice that is about to occur.
H. “ANSI A117.1-1986” means the 1986 Edition of the American National Standard for buildings and facilities providing accessibility and usability for physically handicapped persons.
I. “Board” means the fair housing review board for the village of Riverdale
J. “Broker” includes any person authorized to perform an action on behalf of another person regarding any matter related to the sale or rental of dwellings, including offers, solicitations or contracts and the administration of matters regarding such offers, solicitations or contracts or any residential real estate related transactions.
K. “Building” means a structure, facility or portion thereof that contains or serves one or more dwelling units.
L. “Building entrance on an accessible route” means an accessible entrance to a building that is connected by an accessible route to public transportation stops, to accessible parking and passenger loading zones, or to public streets or sidewalks, if available.
M. “Charge” means an allegation contained in a complaint.
N. “Civil rights violation” includes and shall be limited to only those specific acts set forth in Chapters 7.08, 7.12 and 7.16 RMC.
O. “Commission” means the human relations commission for the village of Riverdale.
P. “Commission panel” or “panel” means a panel, comprised of three or more members of the commission, designated by the chairman of the commission, to investigate and to attempt to conciliate a complaint filed or made under RMC 7.32.070(B).
Q. “Common use areas” means rooms, spaces or elements inside or outside of a building that are made available for the use of residents of a building or the guests thereof. These areas include hallways, lounges, lobbies, laundry rooms, refuse rooms, mail rooms, recreational areas and passageways among and between buildings.
R. “Complaint” means the document filed by a complainant with the administering agency.
S. “Complainant” means a party/person, including the administering agency, who files a complaint.
T. “Community residence” means a group home or specialized residential care home serving unrelated persons with disabilities.
U. “Conciliation” means the attempted resolution of issues raised by a complaint, or the investigation of such charge, through informal negotiations involving the aggrieved party, the respondent and the administering agency.
V. “Conciliation agreement” means a written agreement setting forth the resolution or the issues in conciliation.
W. “Contract” means a legally enforceable agreement.
X. “Controlled substance” means any drug or other substance, or immediate precursor included in the definition in Section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)
Y. “Covered multifamily dwelling” means a building consisting of three or more units.
Z. “Discriminate” means to treat any person differently from others because of race, color, religion, sex, physical or mental disability, familial status, national origin, creed, marital status, unfavorable military discharge, sexual orientation, age or ancestry.
AA. “Dwelling” means any building structure or portions thereof which is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one or more families or unrelated individuals, 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.
BB. “Elderly person” means a person fifty-five years of age or older.
CC. “Entrance” means any access point to a building or portion of a building used by residents for the purpose of entering.
DD. “Exterior” means all areas of the premises outside of an individual dwelling unit.
EE. “Familial status” means one or more individuals who have not attained the age of eighteen years being domiciled with:
1. A parent or person having legal custody of such individual or individuals;
2. The designee of such parent or other person having such custody, with the written permission of such parent or other persons; or
3. Persons who are pregnant or in the process of securing legal custody of any individual who has not attained the age of eighteen.
FF. “Financial institution” means any bank, credit union, insurance company, mortgage banking company, savings and loan association, or other entity or organization which makes or purchases loans or provides other financial assistance and which operates or has a place of business in the state of Illinois.
GG. “Handicap” means, with respect to a person, a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such a impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment.
HH. “Hearing” means that part of an adjudicative proceeding that involves the submission of evidence, either by oral presentation or written submission, and includes the submission of briefs and oral arguments on the evidence and applicable law.
II. “Hearing agency” means the agency designated by the corporate authorities of the village to conduct hearings on, and adjudicate the question of, ordinance violations.
JJ. “Housing accommodations” includes any improved or unimproved real property or part thereof which is used or occupied or is intended, arranged or designed to be used or occupied as the home or residence of one or more individuals.
KK. “Housing authority” means the housing authority of the village of Riverdale.
LL. “Housing for older persons” means:
1. All housing that is provided under state and federal programs for elderly persons as defined by the specific programs, providing U.S. HUD approval has been secured;
2. Housing that is intended for, and solely occupied by persons sixty-two years of age or older; or
3. Communities in which at least eighty percent of all units are occupied by one person fifty-five years of age or older, if the existence of significant facilities and services specifically designed to meet the physical and social needs of older persons can be documented.
MM. “Interior” means the spaces, parts, components or elements of an individual dwelling unit.
NN. “Lease” includes any sublease, assignment or rental and any contract to enter into any of the foregoing.
OO. “Lessee” means the person to whom property is rented or leased; the tenant.
PP. “Lessor” means the person who rents or leases property to another; the landlord.
QQ. Lending Institution. See “Financial institution.”
RR. “Listing” means an agreement between a realtor and a property owner for the sale or lease of real property wherein that realtor is entitled to a commission even if the property is sold by someone other than the realtor.
SS. “Loan” includes, but is not limited to, the providing of funds, for consideration, which are:
1. Sought for the purpose of purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing, or maintaining a housing accommodation;
2. Sought for any commercial or industrial purposes; or
3. Secured by residential real estate.
TT. “Marital status” means the legal status of being married, single, separated, divorced or widowed.
UU. “Modification” means any change to the public or common use areas of a building or any change to a dwelling unit.
VV. “National origin” means the place in which a person or one of his or her ancestors was born.
WW. “Offer” means and includes every attempt by means of written or oral communications to present for acceptance or rejection, to hold out or proffer, to make a proposal to or to exhibit real estate that may be taken or received with the intention of ultimately entering a real estate transaction.
XX. “Owner” means any person who holds legal or equitable title to, or owns any beneficial interest in, any real estate, or who holds legal or equitable title to shares of, or any beneficial interest in, an equity which owns any real estate.
YY. “Person” includes one or more individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations, labor organizations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint-stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees, or trustees in cases under Title 11 of the United States Code (U.S.C.).
ZZ. “Person in the business of selling or renting dwellings” means any person who:
1. Within the preceding 12 months has participated as principal in three or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling or any interest therein;
2. Within the preceding 12 months, has participated as agent in the sale of his or her own personal residence, in providing sales or rental facilities or sales or rental services in two or more transactions involving the sale or rental of any dwelling or interest therein; or
3. Is the owner of any dwelling designed or intended for occupancy by, or occupied by, three or more families.
AAA. “Physical or mental disability” includes:
1. Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory, including speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive; digestive, genito-urinary; hemic and lymphatic; skin; and endocrine; or
2. Any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities.
BBB. “Premises” means the interior or exterior spaces, parts, components or elements of a building, including individual dwelling units and the public and common use areas of a building.
CCC. “Protected classes” includes all persons legally protected against discrimination.
DDD. “Public contract” includes every contract to which the state of Illinois, any of its political subdivisions or any municipal corporation is a party.
EEE. “Public use areas” means interior or exterior rooms or spaces of a building that are made available to the general public. Public use may be provided at a building that is privately or publicly owned.
FFF. “Purchase” includes any contract to purchase.
GGG. “Real estate broker, agent or salesperson” means a person, whether licensed or not, who, for or with expectation of receiving a consideration, lists, sells, purchases, exchanges, rents or leases real property, or who negotiates or attempts to negotiate any of those activities or who holds himself out as engaged in these.
HHH. “Real estate transaction” means the purchase, sale or fee of equitable title to, or beneficial interest in, or rental or lease of, any real property, or an option to do any of the foregoing, or any negotiation, listing, contract or agreement in connection therewith. “Real estate transaction” also includes the brokering or appraising of residential real property and the making or purchasing of loans or providing other financial assistance for purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing or maintaining a dwelling or secured by residential real estate.
III. “Real property” includes buildings, structures, real estate, lands, tenements, leaseholds, interests in real estate cooperatives, condominiums, and hereditaments, corporeal and incorporeal, or any interest therein.
JJJ. “Religion” includes all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief; and all aspects of religious nonobservance, nonpractice and nonbelief.
KKK. “Respondent” means:
1. The person or other entity against whom a discriminatory housing practice has been alleged in a complaint;
2. Any person or entity identified in the course of investigation and notified as required under Chapter 7.32 RMC.
LLL. “Sale” includes any contract to sell, exchange, or to convey, transfer or assign legal or equitable title to or a beneficial interest in real property.
MMM. “Sex” means the status of being male or female.
NNN. “Sign” means any structure and all parts composing the same, together with the frame, background, or supports therefor, which are used for advertising or display purposes, or any statuary, sculpture, molding or casting used for advertising or display purposes, or any flags, bunting or material used for display purposes or advertising purposes, including but not limited to placards, cards, structures or areas carrying the following or similar words: “For Sale,” “Sold,” “Open House,” “New House,” “Home Inspection,” “Visitors Invited,” “Installed By,” or “Built By.”
OOO. “Solicit” or “solicitation” means any communication by or on behalf of a real estate agent with the owner or occupant of a dwelling:
1. Which is intended to induce the sale or rental of such dwelling;
2. Which is intended to offer or promote services in connection with the sale, rental or listing of such dwelling; and
3. Which is carried out by means of:
a. In-person contacts at the dwelling;
b. Written material mailed or delivered directly to the dwelling, such as direct mail, leaflets or pamphlets; or
c. Telephone contacts with owners or occupants of the dwelling, including, but not limited to, telephones, computer modems, fax machines and similar electronic means of communication.
For the purposes of this title, the term “solicit” or “solicitation” shall not refer to communication carried out by means of print or electronic media of general circulation, such as a newspaper, radio, television or the yellow pages.
PPP. “Steering” means influencing or attempting to influence by words or acts the choice or location of housing of a prospective purchaser, occupant, or tenant, in connection with viewing, buying, leasing or occupying real estate based on race, color, religion, sex, physical or mental disability, familial status, national origin, creed, marital status, unfavorable military discharge, sexual orientation, age or ancestry.
QQQ. “Tenancy” means a license or contract to occupy a property or dwelling unit.
RRR. “To rent” includes to lease, to sublease, to let, and to otherwise grant for consideration the right to occupy premises not owned by the occupant.
SSS. “Varying terms” includes, but is not limited to, the following practices:
1. Requiring a greater down payment than is usual for the particular type of loan involved.
2. Requiring a shorter period of amortization than is usual for the particular type of loan involved.
3. Charging a higher interest rate than is usual for the particular type of loan involved.
4. Under-appraising of real estate or other items of property offered as security. (Ord. 94-23 § 1, 1994)