Reso 2022-107 Denouncing Discriminatory Housing Practices

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WHEREAS, even with housing discrimination legally outlawed, the 1970 census still showed San Leandro's White population at 97%. Because of these census numbers, in 1971 the National Committee Against Discrimination in Housing (NCDH) filed a report entitled "Patterns and Practices of Housing Discrimination in San Leandro, California", which brought national attention to San Leandro's discriminatory housing practices; and WHEREAS, although initial conversations with the City's elected leaders at the time were unfruitful, San Leandro Mayor Maltester ultimately agreed to establish a program that adopted many of the NCDH's recommendations for change in San Leandro housing after litigation was threatened; and WHEREAS, while new practices were adopted, racial tension continued throughout the ensuing years, leading to proactive community action by various local groups including Unity in the Community, who voiced their support for diversity and standing against racism; and WHEREAS, while San Leandro still has work to do, in 2019, the city was recognized by local media outlets as one of the top 10 most diverse cities in the Bay Area; and WHEREAS, the members of the City Council of the City of San Leandro are very proud of the City's incredible diversity and how far the community has come since the days of being a racially exclusive suburb. Nevertheless, more work remains to be done to continue the City's forward progress; and WHEREAS, in 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1466 requiring all California County Recorders to develop a plan to identify and redact restrictive covenant documents with discriminatory language in their historical records, and Alameda County expects to begin implementing this process by July 1, 2022; and WHEREAS, the City of San Leandro supports Alameda County's efforts to implement such a program that will assist in the redaction of unlawfully restrictive covenants. NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of San Leandro does hereby denounce exclusionary housing practices that existed in earlier periods of the community's history and affirms that San Leandro is an inclusive city that is welcoming to all walks of life. Introduced by Councilmember Lopez and passed and adopted this 2Is' day of June 2022, by the following vote: Members of the Council: AYES: Councilmembers Aguilar, Azevedo, Cox, Lopez, and Cutter (5) NOES: None (0) ABSENT: Councilmembers BBallew and Simon (2) ATTEST: JJ• Leticia I. higuel, City Clerku RESOLUTION NO. 2022-107 2