Whether you admit or acknowledge it, or not, we do have a history of housing discrimination here that goes back for more than a few decades when two groups, blacks and Mexicans, were excluded from living in or buying homes in certain neighborhoods downtown.
It's a sensitive subject and may expose some raw nerves when it extends to Mesa's fast-growing suburbs.
Nonetheless, according to Section D III of The City of Mesa Ethics Handbook
"Elected officials and advisory board members have a duty to create the image and reality of a responsive, accessible, and fair city government. "
Here's a reference for your interest:
https://mesazona.blogspot.com/2020/07/city-of-mesa-ethics-handbook-policy-for.html
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#1 The most immediate concern might be two items on the Tentative Agenda for a Mesa City Council meeting this Thursday, July 8, 2020 - Items 6d and 6d
Here's the Resolution Item 6-d with links to attachments in the file
| File #: | 20-0499 |
| Type: | Resolution | Status: | Agenda Ready |
| In control: | City Council |
| On agenda: | 7/8/2020 |
| Title: | Approving and authorizing the City Manager to submit the City of Mesa Five-Year Consolidated Plan for Fiscal Years 2020/2021 through 2024/2025, Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing, and the Annual Action Plan for Fiscal Year 2020/2021; authorizing the submittal of applications to receive entitlement funds for Fiscal Year 2020/2021 under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG), Emergency Solutions Grant program (ESG) and the HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) to fund activities approved by the City Council; and authorizing the City Manager to expend, disburse and enter into agreements for disbursement of Fiscal Year 2020/2021 CDBG, ESG, and HOME funds received by the City. (Citywide) |
| Attachments: | 1. Council Report, 2. Attachment A - Funding Recommendations, 3. Resolution, 4. Consolidated Plan |
Why go there now? PART 2
This article by Kriston Copps with extracts taken from
On Segregated Suburbs, Trump Says the Quiet Part Out Loud
Targeting HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, the president said on Twitter that enforcing housing desegregation would have a “devastating impact.”
July 2, 2020 8:12 AM
"President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would reverse a federal rule that promotes fair housing and sets desegregation as a national priority. The policy is known as Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, or AFFH; it’s a provision of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, signed into law a week after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.“At the request of many great Americans who live in the Suburbs, and others,” Trump tweeted, “I am studying the AFFH housing regulation that is having a devastating impact on these once thriving Suburban areas. Corrupt Joe Biden wants to make them MUCH WORSE. Not fair to homeowners, I may END!”
Trump was specifically aiming at an Obama rule about how to finally implement the policy, a mandate (on paper only) for more than 50 years due to federal reluctance to address racial segregation.As he’s done time and time again, Trump said the quiet part out loud. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has taken numerous steps to undermine key rules and policies that promote desegregation as a requirement for jurisdictions that receive federal housing dollars. . .
The change of course at HUD comes at a time when mass deaths from coronavirus and sustained protests over police brutality have forced lawmakers to confront the systemic disparities faced by Black Americans, immigrants, and people of color. Advocates argue that reversing housing discrimination is a crucial first step toward equality. . ."
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NOW COMES THE HARD PART: It's up to you to connect the dots
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RELATED CONTENT ON THIS BLOG > Use the Searchbox using some of these key words
Affordable, equitable and fair
Affordable housing crisis
Action Neighborhood Alliance
NIMBY
YIMBY
Some of Mesa's enclaves that are fast-growing:
Eastmark
Cadence
The Groves
