Source: http://openjurist.org/690/f2d/616/gautreaux-v-r-pierce
Timestamp: 2015-03-31 02:16:09
Document Index: 663615439

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 886', 'art 841', 'art 215', 'art 236', '§ 891', '§ 1437', 'arts 888']

690 F2d 616 Gautreaux v. R Pierce | OpenJurist
690 F. 2d 616 - Gautreaux v. R Pierce	Home690 f2d 616 gautreaux v. r pierce
690 F2d 616 Gautreaux v. R Pierce 690 F.2d 616
Dorothy GAUTREAUX, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees,v.Samuel R. PIERCE, Secretary of the Department of Housing andUrban Development, et al., Defendants-Appellees,v.ROGERS PARK COMMUNITY COUNCIL, et al., ProposedIntervenors-Appellants.Dorothy GAUTREAUX, et al., Plaintiffs,v.Moon LANDRIEU, Secretary of the Department of Housing andUrban Development, et al., Defendants,Appeal of Ginger MACK, Class Member.Dorothy GAUTREAUX, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees,v.ILLINOIS HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, Defendant-Appellant.
Nos. 81-2308, 81-2311 and 81-2361.
Argued May 10, 1982.Decided Sept. 30, 1982.
Stephen B. Diamond, Chicago, Ill., for appellant.
Jeffery Jahns, Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather, Geraldson, Chicago, Ill., for defendant-appellant.
Lawrence Jay Weiner, Fredric Bryan Lesser, Lawrence Jay Weiner & Assoc., Chicago, Ill., for intervenor.
Gershon M. Ratner, Associate Gen. Counsel for Litigation, Dept. of Housing & Urban Development, Washington, D.C., for defendants-appellees.
Alexander Polikoff, Business and Professional People for Public Interest, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff-appellee.
In 1966, the plaintiffs against CHA in Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority, No. 66-C-1459 (N.D.Ill.1966), brought a companion suit against HUD, Gautreaux v. Romney, No. 66-C-1460 (N.D.Ill.1966), claiming that HUD had sanctioned and assisted CHA's racially discriminatory housing practices. The complaint sought a declaratory judgment against HUD, an injunction to prohibit HUD from making any federal funds available to CHA which would support or further the racially discriminatory practices, and "such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and equitable." The district court dismissed the complaint against HUD primarily for failure to state a claim. On appeal in 1971, this court reversed and granted summary judgment against HUD on two counts of the complaint, finding that HUD had knowingly acquiesced in CHA's discriminatory practices. The case was remanded to the district court for appropriate relief. Gautreaux v. Romney, 448 F.2d 731 (7th Cir. 1971). The district court granted the plaintiffs the declaratory and injunctive relief sought against HUD, and grappled with the amorphous concept of "just and equitable" relief. The district court ordered HUD to use its "best efforts" to increase the supply of dwelling units in conformity with the relevant federal statutes, rules, and regulations and with the provisions of a 1969 Judgment Order entered against CHA in the companion case. See Gautreaux v. CHA, 304 F.Supp. 736 (N.D. Ill. 1969). The district court refused to order relief beyond the legal boundaries of the city of Chicago because it found the discriminatory practices to have been committed within those boundaries. Gautreaux v. Romney, 363 F.Supp. 690 (N.D. Ill. 1973). Shortly afterwards, the case against HUD was consolidated with that against CHA.
The 1969 Judgment Order against CHA contained a comprehensive plan designed to remedy the effects of and prevent continuation of the discriminatory practices by enjoining further construction of public housing in predominantly non-white areas without simultaneous construction in predominantly white areas. The 1969 Judgment Order mandated that CHA: (1) use its "best efforts" to increase the supply of family public housing units as rapidly as possible; (2) not commence construction of any family public housing units without first beginning construction of 700 units in the "General Public Housing Area" of Chicago (defined as census tracts which are both (a) 70% or more white as determined by the United States Bureau of the Census, and (b) not within one mile of a census tract 30% or more non-white (the criterion for the "Limited Public Housing Area") as determined by the United States Bureau of the Census; (3) locate 75% of all future family public housing units beyond the 700 units in the General Public Housing Area; (4) cease and desist discrimination on the basis of race; and (5) limit the size of new public housing projects and their concentration with other CHA projects. Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority, 304 F.Supp. 736 (N.D. Ill. 1969).
Numerous appeals followed from the district court's determination of the relief to be accorded against CHA and HUD.1 Of these appeals, only those concerning the appropriateness of remedial efforts outside the city of Chicago have a significant bearing on the present appeals. This court reversed the previously discussed district court decision in Gautreaux v. Romney, 363 F.Supp. 690 (N.D. Ill. 1973), in which the district court had refused to order metropolitan area relief, that is, relief beyond the legal boundaries of the city of Chicago. This court concluded that metropolitan area relief was not precluded simply because the wrongs had been committed within Chicago and against Chicago residents, and remanded the case to the district court for "the adoption of a comprehensive metropolitan area plan that will not only disestablish the segregated public housing system in the City of Chicago ... but will increase the supply of dwelling units as rapidly as possible." Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority, 503 F.2d 930, 939 (7th Cir. 1974).
This court's decision was appealed to the Supreme Court on the permissibility of "inter-district relief for discrimination in public housing in the absence of a finding of an inter-district violation." Hills v. Gautreaux, 425 U.S. 284, 292, 96 S.Ct. 1538, 1543, 47 L.Ed.2d 792 (1976). The Supreme Court concluded metropolitan area2 relief was not precluded by virtue of the constitutional and statutory violations having been committed in Chicago. Id. at 300, 96 S.Ct. at 1547. The more substantial question, according to the Court, was whether an order against HUD affecting its conduct beyond Chicago's boundaries would impermissibly interfere with local governments and suburban housing authorities that had not been implicated in HUD's unconstitutional conduct. It reasoned that an order directed solely to HUD would not force unwilling localities to apply for assistance but would merely reinforce the regulations guiding HUD's determination of which of the locally authorized projects to assist with federal funds. Id. at 303, 96 S.Ct. at 1549. The Court concluded:
In sum, there is no basis for the petitioner's claim that court-ordered metropolitan area relief in this case would be impermissible as a matter of law under the Milliken (v. Bradley, 418 U.S. 717, 94 S.Ct. 3112, 41 L.Ed.2d 1069 (1971) ) decision. In contrast to the desegregation order in that case, a metropolitan area relief order directed to HUD would not consolidate or in any way restructure local governmental units. The remedial decree would neither force suburban governments to submit public housing proposals to HUD nor displace the rights and powers accorded local government entities under federal or state housing statutes or existing land-use laws. The order would have the same effect on the suburban governments as a discretionary decision by HUD to use the statutory powers to provide the respondents with alternatives to the racially segregated Chicago public housing system created by CHA and HUD.
Id. at 305-06, 96 S.Ct. at 1550. The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of this court. It remanded the case to the district court for further evidence and consideration on the issue of metropolitan area relief so that the district court could determine the nature and scope of relief "in the exercise of its equitable discretion." Id. at 306, 96 S.Ct. at 1550.
On February 25, 1975, prior to the Supreme Court's decision, fourteen additional defendants, including IHDA, were added by the plaintiffs by way of a second supplemental complaint. After the Supreme Court's remand, HUD and the plaintiffs voluntarily entered into a Letter of Understanding dated June 7, 1976, later modified and extended in a second Letter of Agreement dated July 29, 1977, in which the parties agreed to implement metropolitan area relief in a demonstration program. The demonstration program continued in operation for several years after agreement to an additional extension. On November 24, 1980, the plaintiffs and HUD told the district court that they would soon have a draft settlement agreement between them, and the court set a December 18, 1980 date for a preliminary hearing on the soon-to-be-proposed consent decree.3 A copy of the draft consent decree was received by IHDA on December 2, without exhibits. On the following day, an explanation of the decree by counsel for the plaintiffs and HUD was given to IHDA and others.
The decree and its exhibits A and B are appended to the district court's decision approving the consent decree. 523 F.Supp. at 672-83. Exhibits C and D are, respectively, an amendment to the contract between HUD and the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities (LCMOC) and a Model Program proposal for funds for substantial rehabilitation of housing. Their extensive provisions need not be appended to this opinion for purposes of our review.
(f) Special Allocations (known as Loan Management and Property Disposition) (24 C.F.R. Part 886);(2) Public Housing New Construction and Acquisition (24 C.F.R. Part 841); and
(3) Rent Supplement (24 C.F.R. Part 215) and Rental Assistance Payments Program (24 C.F.R. Part 236, subpart D) only to the extent that the projects in question had not received any payments pursuant to these two programs before the effective date of the consent decree.
Unlike the 1969 Judgment Order in which Cook County was divided into a Limited Area and a General Area, the decree provides for metropolitan relief by dividing the six counties comprising the Chicago Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area into a General Area, a Limited Area, and a Revitalizing Area. The General Area consists of those parts of the city of Chicago which lie within the census tracts listed in Exhibit A to the decree and all of the tracts within the Chicago SMSA outside of the city except those listed in Exhibit A as excluded from the General Area. The district court characterized the General Area, defined as including "predominantly non-minority" areas, as having less than 30% minority population. The Limited Area, defined as including "predominantly minority" areas and characterized by the district court as having more than 30% minority population, is that part of the city of Chicago within the census tracts not listed in Exhibits A or B and those parts of the Chicago SMSA outside of the city listed in Exhibit A as excluded from the General Area. The Revitalizing Area, defined as generally being areas of the city of Chicago having substantial minority occupancy and undergoing substantial physical development, encompasses that part of the city of Chicago which lies within the census tracts listed in Exhibit B.4
Essentially, HUD's obligations under the decree do not expire until 7,100 eligible persons5 have commenced occupancy of assisted housing units in the General Area and Revitalizing Area. The LCMOC is to continue to be employed as HUD's agent to assist eligible persons in obtaining assisted housing, as it was pursuant to the Letters of Understanding. Each year in addition to the "fair share" of Section 8 units annually allocated to the Chicago SMSA pursuant to 24 C.F.R. § 891, subpart D (1981), HUD must set aside additional funding authority for:
(3) 100 units with the same criteria in (2) above, except that the units need not be in insured projects but are to be in projects "that will increase housing choice for large minority families" and are "accessible to public transportation."HUD is also to make available at least $3,000,000 in reallocated Community Development Block Grant funds for use in the Chicago SMSA and is to use its best efforts to assure that such funds are used to aid in providing assisted housing outside the Limited Area for eligible persons living in the Limited Area in the city of Chicago.
HUD's so-called "Section 8 programs" arise out of Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. 42 U.S.C. § 1437f (1976 & Supp. IV 1980). The Section 8 programs included in the definition of assisted housing in the consent decree are the programs for (a) New Construction; (b) Substantial Rehabilitation; (c) Existing Housing; (d) Moderate Rehabilitation; (e) State Housing Agencies; and (f) Special Allocations known as Loan Management and Property Disposition.6 Generally Section 8 provides for federal rent subsidies for tenants of low and moderate income qualifying under the applicable regulations. See 24 C.F.R. Parts 888 and 889 (1981).
There are three general methods for payment for these subsidies. Under the certificate program for Existing Housing, a family is certified for rent subsidies and payments are made to the owner of any qualifying building in