Court Opinion

ID: 9486297
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 11:43:48.244207+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:51:37.947775
License: Public Domain

CONTIE, Senior Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
The district court determined that the City of Taylor (“City”) had failed to make reasonable accommodations in its policies and procedures to afford equal housing opportunities to the handicapped in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B), and that the City had engaged in intentional discrimination on the basis of handicap in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(1). On appeal, the City must show that the district court’s findings are clearly erroneous. See Pullman-Standard v. Swint, 456 U.S. 273, 290, 102 S.Ct. 1781, 1791, 72 L.Ed.2d 66 (1982) (“[A] court of appeals may only reverse a district court’s finding on discriminatory intent if it concludes that the finding is clearly erroneous under Rule 52(a).”). See also United States v. Taylor, 956 F.2d 572, 576 (6th Cir.) (en banc) (“Findings of fact anchored in credibility assessments are generally not subject to reversal upon [appellate] review.”), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 113 S.Ct. 404, 121 L.Ed.2d 330 (1992).
The record reveals that the City acted with discriminatory intent: two City Council members testified that the City permits 12 unrelated renters to live together as a “family” in an R-1A zone because the renters, unlike the handicapped persons, “will be capable of caring for themselves”; the City’s Building Director testified that he initially refused to issue Smith & Lee’s building permit because he feared mentally ill persons would reside in the facility; the City Council Chairman noted that he feared the “notoriety” of the adult foster care home would drive down property values; and, a Council member angrily accused Smith & Lee of ruining the neighborhood during a City Council meeting.
City officials also made a number of veiled discriminatory comments. The City Council Chairman testified that he opposed the 12-person adult foster care home because he feared for the safety of the handicapped residents that might find it more difficult to escape from a fire. Such concerns constitute overt discrimination disguised as a desire to protect handicapped persons. See generally International Union, UAW v. Johnson Controls, Inc., 499 U.S. 187, 200, 111 S.Ct. 1196, *9341204, 113 L.Ed.2d 158 (1991) (“The beneficence of an employer’s purpose does not undermine the conclusion that an explicit gender-based policy is sex discrimination^]”). Moreover, the City allows other businesses to operate from homes in the residential neighborhood (including welding and construction companies) that are far less compatible with the residential character of the area.
Furthermore, the City fails to substantiate its claim that the adult foster care facility would cause any of the harms (including parking shortages, traffic congestion, and difficulties with police and fire protection) that City officials cited to justify their opposition to the home. In fact, City officials admitted that the adult foster care residents would not threaten the community and acknowledged that none of the facility’s neighbors complained about its presence. Though the City suggests that there are other adult foster care homes in the City where the handicapped could live, the Fair Housing Amendment Act provides that handicapped persons may “live in the residence of their choice.” Marbrunak, Inc. v. City of Stow, 974 F.2d 43, 48 (6th Cir.1992).
Though the City asserts that the definition of “family” in its zoning ordinance exempts it from the Act pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 3607(b)(1) (“Nothing in this subchapter limits the applicability of any reasonable local, State, or Federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy a dwelling.”), the City’s definition of family is not an occupancy restriction. In fact, the City admitted that it would permit 12 unrelated non-handicapped renters to live together in a single family neighborhood. Accordingly, the City’s rejection of Smith & Lee’s proposed facility cannot be attributed to any occupancy standard exempted by 42 U.S.C. § 3607(b)(1).
Because the record clearly supports the district court’s determinations, I would affirm.