HomeMy WebLinkAboutESJ 2023-10-05 Agenda PacketTukwila Equity and Social Justice Commission
City of Tukwila — City Hall
6200 Southcenter Boulevard, Tukwila, WA 98188
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Equity and Social Justice Commission meeting will
be held on October 5, 2023, at 5:3OPM.
Join the meeting video on your computer or mobile app: Click here to join the meeting
Participate in the meeting by phone: 253-292-9750, Phone Conference ID: 986 969 249#
For in -person, please join us at 5:30PM
Tukwila Justice Center, 15005 Tukwila International Blvd, Tukwila, WA 98188
For assistance during the meeting, please call Jo Anderson, Equity and
Social Justice Staff Liaison, at 206-658-7849
MEETING AGENDA
Thursday, October 5, 2023 — 5:30PM
I Call to Order
II Introduction (2 minutes)
III Approval of Agenda (2 minutes)
IV Approval of Minutes, September 7, 2023 (2 minutes)
V Written Public Comments
VI Business Items
• Icebreaker Activity for Commissioners to Continue to Get to Know One Another
COMMISSION ACTION ITEM: Learn more about other Commissioners.
• City of Tukwila Board & Commissions Equity Training Planning
COMMISSION ACTION ITEM: Finalize logistics for the Saturday, October 7 training.
• Racial Restrictive Covenants Project Presentation (Pending Confirmation)
Tukwila Equity and Social Justice Commission
City of Tukwila — City Hall
6200 Southcenter Boulevard, Tukwila, WA 98188
COMMISSION ACTION ITEM: Learn about the activities conducted by the research team housed at
the University of Washington and ensuing legislation.
• Equitable Development Discussion Continued
COMMISSION ACTION ITEM: Continue the discussion that began at the September meeting and
document shared concerns and ideas.
VII Miscellaneous
VIII Adjournment
ATTENDEES:
Perri Doll
Dennis Nguyen
Aaron Draganov
Joe Duffie
Trish Kinlow
Kathy Hougardy
Tukwila Equity and Social Justice Commission
City of Tukwila — City Hall
6200 Southcenter Boulevard, Tukwila, WA 98188
MEETING MINUTES
Thursday, September 7, 2023 — 5:30PM
Kristen Schwabe -Fry
Joel Bush
Jo Anderson
I Call to Order
II Introduction (2 minutes)
III Approval of Agenda (2 minutes)
IV Approval of Minutes, August 3, 2023 (2 minutes)
V Business Items
• Get to know your fellow Commissioners.
Commissioners shared something about themselves.
• Comprehensive Plan Update Debrief, including Racial Restrictive Covenants
Commissioners requested an update on any major Comprehensive Plan news this fall,
with a particular focus on community engagement and housing development impacts;
transportation and parking identified as central issues.
Commissioners discussed the urgency to address inequities in development practices.
Equitable practices such as being data informed, centering community needs,
engagement with key stakeholders — at a local, regional, and state level - were
discussed.
Commissioners requested a presentation from the Racial Restrictive Covenants Project.
• Racial Equity Priorities Update
Tukwila Equity and Social Justice Commission
City of Tukwila — City Hall
6200 Southcenter Boulevard, Tukwila, WA 98188
Jo Anderson provided an update on the four Equity Policy Priority Areas: Operationalizing a
Racial Equity Toolkit, Operationalizing an Outreach Equity Toolkit, Equity Index, and Language
Access. Trish Kinlow reported that a pilot using Pocketalk translation/interpretation devices is
underway. Also, court orders are now available in Spanish, Somali, and Russian.
VI Miscellaneous
• Jo Anderson reported that about 10 board and commission members have signed up to
attend the October 7 equity training. Logistics will be discussed at the next meeting.
• A request was made to create a shared space for documents.
VII Adjournment
Racial Restrictive Covenants
Research for ESJ Commission
Racial Restrictive Covenants Project Washington State
The language of segregation haunts the cities and suburbs of Washington State. Racist restrictions,
although now void, remain in the property records of hundreds of neighborhoods, a toxic residue
from the decades when racial segregation and exclusion was allowed, indeed promoted, by local
governments throughout the state.
The Racial Restrictive Covenants Project involves teams of researchers at the University of
Washington and Eastern Washington University. Authorized by the state legislature under HB 1335
(May 2021), this project is charged with identifying and mapping neighborhoods marked by racist
deed provisions and restrictive covenants. With more than 50,000 restricted properties identified
so far, the project provided the research for the newly enacted Covenant Homeownership Account
Act that will compensate victims of restrictive covenants.
To -date we have identified more than 50,000 restricted properties in hundreds of neighborhoods
across the state. But our research is far from complete. We need help. More than 1,000 volunteers
have been helping us confirm and record restrictions that our search methods are uncovering.
Please see the Read the deeds: volunteers page and join us.
Source: https://depts.washington.edu/covenants/
City of Shoreline Public Education - The UW's Racial Restrictive Covenant project provided a
zoom webinar (2022) about the history in King County and how folks could get involved.
From: James N. Gregory <gregoryj@uw.edu>
Sent: Monday, August 21, 2023 5:05 PM
To: Jo Anderson <Jo.Anderson@TukwilaWA.gov>; sophdowl <sophdowl@uw.edu>
Subject: Re: City of Tukwila ESJ Commission, Interest in Racial Restrictive Covenants Project
Thank you for getting in touch. We would be happy to join you at a future meeting, but
September 7 will not work. Perhaps early October. We have been asked to give
presentations to quite a number of local government agencies, churches, community
groups, schools, and business groups. It is an important way to help communities address
the lasting effects of restrictive covenants and other forms of housing discrimination. It has
also helped us find volunteers. To date more than 1,000 people have helped confirm deed
restrictions.
I am copying project manager Sophia Dowling. She can help work out a date and plan.
Best,
James N. Gregory
Professor, History
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195
206-543-7792 http://faculty.washington.edu/gregoryj/
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Racial Restrictive Covenants
Research for ESJ Commission
Tracking Locations
These preliminary maps show some of the neighborhoods where racial restrictive covenants were added to
property records in the first half of the 20th century. More than 34,000 properties were restricted in more than
340 subdivisions. Zoom and pan for a closer look. Click on any parcel to see the restriction. The gray scale
coloring reflects the current racial demography of census tracts and block areas as reported in the 2020 census.
The color white means the population is more than 65% nonHispanic White. (Note: the map will take several
seconds to load).
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Source: Racial Restrictive Covenants Project Washington State; Restricted Properties — Seattle and
King County; https://depts.washington.edu/covenants/map parcels king.shtml
In Tukwila, 3 locations are documented: McMicken Heights, Thorndyke, Tukwila Vista Villa.
Tukwila McMicken Heights McMicken Heights No part of said property hereby conveyed shall ever be used or occupied by any Hebrew or by any person of the Ethiopian, Malay or any Asiatic Race, and the party of 80
512 the second part his heirs, personal representatives or assigns, shall never place any such person in the possession of occupancy of said property of any part thereof,
nor permit the said property, or any part thereof, ever to be used or occupied by any such person, excepting only employees in the domestic service on the premises
of persons qualified hereunder as occupants and users and residing on the premises.
Tukwila Thorndyke Estella's Addition The grantees agree that neither they, nor their heirs, personal representatives or assigns, shall ever rent to, sell to, or allow said premises to be occupied by any
person of the Ethiopian, Malay, or any Asiatic Race, excepting only employees in the domestic service of persons qualified hereunder as occupants and users and
residing on the premises.
Tukwila Tukwila Visa Villa No race or nationality other than the white or Caucasian shall use or occupy any dwelling on any lot, except that this covenant shall not prevent occupancy by 52
domestic servants of a different race or nationality employed by an owner or tenant.
Source: https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/covenants.htm
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Racial Restrictive Covenants
Research for ESJ Commission
Legislation
Compensation for impacted people: The newly enacted Covenant Homeownership Account
Act that will compensate victims of restrictive covenants. On April 23, 2023 the Washington
legislature passed the Covenants Homeownership Account Act (HB 1474), pioneering legislation
that will provide compensation for victims of racial restrictive covenants, the instruments of
housing exclusion and segregation that destroyed opportunities for generations of Black, Asian,
Latinx, and Indigenous families. The law was based on research conducted by this project.
HB 1474 AN ACT Relating to creating the covenant homeownership account 1 and program to
address the history of housing discrimination due to racially restrictive real estate covenants in
Washington state.
The Covenants Homeownership Account Act was sponsored by 44 members of the House of
Representatives and 14 members of the state Senate led by Rep. Jamila Taylor, Rep. Frank Chopp,
and Senator John Lovick. A coalition of community groups including the Black Home Initiative
Network and the Housing Development Consortium promoted the bill. 2,000 individuals signed in
support and were willing to testify during legislature hearings. The bill passed with strong majorities
in both houses due to huge outpouring of support which included endorsements by the Washington
Realtors and the Seattle Times. The law is carefully tailored to the legal requirements of
Washington, an anti -affirmative action state.
The statute is harm based." It establishes in its first paragraphs that Washington state and local
governments caused financial harm by authorizing and enforcing racial restrictive covenants. It
targets compensation in the form of mortgage assistance (interest -free down -payment loans) to
families that were harmed by racist restrictions in housing opportunities in the years when such
restrictions were government sanctioned (prior to the 1968 Fair Housing Act). Applicants must be
first-time homebuyers with incomes at or below the area median. They must have been a
Washington resident before 1968 or a descendant of someone who was. A still -to -be -appointed
commission will work out the details but presumably Black, Asian, Indigenous, and Latinx families
who meet the residential and other criteria will be eligible for an interest -free down -payment loan.
This is because restrictive covenants usually specified whites only," thereby excluding everyone
else.
And the size and number of compensation awards will be substantial. Funding will come from a
$100 Covenant Homeownership recording fee that will apply to all real estate transactions. The
logic of this is that homeowners selling properties nowadays have benefitted from the wealth
building opportunities that have been a biproduct of homeownership; opportunities denied to most
families of color. This is a just and relatively painless fee that is going to raise a lot money. Roughly
$100 million will be available for loans each year which by one estimate means two to three
thousand loans in the $30,000-50,000 each year.
3
Racial Restrictive Covenants
Research for ESJ Commission
These are numbers that should start to reverse the race disparities in homeownership. In the most
recent census, 66% of white households in Washington owned homes against only 33% of Black
households. In Seattle/King County where prices have soared out of sight, only 27% of Black
families are homeowners.
Language removal from deeds and HOA bylaws:
The effort was authorized and funded in 2021 by the Washington State Legislature under HB 1335,
which addresses the presence of the covenants and gives property owners and residents options
for legally removing the language from their deeds. Gregory plans to ask for renewed funding to
continue the effort and purchase a high-speed scanner to digitize property records and speed up
the rest of the work.
HB 1335 allocated funds and authorized teams at the University of Washington and Eastern
Washington University to "review existing recorded covenants and deed restrictions to identify
those recorded documents that include racial or other restrictions on property ownership or use
against protected classes that are unlawful under RCW 49.60.224. For properties subject to such
racial and other unlawful restrictions, the universities shall provide notice to the property owner and
to the county auditor of the county in which the property is located. The universities shall provide
information to the property owner on how such provisions can be struck pursuant to RCW
49.60.227."
Effective January 1, 2019, this law (since modified by HB 1335) encouraged property owners to
submit documentation that "strikes" any racially discriminatory language from property records.
Proposed by State Representative Christine Kilduff, the law allowed a property owner to record a
modification document that will provide notice in the land title records that the racially restrictive
covenant is void and unenforceable. It will not delete the historic record. The modification
document legally strikes, but does not physically erase, the void and illegal discriminatory
provisions from the original document. As explained on this page, racial restrictions have been void
and illegal since 1968.
In early 2006, State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles introduced and the legislature passed SESB
6169 which declared that "The continued existence of these discriminatory covenants, conditions,
or restrictions is contrary to public policy and repugnant to many property owners. It is the intent of
this act to allow homeowners' associations to remove all remnants of discrimination from their
governing documents."The law lowered the threshold for approving by-law changes involving such
provisions, empowering the Board of Directors to make the changes and requiring the Board to act.
"Upon the board's receipt of a written request by a member of the association ... the board must,
within a reasonable time, amend the governing documents, as provided under this section."
Source: https://depts.washington.edu/covenants/laws.shtml
4
Equity Priority Areas Update
Progress update on the 4 Racial Equity Priority areas:
Operationalize a Racial Equity Toolkit
o Toolkit and Guide Completed
o Met with Economic Development, Finance, Police, Parks, Public Works
o Attended ICMA and PSRC Trainings
o Delivered learnings from first phase with the Integration Team.
Operationalize an Outreach Equity Toolkit
o Toolkit and Guide Completed
Develop an Equity Index
o Met with Community Attributes (Vendor)
o Met with City of Tacoma (Equity Index Implementation Team)
o Met with PSRC Program Manager for Data Solutions & Research, Brian Lee
o Submitted application to the UW Evans School for capstone project consideration
Language Access:
o Completed staff survey regarding knowledge of language access tools and
languages'spoken among staff
o Finalized Vital Documents' list
o Researched local city strategies -Auburn, Burien, Kent, Renton, Seattle
o Joined the Municipal Language Access Network (MLAN) - a collaboration of
government employees to share resources and develop best practices for the
improvement of language access.
o Draft Language Access Plan and Racial Equity Toolkit
Tukwila Equity and Social Justice Commission
City of Tukwila — City Hall
6200 Southcenter Boulevard, Tukwila, WA 98188
COUNCIL AND SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING SCHEDULE
FIN Finance & Governance Committee 2nd and 4th Mondays 5:30 PM
PCD Planning & Community Development 15t and 3rd Mondays 5:30 PM
Committee
TIS Transportation & Infrastructure 15t and 3rd Mondays 5:30 PM
Services Committee
CSS Community Services & Safety 2nd and 4th Mondays 5:30 PM
Committee
REG Regular Council Meeting 1st and 3rd Mondays 7:00
PM
C.O. W. Committee of the Whole 2nd and 4th Mondays 7:00 PM
* Note — the Council traditionally does not hold meetings in the last half of December.
The City of Tukwila offers hybrid format for its Council and Committee meetings. Those wishing to
join the meetings electronically may access them with the information below. Those wishing to
attend in person should visit:
• Regular Council and Committee of the Whole Meetings: Tukwila City Hall Council
Chambers — 6200 Southcenter Boulevard
• Planning & Community Development and Community Services & Safety committee
meetings: Hazelnut Conference Room — 6200 Southcenter Boulevard (knock on door
to the east)
• Finance & Safety and Transportation and Infrastructure Services committee meetings:
Duwamish Conference Room — 6300 Southcenter Boulevard (second floor, down the
hall on the right)
Tukwila Equity and Social Justice Commission
City of Tukwila — City Hall
6200 Southcenter Boulevard, Tukwila, WA 98188
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Tukwila Equity and Social Justice Commission
City of Tukwila — City Hall
6200 Southcenter Boulevard, Tukwila, WA 98188
PLANNING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
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Tukwila Equity and Social Justice Commission
City of Tukwila — City Hall
6200 Southcenter Boulevard, Tukwila, WA 98188
To view the meeting: Click here to join the meeting
FINANCE & GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
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