The governing body hereby declares it to be the public policy of the city to eliminate discrimination and safeguard the right of any person to sell, purchase, 1ease, rent, or obtain financing of real property without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, handicap, or ancestry and religion. This article shall be deemed an exercise of the police powers of the city for the protection of the public welfare, prosperity, health and peace of the people of the city.

(Ord. 821, Sec. 1)

For the purpose of this article, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning given herein unless the context otherwise indicates.

(a)   Person-shall include one or associations, organizations, corporations, trustees in bankruptcy, or receivers.

(b)   Unlawful Discriminatory Housing Practice shall mean any discrimination or segregation against any person or groups of persons because of race, color, sex, national origin, handicap, or ancestry and religion, and shall include only those unlawful practices and acts as set forth in section 5-503.

(c)   Owner shall mean and include the owners, lessee, sublessee, assignee, manager agent, or other person firm or corporation having the right to sell, rent or lease any housing accommodation or real property within the corporate limits of the city.

(d)   Real Estate Broker shall mean any person who for a fee or other valuable consideration, sells, purchases, exchanges, rents, negotiates, offers, or attempts to negotiate the sale, purchase, exchange, or rental of housing accommodations or real property of another person.

(e)   Real Estate Salesman or Agent shall mean any person employed by a real estate broker to perform or to assist in the performance of, any or all of the functions of a real estate broker.

(f)   Financial Institution shall mean any person regularly engaged in the business of lending money or guaranteeing loans on housing accommodation or real property.

(g)   Real Property shall include all real estate, leaseholds, and any vacant land offered for sale or rent.

(h)   Housing Accommodation shall mean:

(1)   Any building or portion thereof, whether such building or portion is constructed or is to be constructed, which is used or intended for use as the residence or sleeping place of one or more persons.

(2)   Housing accommodation shall not mean or include:

(A)  the rental of a dwelling, or a portion thereof, containing accommodation for no more than two families, one of which is occupied by the owner or his or her family at the time of rental.

(B)  The rental of less than four rooms in a one-family dwelling to another person or persons by the owner or occupant of such accommodation in which he, she or members of his or her family reside.

(Ord. 821, Sec. 2)

It shall be an unlawful discriminatory housing practice:

(a)   For the owner, rea1 estate broker, real estate salesman, or employees or agent thereof:

(1)   To refuse to sell, rent, assign, lease, or sublease, or to refuse to negotiate for the sale, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease of any real property or portion thereof which is in fact listed or available for sale, rent, lease, or sublease, to any person who has shown the financial ability to satisfy the terms and conditions of a sale, rental, assignment, lease or sublease, of the property, or to otherwise deny or withhold any housing accommodations or real property or any part or portion thereof to or from any person because of the race, color, sex, religion, national origin, handicap, or ancestry of such person.

(2)   To discriminate against any person because of his or her race, color, sex, religion, national origin, handicap, or ancestry in the terms, conditions, or privileges of the sale, lease, rental, assignment or sublease of any housing accommodations or real property or part or portion thereof or in the furnishing of facilities or services in connection therewith; or

(3)   To print, publish, circulate; issue, display, post, or mail, or cause to be printed, published, circulated, issued, displayed, posted, or mailed, any statements, advertisement, publication, or sign, or use any form of application for the purchase, rental, lease, assignment, or sublease of any housing accommodations or real property or part or portion thereof which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, handicap, or ancestry or any intent to make any such limitation, specification or discrimination.

(b)   For any person or financial institution or loan institution to which application is made for financial assistance for the purchase, acquisition or construction of any housing accommodations or real property or part or portion thereof or any agent or employee thereof.

(1)   To discriminate against any person because of the race, color, sex, religion, national origin, handicap, or ancestry of such person or of prospective occupants or tenants of such housing accommodations or real property or part or portion thereof, in the granting, withholding, extending, modifying, or renewing, or in the fixing of the rates, terms, conditions, or provisions of any such financial assistance or in the extension of services in connection therewith; or

(2)   To use any form of application for such financial assistance which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, handicap, or ancestry, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination.

(c)   For any person, owner, real estate broker, real estate salesman, or agent thereof;

(1)   To discriminate against any person because of the race, color, sex, religion, national origin, handicap, or ancestry of such person or of prospective occupants or tenants of such housing accommodations or real property or part or portion thereof, in the granting, withholding, extending, modifying, or renewing, or in the fixing of the rates, terms, conditions, or provisions of any such financial assistance or in the extension of services in connection therewith; or

(2)   To use any form of application which expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, handicap, or ancestry, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination.

(d)   For any person, owner, real estate broker, real estate salesman, or agent thereof;

(1)   To discriminate or engage in economic or other reprisals against another person because such person complies with the provisions of this article or has opposed any practice forbidden under this act, or has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceedings under this article.

(2)   To aid, abet, incite, compel, coerce, cooperate or participate in the doing of any act declared to be a discriminatory practice under the provisions of this article, or to obstruct or prevent compliance with the provisions of this article, or to attempt directly or indirectly to commit any act declared by this article to be a discriminatory practice.

(3)   To induce or attempt to induce the sale or listing for sale of any dwelling unit, commercial unit, or real property or any part or portion thereof by representing that a change has occurred or will or may occur with respect to the racial, religious, or ethnic composition of the block, neighborhood, or area in which the property is located, or to induce or attempt to induce such sale by representing that the presence or anticipated presence of persons of any particular race, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, or color in the area will or may result in:

(A)  The lowering of property values;

(B)  A change in the racial, religious, or ethnic composition of the block, neighborhood, or area in which the property is located;

(C)  An increase in criminal or anti-social behavior in the area;

(D)  A decline in the quality of the schools serving the area.

(Ord. 821, Sec. 3)

Nothing in this article shall prohibit a religious organization, association, or society, or any non- profit institution or organization operated, supervised or controlled by or in conjunction with a religious organization, association, society, from limiting the sale, rentals or occupancy of dwellings which it owns or operates for other than commercial purpose to persons of the same religion, or from giving preference to such persons. Nor shall anything in this article prohibit a private club not in fact open to the public, which as an incident to its primary purpose or purposes provides lodging which it owns or operates for other than a commercial purpose, from limiting the rental or occupancy of such lodging to its members or from giving preference to its members.

(Ord. 821, Sec. 1)

(a)   The authority and responsibility for administering this article shall be in the Chief Executive Officer, the Mayor of the City of Caney, Kansas.

(b)   The Chief Executive Officer, the Mayor, may delegate any of these functions, duties, and powers to employees of the City or to Boards of such employees, including functions, duties, and powers with respect to investigating, conciliating, hearing, determining, ordering, certifying, reporting or otherwise acting as to any work, business, or matter under this article.

(c)   All executive departments and agencies shall administer their programs and activities relating to housing and urban development in the manner affirmatively to further the purposes of this article and shall cooperate with the Chief Executive Officer, the Mayor, to further such purposes.

(Ord. 821; Ord. 948; Code 2022)

(a)   Any person claiming to be aggrieved of an unlawful discriminatory housing practice, hereinafter referred to as a “complaint” may on his or her own behalf, by his or her attorney, make, sign, and file with the City Clerk a complaint in writing, under oath, which shall state the name and address of the person alleged to have committed an unlawful discriminatory housing practice. The City Clerk will then refer the complaint to the Chief Executive Officer, the Mayor. The complaint shall set forth the particulars thereof and contain such other information as may be required by the City Clerk or the Mayor.

(b)   Alternatively, the Mayor may issue, in like manner, a verified complaint of an alleged unlawful discriminatory housing practice.

(c)   Any complaint filed under this Article must be filed within 180 days after the dated of the alleged incident.

(d)   In the event of a complaint being filed pursuant to this section, a true copy of such complaint shall forthwith be transmitted by certified United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the person complained against.

(e)   Every complaint of a violation of this Article shall be referred to the City Clerk, and the Chief Executive Officer, the Mayor, shall forthwith notify the person against whom the complaint is made. The identity of the aggrieved person shall be made known to the person against whom the complaint is made at that time. If the Mayor, or his duly designated appointee, finds there is no merit to this complaint, the same shall be dismissed. If the Mayor or his duly designated appointee, finds that there is merit to the complaint, in his, her or its opinion, the Mayor or his appointee will attempt to eliminate the discriminatory practice by conference and conciliation.

(f)   If the Mayor, or his appointee, within 30 days from the receipt of such complaint is unable to eliminate the alleged discriminatory practice by a conference or conferences and conciliation, then and in that event, the person aggrieved may, within 30 days thereafter, file a complaint with the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Chief Executive Officer, the Mayor, will assist in this filing. The person aggrieved may, alternatively, commence a civil action in any appropriate court, against the respondent named in the complaint, to enforce the rights granted or protected by this article, insofar as such rights relate to the subject of the complaint. In addition, the City Clerk shall return the complaint to the City Attorney for handling; and, after the final determination of whether or not to prosecute on the complaint, the City may commence a proceeding in the Municipal Court for the prosecution of the complaint as permitted by law.

(Ord. 948; Code 2022)

(a)   Any person violating any of the provisions of this Article, upon conviction thereof, may be fined in an amount not to exceed $100.00 or be imprisoned not to exceed 30 days, or be both fined and imprisoned.

(b)   Any person making false, malicious or unfounded accusations against any person under oath and under the provisions of this Article, upon conviction thereof, may be fined in an amount not to exceed $100.00 or be imprisoned not to exceed 30 days, or be both fined and imprisoned.

(Ord. 821, Sec. 6; Ord. 948; Code 2022)