Elliott v. City of Athens, Ga., 91-8147
| Decision Date | 19 May 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. 91-8147,91-8147 |
| Citation | 960 F.2d 975 |
| Parties | , 3 NDLR P 17 John D. ELLIOTT, C. Leonard Davis, Plaintiffs-Appellants, The Atlanta Union Mission, d/b/a The Potter's House, Plaintiff, v. The CITY OF ATHENS, GEORGIA, and the Mayor and Council of the City of Athens, Georgia, Dwain P. Chambers, Miriam Moore, Harry Sims, Cardee Kilpatrick, Kathy Hoard, Linny Bailey, Mac Coile, Carolyn Reynolds, Gwen O'Looney and Calvin Bridges, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit |
Bradley S. Wolff, Arrington & Hollowell, P.C., Atlanta, Ga., for plaintiffs-appellants.
David K. Flynn, Irving Gornstein, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for amicus U.S. Dept. of Justice.
Frank E. Jenkins, Kirk R. Fjelstul, III, Jenkins & Eells, Atlanta, Ga., for defendants-appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.
Before KRAVITCH, ANDERSON and BIRCH, Circuit Judges.
This case presents a challenge to a local zoning ordinance of the City of Athens, Georgia, pursuant to the 1988 amendments to the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C.A. § 3601, et seq. (hereinafter referred to as the "FHA" or the "Act" ). Appellants seek to establish a group home for recovering alcoholics in an area of Athens zoned for single-family occupancy. The district court held that there was no violation of the FHA, and appellants appealed.
Appellants, John D. Elliott and C. Leonard Davis, are owners of a single lot located at 490-490 1/2 Ruth Street in Athens, Georgia, which contains two detached houses. Appellants sought to sell the property to The Potter's House, a division of the Atlanta Mission, for use as an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center. The sale was contingent on obtaining approval for the proper zoning to accommodate The Potter's House.
The City of Athens, Georgia, is divided into various zoning districts with local ordinances defining the permitted uses for each zone. Within the city limits, there are three types of single-family residential districts (RS-10, RS-15, and RS-20), two types of multi-family residential districts (RM-1 and RM-2), and several types of general residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental districts.
The property at issue is located in an area zoned RS-10 for single-family use pursuant to the local ordinance. 1 Under the ordinance, a family is defined as:
One (1) or more persons occupying a single dwelling unit, provided that unless all members are related by blood, marriage or adoption, no such family shall contain over four (4) persons. Domestic servants employed on the premises may be housed on the premises without being counted as a separate family or families. In addition, a related family may have up to two (2) unrelated individuals living with them. The term "family" does not include any organization or institutional group.
Athens, Ga., Code § 9-1-4 (1987). Thus, under the ordinance an unlimited number of related persons may reside together, while a maximum of four unrelated individuals may occupy a single residence. Although the zoning ordinance permits only one single-family structure per lot, a grandfather clause allows the two structures on the Ruth Street property to remain as they were built prior to the adoption of the ordinance. As a result, two "families" or a maximum of eight unrelated persons are permitted to reside on the property.
The City of Athens adopted its definition of "family," which restricts the number of unrelated persons who may live together, in order to regulate the large student population from the University of Georgia campus located in Athens and to protect the single-family character of the neighborhoods surrounding the university. The City was attempting to prevent the adverse effects that can occur when an area increases its population density because of a large demand for rental apartments for students. The City was concerned particularly with overcrowding, traffic, noise, and the excess demand on city services such as transportation and water.
In this case, the proposed purchaser of the Ruth Street property, The Potter's House, operates an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center for men at its farm facility in Jefferson, Georgia. The male residents of The Potter's House are employed in one of the four stores operated by The Potter's House or in some part of the farm operation. Reverend Jack Lindsay, director of The Potter's House, sought to purchase the Ruth Street property for use as a group-residence home, or "half-way" house, for men who had finished the program at the farm facility but were not yet ready to live on their own. The Athens residence home would thus serve as a second stage in the rehabilitation process, providing structure and support to those program participants who had completed the first part of the program.
The Potter's House planned to accommodate twelve male program participants 2 and at least one staff member at the Ruth Street property. Thus, the planned occupancy was in excess of the eight permitted residents under the ordinance. The program participants would be employed outside the property and would be subject to program rules prohibiting the use of alcohol and overnight female visitation. These participants would pay $75.00 per week in exchange for their food, clothing, shelter, and supervision.
In order to carry out their project, appellants approached the City of Athens planning department to have the property rezoned to multi-family designation which would permit the proposed use for the half-way house. The planning department advised appellants that the proposed use of the Ruth Street property would be considered, under a "similar use" provision, as a boarding house. 3 Members of the planning department then studied the impact the proposed zoning change would have on the neighborhood and the demand for municipal services. While the planning department determined that the proposed group home would not burden the provision of municipal services such as transportation, water, and sewage, the department nonetheless recommended denial of the proposed change, stating as its reasons that the rezoning would set a negative precedent for the neighborhood and would constitute spot zoning.
Thereafter, the appellants requested that the City either issue an interpretation of the current ordinance which would permit the intended use under the current definition of "family" or amend the ordinance so that it would conform to the provisions of the FHA amendments.
After the City failed to issue the requested interpretation of the current ordinance or to amend the ordinance, the appellants instituted suit in the district court on November 6, 1989. Appellants sought declaratory and injunctive relief on the grounds that the City's actions violated the Fair Housing Act and their rights of substantive due process and equal protection. 4 More particularly, appellants alleged that handicapped persons were denied the opportunity to reside within single-family residential neighborhoods in the City of Athens, Georgia, and that the City refused to make reasonable accommodations in its rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford handicapped persons equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. See 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f).
After a bench trial, the court entered judgment against the appellants. The court held that the City of Athens had set reasonable restrictions on the maximum number of unrelated persons who may occupy a single dwelling unit and, therefore, is exempt from the instant FHA claim under 42 U.S.C. § 3607(b)(1). In addition, the court held that appellants had not established a prima facie case of discriminatory effect. The district court did not address the "reasonable accommodations" issue. On appeal, appellants challenge the district court's conclusions regarding their FHA claims. Because we conclude that the Athens ordinance falls within the exemption contained in § 3607(b)(1), we need not address the issues of discriminatory effect and "reasonable accommodations."
The Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq., enacted as Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, was designed to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin in the sale, rental, and financing of housing and to assure fair housing practices. In 1974, sex was added as a protected class but otherwise the statute remained basically unchanged until 1988. See 42 U.S.C. § 3604(a). In 1988, Congress amended the Fair Housing Act to extend its protection to handicapped persons. Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, P.L. No. 100-430, 102 Stat. 1619 (1988) ("FHAA" ). Congress recognized that discrimination against the handicapped is "most often the product, not of invidious animus, but rather of thoughtlessness and indifference--of benign neglect." Alexander v. Choate, 469 U.S. 287, 105 S.Ct. 712, 717, 83 L.Ed.2d 661 (1985). The House Report states:
The Fair Housing Amendments Act, like Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, is a clear pronouncement of a national commitment to end the unnecessary exclusion of persons with handicaps from the American mainstream. It repudiates the use of stereotypes and ignorance, and mandates that persons with handicaps be considered as individuals. Generalized perceptions about disabilities and unfounded speculations about threats to safety are specifically rejected as grounds to justify exclusion.
H.R.Rep. No. 711, 100th Cong., 2d Sess. 18, reprinted in 1988 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2173, 2179 [hereinafter "House Report" ]. In general, the Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful
(1) To discriminate in the sale or rental, or to otherwise make unavailable or deny, a dwelling to any buyer or renter because of a handicap....
(2) To discriminate against any person in the terms,...
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