Iowa City attorney denies housing discrimination claim

City Attorney Eleanor Dilkes has denied allegations made by a non-profit agency that Iowa City has discriminated against minorities and families with its housing policies.

Where exactly that leaves the dispute between the Housing Fellowship and the city remains unclear. Maryann Dennis, executive director of the Housing Fellowship, said her organization wants to see how a City Council discussion on affordable housing goes later this month before deciding how it will respond.

In June, the Housing Fellowship, which provides housing to low-income people, accused the city of violating federal and state anti discrimination laws.

The organization was upset at a divided City Council's decision earlier this year to not approve a Housing Fellowship plan for 2500 Muscatine Ave., on the east side of Iowa City. The project called for six two-bedroom units to be funded with federal money distributed by the city.

Affordable housing has been a controversial topic in Iowa City in recent years, and it can be an especially sensitive issue because it often has racial overtones.

Some people believe a concentration of low-income housing on the city's southeast side has led to increased crime in the area, a claim that is disputed by others.

Also, during the Iowa City school district's redistricting process last school year, there were calls for low-income students to be better distributed throughout the district because having a large number of those students in a single school can present challenges and lower test scores.

In the Muscatine Avenue project, a majority of council members said there was already too much subsidized housing on that side of town and that such a concentration had a negative effect on nearby schools.

A legal opinion by the Housing Fellowship's Washington, D.C.-based attorney Harry Kelly contended there was no proof the project would burden the schools and noted the neighborhood was home to a relatively high number of minorities. Denying the fellowship's application made housing unavailable to minorities and families, violating the federal Fair Housing Act, he wrote

In a letter to the Housing Fellowship released Thursday, Dilkes denied those claims. Her letter did not go into great detail but said she found no evidence that the city has discriminated against minorities or families. She also said there are more recent court opinions related to the matter that Kelly did not address.

Dilkes was out of the office Thursday and unavailable for comment.

Dennis said the Housing Fellowship was taking Dilkes' letter under consideration and would research the recent court opinions.

The City Council delayed a discussion on affordable housing after the Housing Fellowship's accusations and will pick that back up at its Oct. 25 work session.

Dennis said she didn't know what the Housing Fellowship's next step would be until after it hears what the council has to say Oct. 25. But she reiterated what the organization said in June, that it would rather negotiate an agreement with the city than take the matter to court.

No matter what, the project at Muscatine Avenue will not happen, Dennis said, and the Housing Fellowship is looking for land elsewhere for the homes.

An interesting aside: Steve Atkins, the retired longtime city manager of Iowa City, sits on the Housing Fellowship's board of trustees.