DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | Committee on Human Rights annual reports, 1963-1967, 1992-2009 | 1963-09-09 -- 1964-09-04 First Annual Report Of The Iowa City Human Relations Commission Page 8

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Committee on Human Rights annual reports, 1963-1967, 1992-2009

1963-09-09 -- 1964-09-04 First Annual Report Of The Iowa City Human Relations Commission Page 8

-8-

A Fair Housing Ordinance with an enforcement procedure which was noticeable and essentially different from that recommended by the Commission, and in which the number of exemptions for some types of dwellings was considerably larger than that recommended by the Commission, was introduced for a first reading by the Council on July 28, 1964. Considerable opposition to this was voiced at this meeting because of the enforcement and exemption factors.
It was suggested by Councilman William Maas that the Commission meet with a group of representatives from the Iowa City Realtors to discuss this ordinance and explain its purpose. This meeting was held at a luncheon and a two hour discussion resulted in good clarification of the position of the Realtors, but very little enthusiasm or acceptance of the ordinance was in evidence.
The second reading of the ordinance resulted in further expression of opinion from members of the community, many for a "stronger" ordinance and some opposed entirely to the ordinance. In the two weeks remaining before the final reading a great deal of zealous and hard work was done by the Mayor in consulting interested parties, including the Commission, and in hammering out an ordinance which was more acceptable to all and which approximated to a great degree the ordinance originally submitted by the commission.
On August 18, this latter ordinance was given three readings by the Council and was unanimously approved by them.
In preparing for this Fair Housing Ordinance and in an attempt to help the Community understand the need for it, and to understand its purpose and content, the Commission distributed considerable literature. Some of this material was of national or State interest, but a good deal of it was drawn up for local information and local needs, by the League of Women Voters or by the Commission

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-8- A Fair Housing Ordinance with an enforcement procedure which was noticeable and essentially different from that recommended by the Commission, and in which the number of exemptions for some types of dwellings was considerably larger than that recommended by the Commission, was introduced for a first reading by the Council on July 28, 1964. Considerable opposition to this was voiced at this meeting because of the enforcement and exemption factors. It was suggested by Councilman William Maas that the Commission meet with a group of representatives from the Iowa City Realtors to discuss this ordinance and explain its purpose. This meeting was held at a luncheon and a two hour discussion resulted in good clarification of the position of the Realtors, but very little enthusiasm or acceptance of the ordinance was in evidence. The second reading of the ordinance resulted in further expression of opinion from members of the community, many for a "stronger" ordinance and some opposed entirely to the ordinance. In the two weeks remaining before the final reading a great deal of zealous and hard work was done by the Mayor in consulting interested parties, including the Commission, and in hammering out an ordinance which was more acceptable to all and which approximated to a great degree the ordinance originally submitted by the commission. On August 18, this latter ordinance was given three readings by the Council and was unanimously approved by them. In preparing for this Fair Housing Ordinance and in an attempt to help the Community understand the need for it, and to understand its purpose and content, the Commission distributed considerable literature. Some of this material was of national or State interest, but a good deal of it was drawn up for local information and local needs, by the League of Women Voters or by the Commission