Pioneer Press/ St. Paul settles with landlords in housing inspections dispute. "The real story here!"

Link to Pioneer Press story here (read this first)

My comments at twincities.com:

I am sorry I have to consistantly come here and correct these stories on housing.. Lets get the truth out here and let the chips fall where they may.

Fred reported;; The city of St. Paul has settled a longstanding legal dispute with two of a dozen landlords who claimed that they were forced to sell or demolish apartments because of over-zealous code enforcement.

My response; illegal code enforcement that surpassed state building codes and forced minorities out of housing.

Fred reported; On Nov. 7, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear the city's legal appeal of the 8th Circuit decision. Former U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale, one of the original authors of the Fair Housing Act, was among the housing advocates who worried that the Supreme Court would use the case as an opportunity to declare "disparate impact" an invalid legal argument.

That outcome, they said, would gut a series of federal legal protections for women and minorities in housing, lending and beyond. The city changed course in 2012 and requested that the Supreme Court dismiss the city's petition to hear the case.

My response, the TRUTH- St. Paul worked a “quid pro quo” deal with the U.S. Dept. of Justice that included the U.S. Government’s agreement not to pursue a $300M federal funding fraud action against St. Paul in return for St. Paul agreeing to dismiss their U.S. Supreme Court appeal in Magner v. Gallagher; as part of the agreement, Senator Mondale has been providing the City with lawyers from the Minneapolis Dorsey & Whitney law firm to defend the City against the Fair Housing Act claims of the landlords. St. Paul businessman Fredrick Newell filed a HUD complaint against St. Paul in 2009 for the City’s Section 3 federal funding violations, and subsequently HUD found that Newell’s claims were correct – the City had violated federal funding requirements over an extended period. HUD, DOJ and local US Attorneys determined that the City’s federal funding violations were egregious violations and knowingly committed.

Fred reported; On Jan. 6, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) agreed to hear a federal housing complaint against the city brought forward by the Raven Financial real estate group.

My response; incorrect, HUD has heard about landlord complaints since 2008; more complaints were filed in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and now HUD has agreed to open an investigation of the challenged City housing policies and practices

Fred reported; Represented by Shoemaker, Raven Financial maintains that the city has "negatively impacted fair housing choice ... of protected class members" by using code enforcement to demolish their rental properties in high-minority neighborhoods.

The complaint focuses on 758 Maryland Ave., a duplex that was declared a "nuisance" property by the city and condemned in December 2012. The home has yet to be demolished.

My response; Incorrect – the Complaints focus on City illegal housing policies and actions against Raven’s nine rental properties, and against Vue’s, McRaths’ and other landlords’ rental properties; HUD agreed to open an investigation under both the Fair Housing Act (Title VIII) discrimination and under Title VI for federal funding program discrimination.