Lawmakers will hear a bill this week that requires Growth Management Act (GMA) planning jurisdictions to review racial and other unlawful covenants recorded on deeds and to instruct property owners in how to remove the restrictions.

HB 1335, sponsored by Rep. Javier Valdez (D–Seattle), would do the following to remedy the problem of the continued existence of racial covenants:

• Requires counties and cities to work cooperatively to review all existing recorded covenants and deed restrictions to identify those that unlawfully restrict a protected class, such as individuals from a certain race or religion.
• Requires the jurisdiction to notify the property owner and inform them of the process to remove such deed restrictions, which is through a declaratory court judgment.
• Allocates costs to the jurisdictions, apportioned by population.
• Provides that the real estate excise tax revenue directed to capital facilities can be used to fund the new mandate.
• The review and notification process must be complete prior to the date the jurisdiction is required to update its GMA comprehensive plan.

Although no longer legally enforceable, racially restrictive covenants were commonplace in the 1920s to 1940s. They were agreements entered into by a group of property owners, sub-division developers, or real estate operators in each neighborhood, binding them not to sell, lease, rent or otherwise convey their property to specified racial groups unless all agreed to the transaction. The 1948 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Shelley v. Kraemer struck down the enforceability of the restrictions by courts. It was not until 1968, when Congress passed the Housing Rights Act, that the covenants themselves were finally made unlawful and void.

AWC is working to identify more streamlined and less administratively burdensome means to achieve the goals of the bill. Options under consideration are a citywide general notification process, a state or county-led effort, or only upon resale of the homes subject to these covenants. Additional ideas from cities are welcome.

Date to remember

HB 1335 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Local Government Committee on Tuesday, February 2 at 10 am.