Petition
We the following homeless or formerly homeless Richmond citizens category denounce Richmond City Ordinance numbers 97-226 and 97-227, 'Homeless Issues' section of Richmond Downtown Plan. And do hereby request the Richmond City Council to address multiple Constitutional violations and Civil Rights infringements of homeless people, and establish an ad hoc committee to restore the B-4 Zone to allow homeless services and shelters. Over the past decade, the City of Richmond has engaged in a policy and practice of discrimination against homeless people, including many of those who access assistance and shelter from the Daily Planet programs. Essentially all of the Daily Planet's Safe Haven are disabled clients, and the majority of clients in its other programs, are people with disabilities and of the African-American race. The city has continuously resisted the relocation of Daily Planet and other shelters from locating to a site that would afford its client the best access to public transportation, employment, and numerous social services and shelters.
The City of Richmond has repeatedly tried to allure and/or coerce the location of the Street Center to an inconspicuous location that is out of the mainstream and inaccessible to many homeless persons with disabilities. The suggested location is undesirable because it is in an isolated neighborhood, across the street from the City Jail and includes a steep incline from downtown, making it difficult or impossible for clients with mental or physical disabilities to access many of the social services available downtown.
The City of Richmond officials has avowed to restrict provisions of meals to the homeless from a centralized location, and have engaged in activities and policies that would make it difficult or impossible for clients with mental or physical disabilities to access meals, or to access meals in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs to the disabled person.
In June 1999, the City of Richmond seized the property of a homeless program and shelter called 'Safe Haven' (which target homeless people who have extreme mental and physical disabilities) due to the expansion of Richmond Convention Center. The City of Richmond had promised to assist all property owners in the area to relocate, the City of Richmond provided no such assistance to locate the 'Safe Haven' one City Council member commented 'it doesn't fit in with Richmond Master Plan.'
The Daily Planet applied for a special use permit to relocate Safe Haven at 509 W. Grace Street, they considered it to be an ideal location and would allow the Daily Planet to consolidate its services and manage more efficiently in serving its clients.
On June 29, 2000, aide to Mayor Kaine called L. C. Sullivan Executive Director of the Daily Planet and told him that it was the mayor's understanding that the Daily Planet would also relinquish its 'vested right' to serve meals after 9:00 a.m. at 517 West Grace Street, and that the agreement was necessary to secure the mayor's support. After polling board members on the executive committee, an agreement was made relying on the Mayor's assurances that with this concession he could support the applications.
On July 24, 2000, Richmond City Council voted on proposed special permit which had been modified by removing the Daily Planet's request to serve meals after 9:00 at 509 W. Grace Street, and relinquishing the already 'vested right' to serve meal after 9:00 a.m. at 517 W. Grace Street. The vote fell one short of the two-thirds required for a special use permit with Mayor Kaine casting the deciding vote, Mayor Kaine surprised the Daily Planet voting against the special use permit.
At the City Council meeting, some city council members continued to urge that the Daily Planet locate Safe Haven and/or other programs on 17th Street. However, John Baker, of HUD's Virginia State Office of Community Planning and Development, informed the Daily Planet and city officials that 17th Street would not meet HUD's environmental requirements.
Unless the Daily Planet secures site control for 'Safe Haven' by HUD's November 30, 2000 deadline, it may lose $900,000 HUD grant for 'Safe Haven.' In addition, HUD has informed the Daily Planet that it will lose the $578,000 proceeds from the sale of Safe Haven's prior location at 316 Clay Street.
On February 19, 1993, Assistant Vice President for CSX wrote to then Richmond City Manager Robert C. Bobb the following:
'The location of the Daily Planet at 17th and "0" Streets may require the acquisition of additional CSXT land. While the service the Daily Planet provides is commendable, we believe its location in the 17th Street area would be detrimental to the continued revitalization of the area, and its proximity to very active rail operations could create a very hazardous situation. Not only should the area remain industrial, but in our judgement, the Daily planet facilities should be much closer to the other services so desperately needed by the homeless. . . .'
McGuireWoods Battle & Boothe Attorney Alexander H. Slaughter then President of the Daily Planet wrote to then City Manager Robert C. Bobb on July 16, 1993 stating the following:
On July 23, 1993 Executive Director of Central Virginia legal Aid Society Henry W. McLaughlin wrote to then City Attorney Timothy G. Oksman the following:
a. They advance a de facto policy to require relocation of the Street Center and its services further away from most homeless shelters and other services, thereby substantially impairing the purpose for which services are provided at the Street Center because of increased problems of access to and from the Street Center and between the shelter and other services provided to the homeless in Richmond.
b. They fail to integrate, to the extent feasible, the services provided at the Street Center with the Richmond community; indeed, this is de facto policy is expressly designed to reduce the presence of the homeless downtown, including the overwhelming majority of the homeless who come within the protection of the ADA, by stigmatizing them....'
On March 24, 1995, then City Manager Robert C. Bobb wrote to Executive Director of Central Virginia legal Aid Society Henry W. McLaughlin the following:
On March 23, 1992, then City Manager Robert C. Bobb wrote to then Executive Director of the Daily Planet Ms. Sheila Crowley the following:
Section 302 (b) (1) © American With Disabilities Act, Section 302 (b) (1) (D) American With Disabilities Act, Section 302 (b) (1) (E) American With Disabilities Act, Enforcement Section 302 (b) (1) (E) American With Disabilities Act, On July 28, 1997, Richmond City Council passed the disputed ordinances which took away the last feasible by-right zone for the homeless, eliminating any possibility of service or shelters to be properly zoned in the City of Richmond. This is a massive change in the law in relation to the poor. You can put up a restaurant by-right, as long as you are charging a market rent. The poor, or those who serve the poor have now been severely restricted and/or banned. These ordinances were supported and imposed on homeless people by multi-millionaires, economic investors, corporate giants, stereotypes, and a prejudiced Master Plan.
The language in "Homeless Issues" of the downtown plan in Richmond Master Plan portraying an negative image of homeless people is the result of discriminatory exploitation and alienation of a entire class of Richmond citizens. It is a form of harbored prejudices which practice condemnation, scapegoating and alienation. Over the decades, the influx of suburbanizing in surrounding areas of cities across the nation and the deterioration of city's building structures presented a significant role in the economical health of downtowns, not homeless people. Section of Richmond Master Plan:
This Plan does not provide specific recommendations for existing and proposed sites for service providers. Nor does it address broader issues like the availability of affordable housing (beyond support for the continuum of care initiatives) or eliminating poverty and other causes of homelessness. Instead, the plan focuses on means to mitigate serious adverse impacts on Downtown Richmond, while continuing to provide assistance to this segment of the population.'
Signatories of this petition request "homeless issues" section of Richmond Master Planet to be deleted and appropriately replaced.
This petition request that the Chair-Person of an ad hoc committee to address homeless issues would be someone that the homeless community can trust, signatures of this petition recommend Martin E. Jewell for that appointment.
'We The People' Richmond citizens do hereby request immediate and efficient response to our concerns.
'Over the last three years, the Daily Planet and the City have sporadically looked for suitable alternatives to the Street Center's present site. The original one surveyed was the Fox Photo building near Belvidere and I-95 which you and I and others toured. However, certain citizens in the neighborhood objected, as they apparently did to another site we looked at together in the Carver district. Thereafter, a number of sites were observed jointly, all at the City's initiative except for the Smithdeal Massie building on Grace Street. Only in one instance did the Daily Planet rule out a site and that was the one on Hermitage Road, which is now one of the alternatives you propose to present to Council. Our principal basis for objecting was that the site is inaccessible to the agencies' clients. The 17th and O site presents even more severe access problems, as well as others which, taken as a whole, render it unworkable. . . .'
'I represent the following persons who have been homeless in the City of Richmond within the past 180 days...The actions of the City, or of those in authority with the City as set forth (1) and (2) above, are damaging to homeless clients who come within the protection of the ADA because:
'Members of my staff and I have been meeting with The Daily Planet, Freedom House and Fan Free Clinic representatives, at their request over the last several years, to facilitate the identification of a new site for the Street Center.... Your attempt to interpret 'cooperation' as 'coercion' is completely inaccurate. The City was not attempting either to influence the re-location, or to discriminate on the basis of race, or to hamper access to public services....'
'....I cannot, however, support the relocation of the Street Center to the proposed Grace Street location or any other location within the Central Business District.... I've instructed Joyce Wilson, Jerry Johnson and Charles Peters, of my staff, to provide you the alternate sites....'
Section 302 (b) (1) (B) American With Disabilities Act,
[g]oods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations shall be afforded to an individual with a disability in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of the individual. This section is intended to remove second-class status from those with disabilities by requiring that they be 'mainstream' to extent in the provision of goods, services, etc., from a public accommodation.
prohibit excluding and segregating persons with disabilities based on "among things, presumptions, patronizing, attitudes, fears, and stereotypes....'
warns covered entities that they "shall not, directly or through contractual or other arrangements, utilize standards or criteria or methods of administration (1) that have the effect of discriminating on the basis of disability; or (2) that perpetuate the discriminating of others who are subject to common administrative control." which indicates that it "incorporates a disparate impact standard to ensure the legislative mandate to end discrimination does not right hollow.
covered entities are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of association. This section bars public accommodations from excluding or denying "equal goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, accommodations, or other opportunities to individual or entity because of the known disability of an individual or entity is known to have a relationship or association resulting in the denial of opportunity.
Courts are given broad powers to remedy violations of title III of the Civil Right of 1964 including the authority to assess civil penalties against those who violate its provisions. These include individual preventive and injunctive relief.
imports to Title III the remedies and procedures from Section 204 (A) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.SC2000a-3(A) and are available to persons who are being discriminated against on the basic of their disability of who have reasonable grounds to believe that they are the subjects of discrimination. Under this section, one need not actually suffer before seeking redress if it is clear that a person or organization covered by Title III does not intend to comply with its provisions. Section 204 (A) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 allows a civil action for "preventive relief" which may include an application for temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunctive relief. The Attorney General may intervene in cases of public importance brought by private parties.
'The presence of street people, often referred to as homeless people, is a major issue in Downtown Richmond, as it is in cities everywhere. Street people and the homeless are disproportionately concentrated Downtown as compared to the rest of the City and the region. This is understandable considering that an intricate mix of governmental and institutional services to aid people is located Downtown. Although this concentration of services maybe an efficient means of providing assistance to the homeless, it has an effort on the image of downtown. Places with an abundance of people loitering or aimlessly inhabiting the streets are perceived as potentially confrontational and unsafe. Such an environment is a tangible impediment to the majority of other people wanting to live, work, or visit Downtown.
This petition was prepared by an ASWAN Co-Convener John M. Felts.
As of this update, hundreds of homeless people in the downtown area has signed this petition. The signatories of this petition will be turned over at Richmond City Council Meeting at 6 pm, on March 26, 2001.