RIVERSIDE, Calif. — The California Civil Rights Department has opened an investigation into the City of Riverside following a discrimination complaint filed by the ACLU of Southern California after the city rejected funding for a proposed affordable housing project, according to ACLU Southern California Senior Staff Attorney Kath Rogers.
Rogers stated the City of Riverside has been under investigation by the California Civil Rights Department since Monday after the ACLU of Southern California filed the discrimination complaint seeking further action following the rejection of the proposed Quality Inn affordable housing project.
According to Rogers, the complaint alleges “the city violated anti-discrimination laws when it voted in February to reject a $20.1 million state HomeKey+ grant that would have created permanent affordable housing.” She added the project would have created new opportunities for disadvantaged communities by providing essential services, support networks and economic opportunities.
Rogers outlined that the Quality Inn project would have expanded into “114 units of permanent supportive housing with long-term affordability and services for veterans and individuals with disabilities.” Annually, the CRD handles multiple complaints and selects only a few for further investigation. According to Rogers, the high priority given to the complaint reflected the significance of the issues raised.
Any Riverside resident is protected by law and deserves economic stability, Rogers stated through the ACLU. She wrote that rejecting funding that would have provided new opportunities for marginalized groups does not reflect the treatment those communities deserve.
Riverside is one of many California communities facing a shortage of affordable housing, according to Rogers. She reported that “access to stable housing is directly tied to health and survival. Last year alone in Riverside County, 140 people died while unhoused.”
Members of the Riverside City Council made biased comments about the funding project and projected stereotypes onto potential future residents who would live in the community, violating anti-discrimination laws, according to Rogers. She elaborated that the complaint includes claims that “the council’s action disproportionately and negatively impacts individuals with disabilities who would benefit from permanent supportive housing.”
Advocates for the 114-unit Quality Inn project argued it would have opened doors for vulnerable populations by expanding access to quality services. Rogers noted the project would have complied with the city mandate to “integrate low-income residents with disabilities.” She added that the project “would have been located in a high-resource area near transit, businesses, shops, and residential neighborhoods.”
Public comments from advocates and supporters of the complaint stated that city leaders rejected the affordable housing proposal despite hearing opposition from community members who supported the project and opposed the stereotyping of potential future residents. Public Interest Law Project attorney Ugochi Anabere-Nicholson stated that “we are pleased that the California Civil Rights Department is investigating the city’s actions.”
She added that discrimination is not tolerated because it violates laws designed to prevent the exclusion of communities, particularly people with disabilities and those who are unhoused.
Inland Equity Community Land Trust’s Maribel Nunez concluded by saying the community would benefit from the expansion of the Quality Inn project and the addition of new residents. She described the negative impact the rejection of the project had on the community and asked, “If this project was not good enough for some of our council members, what affordable housing project will be?”
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