Cities Use Zoning, Housing Code To Define Social Norms

A city does not consider an unmarried couple and their children a family and denies them an occupancy permit.

1 minute read

May 23, 2006, 2:00 PM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech

"[Black Jack, MO,] city leaders have ruled that because the couple [Olivia Shelltrack and Fondray Loving] are not married, they and their children don't belong [under the city's] law prohibiting more than three people from living together in the same house if they are unrelated by blood, marriage or adoption...The debate over how to define "family" has become increasingly heated after decades of changing social norms. And a growing number of urban and suburban communities are putting their foot down and turning to housing and zoning laws to say what is -- and isn't -- a family."

"...Joan Kelly Horn and her partner, Terrence Jones, were living in the St. Louis suburb of Ladue when a police officer knocked on their front door and demanded to see a marriage certificate."

"The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has launched an investigation into whether the city ordinance violates federal fair housing laws."

FULL STORY: Housing Code Defines What Makes a Family

Sunday, May 21, 2006 in The Los Angeles Times

Housing Social / Demographics Missouri

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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