Black Jack rescinds housing regulation [FONT class=byLine][FONT color=#211c1c size=1]
By [/FONT][A class=storyByline href="mailto:
[email protected]"]
[FONT color=#900000]Norm Parish[/FONT][/A][/FONT]
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ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH[/FONT]
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Tuesday, Aug. 15 2006[/FONT]
BLACK JACKFondray Loving, Olivia Shelltrack and their three children are now considered a
family by Black Jack officials.
The City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday night to change the ordinance that
had prevented the unmarried couple from obtaining an occupancy permit for their
five-bedroom home, bringing national attention to the north St. Louis County
suburb.
"This is just great for our family and other families," Shelltrack said after
the vote. "I just hope this brings comfort to families who had to go through
what we did, even if they no longer live in the city. There is just some relief
now."
The ordinance had prohibited more than three people from living together in
single-family housing unless they are related by "blood, marriage, or
adoption." Loving is the biological father of two of the children.
The revision extends the definition of a family to include unrelated people and
the children of both or either person who live together as a single
housekeeping unit. The amendment would make the family eligible for an
occupancy permit, city officials said.
Mayor Norman McCourt said in a statement at the end of the meeting: "One of the
benefits of tonight's action is that it will eliminate any problems families
who are affected by this change could have with the Hazelwood School District.
"Many of the good reasons for a housing code have been lost in the debate about
the definition of the word family in the code and in the city's zoning
ordinance."
McCourt added: "Maintaining the quality of the city's housing stock, and
preventing overcrowding and misuse of residences is an important function of
the housing code."
He cited recent incidents of residential crowding, including a fire in the
Missouri Bootheel region Aug. 10 that killed five children in a house where 18
people were sleeping.
The Fondray-Loving family, which was first denied an occupancy permit in
January, has continued to live in the home throughout its battle with the city.
The family could have been fined as much as $500 a day, but Black Jack
officials have not filed a complaint against the family because the city was
waiting for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to complete an
investigation of Black Jack housing laws.
The family filed a lawsuit against the city last week alleging federal and
state civil rights violations and claiming that the city had violated the Fair
Housing Act.
Gerald Greiman, a lawyer for the family, said he was happy that the city
changed the ordinance. But he said he was still reviewing the changes to decide
whether the lawsuit would be dropped.
McCourt was a proponent of the change. In the past, he has insisted the city
ordinance had nothing to do with morality but was intended to prevent crowding.
City documents have contradicted that position, including a note from McCourt
in an unrelated case. McCourt wrote in 1999 that Black Jack officials and
residents "do not believe that an unmarried couple having children residing in
our community is an appropriate standard that they wish to approve" in a letter
addressed to the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of
Eastern Missouri, which defended the couple.
In May, the City Council voted 5-3 to reject a recommendation from the city's
Planning and Zoning Commission to remove the restriction.
[img style="FONT-SIZE: 12px" height=215 alt="" src="vny!://images.stltoday.com/stltoday/resources/jack16flash.jpg" width=315 border=0 size="1"]
[FONT size=3][FONT class=search style="FONT-SIZE: 10px"]FILE PHOTO: Olivia Shelltrack and her partner Fondray Loving[/FONT]
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