Call to Action: Source of Income Ban in KCMO Ordinance #231019

Take action on Kansas City Missouri Ordinance #231019 the Source of Income Discrimination Ban

AGENDA
Special Committee for Legal Review

Chairperson Quinton Lucas
Vice Chair Melissa Robinson
Council Member Andrea Bough

Agenda Agenda Packet

Tuesday, December 12th, 2023 1:00 PM 26th Floor, Council Chamber
414 E 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri
Parking on Oak

PUBLIC OBSERVANCE OF MEETINGS
The public can observe this meeting at the links provided below.
Applicants and citizens wishing to participate have the option of attending in person or
they may attend via Zoom at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85624825067

** Public testimony is limited to 2 minutes **
Also email to public.testimony@kcmo.org.   Subject: Ordinance #231019
it will be added to the public record by the clerk

TAKE ACTION NOW
Send Your Emails – See Details Below
Plan to Attend on Tuesday – In Person or Zoom
Plan Your Testimony
Tell Your Friends (Call- Email – Facebook)

The Ordinance We Oppose is #231019 and is 2nd to Last on Agenda
The Resolution we support #231039 is Last.

Calling all Housing Industry Professionals, Neighborhood Leaders, and Concerned Citizens, Kansas City Missouri is proposing yet another regulation that will further decrease affordable housing in Kansas City Missouri. We urge you to take action to defeat this “Source of Income Discrimination Ban” Ordinance.

Take Action on “Source of Income Discrimination Ban”

If you saw them talk about this ordinance in the media, you would think that this ordinance is only about making housing providers accept Section 8 vouchers. If you visit the posting for Ordinance #231019 on the City Cerk’s Website it states it is about Civil Rights and Health and Safety. But it will have effects in several different areas. Areas that you and the city council need to understand.

Send An Email Today to the City Council

We have a sample letter that you can send as is or edit for your needs and send it out to the City Council. We urge you to open the letter which is in Google Docs, copy the message into your email system, edit it as needed, and then send it to each of the 13 members of the City Council. Do this right now, today.

Make Plans to Testify at the Committee Meeting

The Special Committee for Legal Review meets Tuesday, December 12th at 1 pm at Kansas City Missouri City Hall. You should be able to attend in person and virtually. Please review our talking points. We don’t know how long you will be allowed to speak, so be ready to cover it in 30 seconds, 60 seconds, or 2 minutes. We don’t want to repeat the same issues over and over, so have YOUR unique reason for your point, and be prepared for several points in case your first option has already been addressed.

The meeting is subject to cancelation at the last minute, which means they want to regroup, get a bigger room or review some changes they may want to make. It is also subject to location change at the last minute. Please bookmark this page, we will post any updates or changes HERE as we get them.

  • Address: 414 E 12th St, Kansas City, MO 64106
  • Parking:
  • Zoom Link:
  • Talking Points

Areas of Concern in this Source of Income Discrimination Ban

Reducing Affordable Housing:

For the past 4 years, the city of Kansas City has passed several “Anti-Landlord” ordinances, that are targeting an entire industry because of the ills of society and a very small number of bad actors in the housing industry. With every passed ordinance, local housing providers have sold houses and apartments to out-of-state landlords and hedge funds and taken their investing dollars elsewhere. With every lost local provider, the cost of housing goes up.

Increased Evictions.

Housing providers are held to very strict process for screening renters to make sure they treat every applicant exactly the same as required by Federal Fair Housing Laws. This ordinance wants to change how the strict screening criteria of renters’ income, credit scores, eviction history, alleged damages, criminal records, or arrests are applied. The housing provider utilizes these particular items to make sure the tenant is qualified which helps PREVENT EVICTION and will be a good community member, thus protecting the neighborhood.

Banning Sources of Income Discrimination

And yes, this ordinance would require housing providers to accept Section 8 and other housing vouchers and subsidies that are currently voluntary tax payer-provided benefits. Similar ordinances have been taken to court and found unconstitutional. Plus this applies to not only rental property, but also houses for sale, possibly forcing sellers to accept FHA borrowers for example.

More Productive Ways to Incentivize Section 8 Participation

 Housing providers suggest creating a Landlord Incentive Program, similar to Johnson County, Kansas, to encourage voluntary participation and increase affordable housing units. This is a better alternative to the punitive ordinance, which may reduce affordable housing options in our area.

Councilman Nathan Willett has proposed Resolution #231039, which does this. “RESOLUTION – Directing the City Manager to research and present municipal programmatic opportunities that encourages landlords to participate in housing incentive programs with the goal of offering financial assistance and/or technical assistance to landlords who will rent to families with a federally funded voucher for available units, thus increasing the availability of affordable housing units and the number of vouchers accepted by landlords in Kansas City, Missouri.”