HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 9950RESOLUTION NO. 9950
CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW
COUNTY OF RAMSEY
STATE OF MINNESOTA
RESOLUTION CONDEMNING THE USE OF DISCRIMINATORY COVENANTS,
DISCHARGING DISCRIMINATORY COVENANTS ON CITY-OWNED
PROPERTY AND SUPPORTING THE MAPPING PREJUDICE PROJECT
WHEREAS, discriminatory covenants were tools used by real estate developers to prevent
Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and non-Christian individuals from buying or
occupying property in certain areas, and they were common throughout the United States from
the early 1900s to the 1960s; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of discriminatory covenants was to racially and religiously
homogenize communities by excluding BIPOC and non-Christian individuals from Mounds
View. These tools segregated the metro area and built a hidden system of apartheid; and
WHEREAS, in 2016, the University of Minnesota founded Mapping Prejudice to expose the
racist practices that shaped the landscape of the metro area. Mapping Prejudice researched
restrictive covenants, first in Minneapolis and later in Ramsey County and created the first-ever
comprehensive map of racial covenants in an American city. The project mapped 5,400
covenants in Ramsey County, including 531 covenants in Mounds View; and
WHEREAS, restrictive covenants are no longer enforceable. Legal efforts to eliminate
Discriminatory Covenants include Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1 (1948), in which the United
States Supreme Court prohibited courts from enforcing Discriminatory Covenants and the
Minnesota legislature in 1953 enacted statutes that prohibited new covenants, but existing
covenants were still legal in Minnesota until 1962; and
WHEREAS, as a result of these judicial and legislative actions, today, Minnesota law and
federal law prohibit discrimination in the sale or lease of housing based on race, color, creed,
religion, national origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, disability,
sexual orientation, or familial status and those state and federal prohibitions extend to the
refusal to sell or to circulate, post or cause to be printed, circulated, or posted, any limitation,
specification, or discrimination as to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, marital
status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation, or familial status;
and
WHEREAS, in 2019, the Minnesota Legislature passed a law authorizing property owners to
individually discharge or renounce discriminatory covenants by recording a discharge form in
the county property records; and
The Mounds View Vision
A Thriving Desirable Community
Resolution 9950
Page Two
WHEREAS, the Mapping Prejudice online map and accompanying "pop-up" data details the
date the covenant was placed on the deed, document number, and legal description of the
property which enables the property owner to complete the Discharge of Racial Covenants
Form 40.10.01 and upon having the form notarized, property owners are able to submit to the
Ramsey County Recorder's office; who are waiving the $46 filing fee; and
WHEREAS, the City of Mounds View owns six pieces of land that contain a discriminatory
covenant and has filed the property paperwork to discharge these covenants; and
WHEREAS, the State of Minnesota, including the City of Mounds View, recognizes the harm
that Discriminatory Covenants —and the racial, religious, and other discriminatory practices
that they represent —cause to society in general and to the individuals who are adversely
affected by racial, religious, and other discrimination through the presence of discriminatory
covenants in the public land records.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Mounds View City Council that the City of
Mounds View disavows and condemns the past use of discriminatory covenants and prohibits
discriminatory covenants from being used in the future
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that City staff is directed to participate in the work of the
Mapping Prejudice Project and the Just Deeds Coalition to educate the community about this
and other historically discriminatory practices; to identify contemporary discriminatory systems,
policies, and practices; and to take action to dismantling racist systems, practices, and policies
in the City of Mounds View to create equity for all.
BE IF FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Mounds View applauds the substantive body of
work done by the Mapping Prejudice Project, the criticality of this work, and as a gesture of
support to continue this effort, authorize staff to utilize/expend $1,000 from the Charitable
Gambling Fund to the Mapping Prejudice Project.
Adopted this 8th day of July, 2024.
ATTEST:
(SEAL)
61)611 h
N e Zik un , ity Administrator
The Mounds Vies% Vision
A Thrivin- Desirahle Comnutnil.v