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<br /> <br />MEMORANDUM <br /> <br /> <br />To: Saint Anthony Village City Council <br />From: Charlie Yunker, City Manager <br />Date: August 10, 2021 City Council Work Session <br />Request: Just Deeds Project Participation <br /> <br /> <br />BACKGROUND <br />The Just Deeds project is a coalition of organizations whose mission is to acknowledge, educate, and work to <br />address systemic racism in housing in Minnesota. Coalition members provide free assistance to homeowners to <br />discharge discriminatory covenants from property titles. <br />Racial or discriminatory covenants were a common tool used from the early 1900s until the 1960s to prevent <br />Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), and non-Christians from buying property and living in residential <br />neighborhoods across the country. While deemed illegal in 1968, this discriminatory practice had a far-reaching <br />impact on the development of the Twin Cities and communities of color, resulting in racially segregation and <br />creating severe inequities still present today. <br />The Mapping Prejudice Project, a map of the racial covenants that exist in in the region identifies about 400 <br />parcels in the City that contain some form of racial covenant on the property deed. Joining the Just Deeds <br />Project will offer residents assistance in renouncing these covenants on their property. <br />City staff is asked to accept the applications from property owners and verify that the address has a restrictive <br />covenant. The process staff will follow is listed below: <br />1. Application is received by Saint Anthony staff <br />2. Staff checks the address on the application to the Mapping Prejudice map <br />a. If the property is identified on the Mapping Prejudice map, the application is passed along to Just <br />Deeds staff to work with the property owner <br />b. If the address is not identified on the map, the property owner will be advised to contact a title <br />company to check for restrictive covenants <br />i. If the title company finds a covenant in the property’s title history, staff will pass along to Just <br />Deeds staff to work with the property owner <br /> <br />NEXT STEPS <br />If directed by the council, staff will present a resolution (draft attached) for formal approval of participation at a <br />regular City Council meeting and work with Just Deeds Project staff to implement. Staff will include information <br />on the resources available in the City’s subsequent newsletter, through social media channels and on the City <br />website, along with an application form.