HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 2021-43 Just Deeds
RESOLUTION NO. 2021-43
RESOLUTION CONDEMNING THE USE OF DISCRIMINATORY COVENANTS,
DISCHARGING DISCRIMINATORY COVENANTS ON CITY-OWNED PROPERTY,
AND APPROVING PARTICIPATION IN THE JUST DEEDS COALITION
WHEREAS, discriminatory covenants were tools used by real estate developers to prevent
Black, Indigenous, 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 explicitly exclude BIPOC and
non-Christian individuals from living in Edina. These tools created segregation in the metro area; 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 in Hennepin County and created the first-ever comprehensive map of racial covenants in an
American county. The project mapped 24,131 covenants in Hennepin County, including over 2,800
covenants on residential properties in Edina and 52 City-owned properties; and
WHEREAS, an example of a common covenant in Edina declared that “No lot shall ever be
sold, conveyed, leased or rented to any person other than of the white or Caucasian race, nor shall any
lot ever be used or occupied by any person other than one of the white or Caucasian race”; and
WHEREAS, the City of Edina owns 52 parcels of land that contain a discriminatory covenant,
including parcels located in Yancey Park, Pamela Park, Rosland Park, Wooddale Park, Normandale Park
and Grandview area; 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. 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
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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
WHEREAS, Edina acknowledges the use and approval of restrictive covenants within the City
to prohibit BIPOC and non-Christian persons from living in Edina is key example of systemic racism in
practice, and the effects are still visible today; and
WHEREAS, discriminatory covenants promoted and established residential racial segregation,
which historically and currently has impacted property ownership, accumulation of generational wealth,
property transfers, mortgage eligibility, rental eligibility, property values, property tax base, internet
access, access to quality education, and more. Discriminatory covenants fortified systemic racism and
compounded economic divestment in specific communities within Hennepin County; and
WHEREAS, discriminatory covenants created demographic patterns that remain in place
today. Due in part to this historical practice, the population of the City of Edina is less racially diverse
than the populations of Hennepin County and the state of Minnesota; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, the Just Deeds project was launched to provide educational
opportunities for Minnesota communities about the racist history of discriminatory covenants and to
provide free legal and titles services to help residents find discriminatory covenants and acknowledge
this practice through discharge of the covenants; and
WHEREAS, the City of Edina desires to participate in this project in collaboration with its
residents.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Edina that:
1. The City of Edina, recognizes the lasting 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.
2. The City of Edina renounces and condemns the past use of discriminatory covenants and prohibits
discriminatory covenants from being used in Edina in the future. The City of Edina commits to exploring
and acknowledging its history as it relates to the imposition of discriminatory covenants in Edina and its
role in sanctioning or approving such practices.
3. The City Attorney is directed to investigate and to identify any real property owned or leased by the
City that contains discriminatory covenants and to prepare and record an affidavit or request an
examiner’s directive discharging such discriminatory covenants pursuant to Minnesota Statute § 507.18,
subd. 5.
4. City staff is directed to participate in the work of the Just Deeds Coalition to educate the community
about this and other historically discriminatory practices; to review city code and ordinances with a lens
towards racial equity; to identify contemporary discriminatory systems, policies, and practices; and to
take action to dismantling racist systems, practices, and policies in the City of Edina to create equity for
all.
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Dated: June 1, 2021
Attest: ___________________________ _____________________________
Sharon Allison, City Clerk James B. Hovland, Mayor
STATE OF MINNESOTA )
COUNTY OF HENNEPIN )SS
CITY OF EDINA )
CERTIFICATE OF CITY CLERK
I, the undersigned duly appointed and acting City Clerk for the City of Edina do hereby certify that the
attached and foregoing Resolution was duly adopted by the Edina City Council at its regular meeting of
June 1, 2021, and as recorded in the Minutes of said Meeting.
WITNESS my hand and seal of said City this ______ day of __________, 20___.
_______________________________
City Clerk