IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Victorville and Apple Valley are surveying their residents to determine how much, if any, housing discrimination exists in their respective communities.
The survey, which is being conducted online and in handwritten form, began about two weeks ago and is scheduled to finish in late July, said Liliana Collins, management specialist with the Victorville Economic Development Department.
The results will be sent to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which will determine if the cities are complying with the Fair Housing Act of 1968. That legislation bans discrimination in housing based on several factors, including race, color, national origin, religion and family status.
HUD officials will then decide if the cities are eligible for community development block grant funds, which municipalities typically use for anti-poverty programs and to build affordable housing, among other projects.
Collins called the block grant funds “very important,” saying Victorville uses them to help the homeless as well as victims of domestic and sexual abuse.
This year’s survey is more detailed than in the past because the Obama Administration has expanded the definition of housing discrimination, Collins said.
Temecula and Cathedral City are conducting similar surveys, the only other Inland Empire cities required by law to do so this year.
Twenty two of the approximately 200 jurisdictions nationwide that receive community development block grant funding are required to conduct their housing discrimination inquiries this year, Collins said.
