McLean Discusses Fair Housing

Attorney Joe McLean of Stitzel, Page & Fletcher, P.C., recently participated as a speaker at the Spring Planning and Zoning Forum. The Forum was co-sponsored by the VLCT Municipal Assistance Center and the Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association and held at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, Vermont.

McLean’s talk, entitled “Avoiding Unfair Housing Practices in Local Land Use Regulations and Decisions,” reviewed federal and state fair housing laws, including prohibitions, remedies, and ways in which discriminatory zoning practices potentially violate the law. In particular, McLean focused on disparate impact claims and recent changes in HUD’s regulations that provide a specific standard for establishing liability based on a practice’s discriminatory effect. An outline from McLean’s talk is available on the VLCT website.

For further information regarding the relationship between zoning and the Fair Housing Act, please contact Joe at jmclean@firmspf.com.