By Lookout Staff

April 11 -- In an effort to build awareness of housing laws and help eliminate housing discrimination in Santa Monica, the City Attorney’s office is launching a comprehensive campaign this month.

The effort marking National Fair Housing Month includes a City Council proclamation approved Tuesday night that recognizes the value of fair housing laws and an open community.

The campaign also includes a poster contest, an ad campaign and a seminar, according to the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Consumer Protection Unit.

A Fair Housing seminar co-sponsored by the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA) and the City’s Consumer Protection Unit will explain federal and state fair housing laws that prohibit housing discrimination.

The seminar also will discuss such issues as families with children, reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities and alternatives to litigation such as mediation and the administrative complaint process, City officials said.

“Fair housing for all is a practice vigorously pursued by AAGLA,” said Lainy Parry, an AAGLA Board member and Santa Monica resident. “Everyone deserves a fair shot at getting an apartment, and AAGLA takes pride in promoting equal opportunity.”

“This cooperative venture between AAGLA and the City of Santa Monica is too rare and should be the beginning of good things to come, as there is much more common ground for future projects.”

Adam Radinsky, who heads the Consumer Protection Unit, agreed.

“The venture with AAGLA is a great example of a new bridge being built when two groups sit down to discuss a mutually important topic.”

All landlords, property managers, advocates, attorneys, social service providers and interested tenants are invited to attend the free seminar April 26 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Santa Monica Library.

To help mark Fair Housing month -- which marks the 39th anniversary of Congress passing and President Johnson signing the Fair Housing Act of 1968 -- elementary students from across Santa Monica participated in the Consumer Unit’s annual Fair Housing Poster Contest.

Nine posters featuring the 2007 theme “Fair Housing Builds Bridges” will be displayed in the lobby of City Hall during the week of April 23. Some of the posters will also be published as calendars for 2008 and will be part of the City’s fair housing ad campaign.

As part of the ad campaign, the City will place community awareness advertisements in local newspapers and posters in all of the City’s Big Blue Buses. This is the first time the City has utilized the display ad space in the buses for consumer-oriented awareness messages.

The federal Fair Housing Act, including its amendments in 1988, prohibits housing discrimination that is based on race, religion, national origin, gender, or disability.

The federal laws also protect families with children. California’s own Fair Employment and Housing Act adds additional categories for which discrimination is prohibited, including ancestry and sexual orientation.

The City’s Consumer Protection Unit investigates and prosecutes violations of the fair housing laws in Santa Monica. For more information or to report a complaint, visit www.smconsumer.org or call 310-458-8336.

For more information and to register for the seminar visit the Web site or call 310-458-8345 with any questions.