Mayor Herenton proposes a City of Memphis Fair Housing Ordinance The new local law will impact people with disabilities Robert Lipscomb and Willie Herenton release the Mayor's Fair Housing Task Force Report The proposed City of Memphis Fair Housing Ordinance sounds like similar federal and state laws protecting citizens from discrimination in housing because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familiar status and disability. However, the Memphis law goes further and includes protection from discrimination because of a person's source of income. Apartment managers may evaluate each perspective tenants ability to pay; unfortunately some mangers have turned tenants away because the source of income reveals a potential disability. A tenant that receives Social Security or Social Security Disability Income will have protection from discrimination because of their source of income. The ordinance describes five areas of discrimination that relate to persons with disabilities:   Direct discrimination in the sale or rental. Discriminating in the terms, conditions or privileges. Refusal to permit reasonable modifications. Refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, practices or services. Failure to design and construct newly built covered multi-family units so they are accessible. Robert Lipscomb, the Director of Memphis Housing Authority, said the ordinance will be presented to the City Council in two weeks, around the first of August. Some of the suggestions that were made but not included in the ordinance were a requirement that all city-funded housing be "visitable." The idea is basically that each home would have a no-step entrance and a bathroom door larger than 32 inches. This would allow persons who use wheelchairs to visit friends and family creating more diverse neighborhoods. Webb Brewer of the Memphis Area Legal Services  Another overlooked idea was an enforcement provision on Waiting Lists. Many subsidized housing properties keep waiting lists, however, persons that work with these entities know that the waiting lists are often poorly managed. Many properties will tell prospective tenants that there is a three-year waiting list (some as high as nine years), however; persistent calls may land the renter an apartment in a couple on months. Although federal regulations should shape the waiting-list process, there is no local enforcement that can verify the process. Properties have an incentive to rent to people who can move in soon rather than contacting individuals that may not be financially ready to rent at a moments notice.  Before any one asks for the City Council to support this ordinance it is critical that they drop the term "handicap" from the draft ordinance. The ordinance is very inconsistent with the use of disability and handicap. The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 uses the term handicap and often people in the field of fair housing do not make the switch to the term "disability" that most have done since the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. - Tim Wheat