FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CR

THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1998                                                                                                                               (202) 616-2765

                                                                                                                                                                                  TDD (202) 514-1888




SOUTH PRAIRIE HOUSING PROVIDER SETTLES SUIT ALLEGING 
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN




	WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Tacoma, Washington housing provider will
no longer discriminate against families with children at its mobile
home park, under a settlement today announced by the Justice
Department. 

	The settlement, filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma,
resolves claims that the South Prairie Creek R.V. Park violated the
federal Fair Housing Act by discriminating against five families
with children.  

	"Discrimination against families with children is illegal,"
said Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil
Rights.  "Parents seeking homes for themselves and their children
should not have to face this kind of treatment."  	

	The families and the government alleged in their lawsuits that
the owner of the Park reserved more desirable parts of the Park for
adults only, limited where children could play and retaliated
against families who would complain to city officials about the
Park.

 	The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based
on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap and
families with children. 

	In addition to compensating the five families and others found
to be victims of the alleged discrimination, the owner of the Park
has agreed to take several actions designed to insure that the Park
will not discriminate against its residents.

	Under the agreement, the owner of the Park will:

		attend fair housing training by the South Puget Sound
Fair Housing Center;




		pay $55,000 in damages and attorney fees to the five
families, and a $3,000 civil penalty to the government;
and,

	

		establish a fund of $10,000 to compensate other families
who are identified as having been discriminated against.




	"The Fair Housing Act guarantees families in Washington and
elsewhere in this country the right to live in housing of their
choice free from discrimination," added Katrina C. Pflaumer, U.S.
Attorney in Seattle.  "This action vindicates that right on behalf
of residents and prospective residents who were harmed by the
discriminatory policies of the South Prairie Creek RV Park." 	Families w
ith children who believe that they were victims of
housing discrimination at the South Prairie Creek R.V. Park should
call the Housing Section of the Civil Rights Division of the
Justice Department at (800) 896-7743. 

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