FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1996                          (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888


         HAYWARD, CALIFORNIA TO PAY MORE THAN $94,000 FOR
DISCRIMINATING AGAINST FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A northern California city that forced a
mobile home park to lower rents after the owner let children move
in will pay more than $94,000 in damages under a settlement
reached today with the Justice Department.  
     The settlement resolves a 1991 Justice Department suit that
claimed the City of Hayward violated the Fair Housing Act by
discriminating against families with children.
     Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Deval L. Patrick
said the City began interfering with the owner of the once "adult
only" Eden Roc Mobilehome Park after the owner allowed families
with children to live there.
     According to Patrick, once children were allowed in, the
City ordered the owner, S.G. Borello and Sons, Inc., to reduce
the rent it charged its tenants.  The City reasoned that
admitting families with children constituted a "service
reduction" under its rent control ordinance.
     "This settlement is another step forward in our effort to
open housing to families with children," said Patrick.  "This
case shows it pays for housing providers to comply with the law.
We'll stand by those who try to enforce the law, and prosecute
those who stand in their way."
     In 1992, the U.S. District Court in San Francisco agreed
with the Justice Department's claim that the City should not have
penalized the owner for opening the park to families with
children.  On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit agreed, ordering the City to pay damages to the owner. 
When the city appealed again, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to
hear the case.
     Today's settlement, filed in U.S. District Court in San
Francisco, requires the City of Hayward to pay Borello $94,200 
for the owner's lost rents and the costs Borello incurred in
defending itself from the City's actions.  A court order already
prohibits the City from interpreting its rent control ordinance
in a discriminatory manner in the future.
     The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was amended in 1988 to prohibit
housing discrimination against families with children as well as
the handicapped.  It had already prohibited discrimination on the
basis of race, religion, gender and national origin.
     Last month the Justice Department obtained its largest
settlement in a case alleging discrimination against families
with children.  Under the settlement the owners of six mobile
home parks in California and one in Washington agreed to pay more
than $2 million in damages to families who were discouraged from
living in the parks or forced to live under different rules.
     Individuals who believe they may have been victims of
housing discrimination anywhere in United States should call
either the Housing Section of the Justice Department at (202)
514-4713 or the Department of Housing and Urban Development's
Fair Housing Hotline at 1-800-669-9777.
                              # # #
96-030