Agenda Summary2007 Equal Opportunity - Cultural Diversity Committee National Association of REALTORS® 2007 REALTORS® Conference & Expo The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino Palazzo Op, Level 5 Tuesday, November 13, 2007 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Chair: Bonnie Casper, Cincinnati, OH Vice Chair: John Yen Wong, San Francisco, CA Committee Liaison: Kay Watson, Centennial, CO Committee Executive: Kyle Lambert London, Washington, Fred Underwood, Washington, DCI. Call To OrderOwnership Disclosure and Conflict of Interest Policy1. When NAR has an ownership interest in an entity and a member has an ownership interest* in that same entity, such member must disclose the existence of his or her ownership interest prior to speaking to a decision making body on any matter involving that entity.
2. If a member has personal knowledge that NAR is considering doing business with an entity in which a member has any financial interest**, or with an entity in which the member serves in a decision-making capacity*, or wit, then such member must disclose the existence of his or her financial interest or decision making role prior to speaking to a decision making body about the entity.
3. If a member has a financial interest in, or serves in a decision-making capacity for, any entity that the member knows is offering competing products and services as those offered by NAR, then such member must disclose the existence of his or her financial interest or decision-making role prior to speaking to a decision making body about an issue involving those competing products and services.
After making the necessary disclosure, a member may participate in the discussion and vote on the matter unless that member has a conflict of interest as defined below.
Conflict of Interest Policy
A member of any of NAR’s decision making bodies will be considered to have a conflict of interest whenever that member:
1. Is a principal, partner or corporate officer of a business providing products or services to NAR or in a business being considered as a provider of products or services (“Business:); or
2. Holds a seat on the board of directors of the Business unless the person’s only relationship to the Business is service on such board of directors as NAR’s representative; or
3. Holds an ownership interest of more than 1 percent of the Business.
Members with a conflict of interest must immediatelydisclose their interest at the outset of any discussions by a decision making body pertaining to the Business or any of its products or services. Such members may not participate in the discussion relating to that Business other than to respond to questions asked of them by other members of the body. Furthermore, no member with a conflict of interest may vote on any matter in which the member has a conflict of interest, including votes to block or alter the actions of the body in order to benefit the Business in which they have an interest. ________________________________________ *Ownership interest is defined as the cumulative holdings of the member, the member’s spouse, children, siblings and to any trust, corporation or partnership inwhich any of the foregoing individuals is an officer or director, or owns, in the aggregate, at least 50% of the (a) beneficial interest (if a trust), (b) stock (if a corporation) or (c) partnership interests (if a partnership).
**Financial interest means any interest involving money, investments, credit or contractual rights.II. Approval of Previous Meeting's MinutesIII. NAR Fellowships with the CBCF, CHCI, APAICS
Fellowships with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI, and the Asian Pacific Institute of Congressional Studies (APAICS)
The Diversity Program budget has funds designated for sponsoring real estate policy and program fellowships at the CBCF, CHCI and APAICS. NAR will cover the expenses and stipend for one graduate level fellow at each of the three foundations/institutes for three years. Each fellowship will last about nine months each year beginning in 2008. The anticipated annual cost of each fellowship expenses and stipends is $50,000 to $60,000.
Fellows will be selected by each Caucus foundation/institute and NAR will participate in the selection process. Fellows will be supervised and placed by each caucus foundation/institute in Congressional and administrative offices. The fellows will develop policy research, background papers, policy proposals, program analysis, and other materials focused on real estate policy and program issues.
Potential benefits to NAR - Good will generated among the Caucus Institute or Foundation and its Caucus members. - Increased knowledge of real estate among policy makers in Congressional and Administration offices. - Opportunities for REALTORS® and REALTOR® Association staff interested in federal policy and programmingto apply for and obtain a fellowship. - Good will that state and local associations can develop good will in their local communities and with local educational institutions as they promote the fellowships. - Recognition in Washington among the housing and real estate community and among policy makers of NAR’s contributions to high quality studies of real estate issues. - New perspectives and ideas that the fellows will bring to NAR’s policy staff to supplement NAR’s existing work.
Options for discussion - Should NAR seek preference (in the selection of fellows) for REALTORS®, applicants with real estate experience, or which a major in real estate related fields of study? - Should NAR seek to workclosely with NAREB, NAHREP and AREAA in this effort? - Should NAR seek to name these fellows? If so, should the name include NAR or should we seek to identify prominent community leaders or REALTORS® in the names?
Advisory Group Should the Equal Opportunity Cultural Diversity Committee form an advisory group of committee members or others (such as Federal Political Coordinators for members of the Congressional Black, Hispanic or Asian Pacific Caucuses) to advise staff on the development of the fellowships, assist with promoting the fellowships and evaluating applicants, and serving as resources for the fellows selected by the caucuses?IV. At Home with Diversity update V. Commemoration ofthe 40th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act
VI. Report on Activities with NAREB, NAHREP and AREAA
VII. Policy Discussion - Visitable HousingThe Equal Opportunity Cultural Diversity Committee recommended policy at the 2007 Midyear meetings that NAR support the concept of visitable housing. This recommendation was referred back to committeeby the Board of Directors to allow time for a Working Group comprised of members of the following Committees and Advisory Boards in the development of NAR policy:
Conventional Lending and Finance Federal Housing Policy Federal Taxation Housing Needs Housing Opportunities Advisory Board Land Use, Property Rights and Environment REALTORS® Commercial Alliance Smart Growth Advisory Board State and Local Issues
The Working Group met twice, inJuly and October to develop its recommendation. Input was received from homebuilders, members of the accessibility community, and local government officials. NAR also provided some research on desired home features of recent homebuyers.
Issue Background Visitable housing is housing in which someone can host a guest who has mobility impairments. Often people with mobility impairments are limited from access by stairs, hallways and doors that are too narrow for a wheelchair, or lack of a useable bathroom. Visitability does not mean accessibility as defined in the Fair Housing Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act. Accessibility refers to the ability of someone with mobility impairments to live in the home. Visitability is limited to those features needed to accommodate a guest. Generally visitability involves a no-step entrance into one level of a home, passage doorways at least 32” wide, and access to a bathroom toilet and sink, all on the level with a no-step entrance. Some visitability ordinances also require that environmental controls such as light switches, electric outlets and thermostats be at an accessible level.
Several communities and states have begun to encourage or require that new single family housing bebuilt as visitable. The approaches differ from location to location and mandatory visitability often includes exceptions where visitability would be impractical, such as in highly sloped terrain.
Advocates for Visitability maintain that many people have family members or friends who are mobility impaired and therefore the benefits of visitability extend far beyond the population with disabilities. They also state that the costs to make houses visitable is far less at the time of construction than it is as a modification after construction is complete.
Homebuilders and others point out that the costs can vary significantly based on terrain, requirements for foundations and raised structures (such as in flood plain areas), historicalpreservation, small lot size or square footage, etc. Costs include the need to redraw plans, the loss of square footage in a unit, and the additional material needed to make houses visitable. In addition, there are those who argue that private property rights should prohibit any mandatory standards, leaving those choices to the discretion of the homeowner.
Existing NAR Policy NAR has no policy on visitable housing, however existing policy in three areas impacts visitable housing. NAR strongly endorses private property rights. NAR opposes undue regulatory burdens that increase the costs of housing. NAR supports equal housing opportunity without discrimination on the basis of disability. Additionally, NAR devotes significant resources to increase housing opportunities and the supply of affordable housing.
The rights of people with disabilities to live where they want are a key part of NAR’s support for equal opportunity. NAR supported both the passage of the 1988 Fair Housing Act Amendments and the Americans with Disabilities Act. These laws do provide for new construction in multi-unit housing and in places of public accommodation, generally commercial real estate, to be built to federal accessibility standards. These requirements do not extend to single family housing. Proposed Policy Recommendation That NAR believes that visitability, the ability to host visitors with mobility impairments, can be important in homes.
That NAR believes that any visitability policy should be defined as voluntary. Further, NAR believes that the market is the best mechanism to produce visitable housing and opposes any federal visitability mandates.
For the purposes of this policy, the key features of visitability apply to one level of the home. These are a no-step entry, passage doorways that provide at least 32” clearance, and a minimum of a useable half bathroom with a sink and water closet.That NAR educate its members about the concept of visitable housing.
That NAR become a resource on visitable housing, compile best practices and examples of local and state building codes and make this information available to state and local associations. Rationale Certain features of a home can be designed to make it possible for people with mobility impairments to visit the homes of others. This can be important not only to the person with the mobility impairment but also to others that person interacts with. These features are distinguished from those that allow a person with mobility impairments to live in a home. Generally, in order to visit a home, someone needs to get into the home, move about a portion of the home and have access to a toilet and sink while visiting. Visitors generally do not need access to all rooms in a home, nor do they need accessible features in kitchens or access to environmental controls such as thermostats.
The rights of property owners, particularly homeowners, to choose the design of their homes are a cornerstone of private property rights. Individual homeowners make many decisions regarding the design of their homes and takemultiple factors into account when purchasing or designing homes. Requiring houses to be visitable could impact the visual appeal of a home, the layout and flow of the rooms, increase costs and take space away from other uses. However, for some these visitable features could also add appeal and make the homes more usable.
Regulatory burdens often add to the cost of housing. In the case of visitability, there is no agreement on the costs of the basic visitability features. Some communities andhomebuilders can document minimal costs, in the range of $500 to $1000. However, in other communities existing code requirements or property conditions could add significantly to the costs. Federal requirements are more difficult to apply to unique localconditions. Land use issues, particularly building codes, which protect health and safety, are a local issue.
Since there are communities where homes can be made visitable with minimal cost impacts and some home designs can make visitable features an attractive part of the design, educating REALTORS® about visitable home design will result in more visitable home being built and marketed on a voluntary basis. As communities debate changes to their local land use laws and building codes, being a resource to state and local associations, with examples of various state and local laws, will better position REALTORS® and associations addressing proposed local legislation and regulation.VII. Discussion and approval of DiversityInitiative Grants
