Manassas, Va: New city laws allows only immediate family in household

[rainbow4321]

Found this article referred to in my local paper:

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-va--familyhousingrest0101jan01,0,2269938.story?coll=dp-headlines-virginia

Manassas has passed a new zoning ordinance that restricts who can live together in a household, a measure that overwhelmingly affects the city's growing Latino population and is coming under harsh criticism by civil-liberties advocates.

Under the ordinance, the City Council narrowed the definition of "family" to mean that extended families can't live in a home. The former definition allowed virtually any relatives to live in a single-family house, as long as the total didn't exceed the occupancy limit.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia said that it is "strongly inclined" to challenge the ordinance and is examining its legal vulnerabilities, which, some legal experts say, are many.

"It's hard to describe how many parts of the U.S. Constitution this law actually violates . . . " said Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University. "It interferes with constitutional guarantees regarding contracts (to rent rooms), families, equal protection, even First Amendment issues like freedom of association. ... It's hard to believe any attorney actually reviewed this law."
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The initial article I was reading (city has a large Hispanic/other minority population):

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/DN-fbparking_14wes.ART0.West.Edition2.22d09df7.html

Farmers Branch could limit cars per home

Farmers Branch officials are considering clamping down on the number of cars allowed at the homes of residents. Some officials said the move is in response to complaints about the number of cars parked on residential streets and people who park in front of others' homes.

But the move also is intended to help discourage overcrowding of homes – where there are more people living in a home than national standards say is healthy.

Cities elsewhere also are grappling with overcrowding issues. Manassas, Va., last month adopted a zoning ordinance that redefines family. It essentially restricts households to immediate relatives, according to news reports.

Opponents there called the policy racist, saying it targets mostly immigrant families who share households to cut living expenses.

[FSogol]

1. Old News. Manassas already got rid of this law. n/t

[rainbow4321]

2. Sorry, my bad....

I was going by the TX article that didn't say it was not in place anymore.

[FSogol]

3. No problem. The outcry and a Wash. Post article

made the racist city council cave in pretty quickly. This was really no more than an attempt to drive Hispanics away. If parking and overcrowding are a problem, then enforce the parking laws and stop building more housing. Why hassle home owning working families?

[Autumn Colors]

4. Huh??

So in addition, does this mean that unmarried couples can no longer live together? Gay couples? A couple of college students splitting an apt?

This is ridiculous.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

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[DBoon]

6. Why does the right wing hate capitalism?

I mean violating the right to contract like this!