HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Resolution 2023-278
C ITY OF P LYMOUTH
R ESOLUTION N O. 2023-278
R ESOLUTION A PPROVING P ARTICIPATION IN THE J UST D EEDS C OALITION
WHEREAS, discriminatory covenants were tools used by real estate developers to prevent Black,
Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and non-Christian individuals from buying or occupying property in
certain areas, and they were common throughout the United States from the early 1900s to the 1960s; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of discriminatory covenants was to racially and religiously homogenize
communities by excluding BIPOC and non-Christian individuals. These tools segregated the metro area and
built a hidden system of prejudice; and
WHEREAS, properties with racial covenants were classified, without basis, as more desirable by the
Federal Housing Authority and Home Ownership Loan Corporation, resulting in more favorable mortgage
rates and more public and private investment; and
WHEREAS, in 2016, the University of Minnesota founded Mapping Prejudice to expose the racist
practices that shaped the landscape of the metro area. Mapping Prejudice researched restrictive covenants
in Hennepin County and created the first-ever comprehensive map of racial covenants in an American city.
The project mapped 24,131 covenants in Hennepin County, including 245 covenants in Plymouth; and
WHEREAS, in 2019, the Minnesota Legislature passed a law authorizing property owners to
individually discharge or renounce discriminatory covenants by recording a discharge form in the county
property records; and
WHEREAS, The City of Plymouth recognizes the harm that discriminatory covenants promoted and
established residential racial segregation, which historically and currently has impacted property ownership,
accumulation of wealth, property transfers, mortgage eligibility, rental eligibility, property values, property
tax base, internet access, and more. Discriminatory covenants fortified systemic racism and compounded
economic divestment in specific communities within Hennepin County; and
WHEREAS, the Just Deeds Coalition provides free legal and title services to help property owners find
discriminatory covenants and discharge them from their property titles, and provides education
opportunities to help communities acknowledge this racist history and pursue reconciliation and anti-racist
solutions; and
WHEREAS, the City of Plymouth joins the Just Deeds Project as a member organization to provide
free legal and title services to help Plymouth property owners find discriminatory covenants and discharge
them from their property titles; and
WHEREAS, the City of Plymouth will participate in the work of the Just Deeds Coalition to educate the
community about this and other historically discriminatory practices; to identify contemporary discriminatory
systems, policies and practices; and to take action in dismantling racist systems, practices and policies, in
accordance with the city’s strategic priority of being a city of choice, committed to offering high-quality, cost-
effective, equitable and inclusive policies and service operations.
Resolution 2023-278
Page 2
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PLYMOUTH,
MINNESOTA that participating in the Just Deeds Coalition is approved.
APPROVED by the City Council on this 24th day of October, 2023.