For decades the federal department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has been a major player in the implementation and enforcement of Sustainable Development Smart Growth policy that is changing local community development into little more than social engineering.
In 2009, Barack Obama formed the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, which resulted in the merging of the power, overreach, and money of HUD, the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The purpose was to strengthen the power of the federal government to push federal planning initiatives on local communities. Specifically, Obama wanted to force individual communities to adopt the government’s “Livability Principles.” If they refused, they would face loss of grant money from these agencies.
The Livability Principles are the guidelines for communities to destroy existing neighborhoods through Smart Growth, thereby forcing families to live in the dense populations of the stack-em and pack-em high-rise condos. The grants accepted by the communities are the enforcement tools. Take the grant, then prepare a comprehensive plan to match those rules.
HUD’s 2010 “Sustainable Communities Regional Development Grant Program” specifically ordered communities to meet “mandatory outcomes from the creation of the regional plan for sustainable development.” Failure to do so creates a violation of the grant and opens the community to lawsuits for being out of compliance.
In 2015, HUD issued a new 377-page ruling called Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH). The purpose is further enforcement of Smart Growth through social justice standards instead of the rule of law. Affordable Housing has become the new battle cry to oppose free enterprise, property rights, and individual wants and needs in favor of the collective. Property ownership is now called “racism” and “white privilege,” as “community property” replaces private property through Sustainable Development.
AFFH is the tool of choice for that fight. To achieve its goals, AFFH requires local government agencies that apply for HUD grants to provide a massive profile of the community, including detailed income levels of residents, the breakdown of various religious affiliations and populations, color and national origin of the population, all broken down by neighborhood. Then, using the Livability Principles, HUD determines any “imbalances” in the makeup of the neighborhoods. If necessary, HUD then forces a major shift of the “proper” people into certain neighborhoods to assure the desired “balance.” Every five years, communities must supply HUD with updates on the progress to achieve balance to ensure progress. This is a top-down dictatorship by the national government and is nothing less than social engineering!
The next step for communities that fail to comply to AFFH rules is to bring lawsuits. And HUD filed a bunch of them. There is one major problem in dealing with AFFH lawsuits — there is no set definition as to what AFFH compliance is. Instead, it’s whatever HUD claims it is. All they need to start legal action is a complaint against the community.
To ensure there are plenty of complaints, HUD expects each city to invite participation in their planning programs by civil rights groups, affordable housing developers, community development organizations and any interested members of the public to assist in identifying potential areas of discrimination. Does anyone notice a problem with this situation? The very groups that benefit from these program, NGOs, agitators, and multiple special interests, assure that problems will be found and lawsuits will be filed. Ironic in this day of constant accusations of racism for nearly every act,
Under AFFH rules, Americans simply have no choice in the kind of neighborhood in which they wish to live. Using the excuse of equality (meaning all neighborhoods are the same) HUD’s dictated quotas are being enforced. As a result, property values will plummet. Equity in home values will be lost as resale prices fall. Poverty will grow – not diminish — by these tyrannical rules to reorganize our society.
The danger of AFFH goes beyond the destruction of American neighborhoods. It is, in fact, a direct threat to locally elected home rule in communities across the nation. The danger lies in the taking of federal grants. If a community has taken such grants to fund local development, create low-income housing programs, and more, then that community has essentially sacrificed its independence to HUD.
In dealing with such tyrannical government policy, concerned Americans logically ask a simple question: “Can anything be done to stop it?” The answer lies directly on the shoulders of the citizens. If given an opportunity for action to stop it, will you take it? Because the tools for action have been prepared. Here are some details leading up to this new action.
In 2017, the American Policy Center (APC) led a fight to stop AFFH under the first Trump administration. President Trump agreed and issued an Executive Order to stop AFFH. To be honest, I thought we had won that fight. But I was wrong. Because the AFFH rule was reinstated in 2021 under the Biden Administration. That’s what happens with Executive Orders! It’s not a law. The next Administration can just throw it out. That’s just what Biden did!
However, President Trump, in his new Administration, has again taken action to stop AFFH and issued an executive order to his new HUD Secretary Scott Turner to again terminate it. In taking that action, Secretary Turner said, “Local and state governments understand the needs of their communities much better than bureaucrats in Washington, DC. Terminating this rule restores trust in local communities and property owners, while protecting America’s suburbs and neighborhood integrity.” He’s absolutely right! This is exactly the direction our entire federal government needs to take to secure our Republic.
Of course, that is good news, but as we have learned, it’s once again only temporary with no guarantee that it will last. Executive Orders are not law and the next administration can restore it just as Biden did the first. Congress must pass legislation to permanently kill AFFH!
Now here is the really important news! Arizona Congressman Paul Gozar has introduced legislation to permanently kill AFFH! The Bill is H.R 1769 and he calls it the “Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act.” The Bill:
- Nullifies AFFH rules.
- Prohibits Funds for HUD database tracking community racial disparities.
- Requires HUD to consult with state, local, and public housing agencies – putting local representation back in control.
Rep. Gosar’s bill will permanently kill AFFH! Said Rep. Gosar, “Overreaching housing regulations first imposed by Barack Obama and re-upped by Joe Biden have extorted communities into giving up control of local zoning decisions while driving up the cost of affordable housing. By rejecting this intrusive Washington, D.C. mandate, my legislation codifies into law the recent decision by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to repeal the onerous Obama-Biden rules that have punished neighborhoods for refusing to fall in line with big government’s takeover of our communities. Housing decisions are best made at the local level, not by some woke bureaucrat in Washington, D.C. that couldn’t find Lake Havasu City, Arizona on a map if they tried.”
H.R. 1769 has been approved for passage by the House Judiciary Committee. This means the Bill will now come before the full House of Representatives for passage. However, this is where that citizen action is desperately needed. Congress must feel the pressure from local citizens and from established organizations dedicated to reestablishing our freedom. Ending AFFH is a major step in that direction.
I was just contacted by a member of Congressman Gosar’s staff! The Congressman is aware of APC’s fight to stop AFFH and the staffer called to ask for my help in building support for his Bill. He asked me to help build public support and to also contact leaders of other freedom organizations to come on board and help me build the support of Members of Congress to pass the Bill.
Stated Congressman Gossar, “I am grateful for the American Policy Center’s tireless efforts to educate the public about the dangers of this policy and help bring an end to it,” This is a huge honor for APC, and I intend to build the team to lead this fight. Most importantly this is our chance to build a new coalition of freedom groups to protect property rights from all out-of-control federal agencies that think they have the right and the power to control your property!
An opportunity like this doesn’t come often! The chance to work directly with a Congressional office to take action to stop the tyranny that has been thrown at us by federal agencies like HUD must be done! So, to get started, I’m asking for two things:
- First, to every individual reading this, please call your Member of Congress and ask them to support H.R. 1769, and please share this with your friends and family to ask them to do the same thing.
- Second, if you are a member of an organized group, no matter how large or small, please join this fight to pass H.R. 1769. Contact me and let’s join forces. We must go all out to help Rep. Gozar win this fight and remove this alligator from the swamp.
Stopping HUD’s AFFH tyranny would be a perfect answer for our nation’s historic 250th birthday! Now is our chance to stand in the footprints of freedom established by Jefferson, Washington and Adams!
Article posted with permission from Tom DeWeese
