HomeMy WebLinkAboutordinance.council.15-24ORDINANCE #15
(Series of 2024)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE ASPEN CITY COUNCIL REPEALING AND RE-ENACTING
SEC. 15.04.570. - DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES PROHIBITED, OF THE ASPEN
MUNICIPAL CODE.
WHEREAS, the City of Aspen (the "City") is a legally and regularly created, established,
organized, and existing municipal corporation under the provisions of Article XX of the
Constitution of the State of Colorado and the Home Rule Charter for the City (the "Charter"); and,
WHEREAS, pursuant to Ordinance No. 60 (Series of 1977), the Aspen City Council adopted
regulations prohibiting discriminatory practices in housing, public services and accommodations
and in employment practices. Ordinance No. 60 described discrimination or to discriminate as
meaning, without limitation, "any act which because of race, color, creed, religion, ancestry,
national origin, sex, age, marital status, physical handicaps, affectional or sexual orientation,
family responsibility, or political affiliation, results in the unequal treatment or separation of any
person or denies, prevents, limits or otherwise adversely affects, the benefit or enjoyment by
any person of employment, ownership or occupancy of real property or public services or
accommodations;" and
WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 60 (Series of 1977) was extremely progressive for its time, with the
State's first anti -gay discrimination law, followed by Boulder in 1987 and Denver in 1991, and
has served the City of Aspen well. Based on such ordinance, the City was one of the successful
plaintiffs in the case of Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620, 116 S.Ct. 1620 (1996), which overturned
the Colorado state constitutional amendment that was passed by the voters and would have allowed
discrimination based on affectional and sexual orientation; and
WHEREAS, the City Council believes modernization to the codes adopted pursuant to Ordinance
No. 60 is warranted at this time; and
WHEREAS, at a regular meeting on August 27, 2024, City Council by a 5-0 vote, approved
Ordinance #15, Series of 2024 on First Reading; and
WHEREAS, at a regular meeting on September 24, 2024, during a properly noticed public hearing,
City Council by a X -X (X-X), approved Ordinance #15, Series of 2024 on Second Reading; and
WHEREAS, the Aspen City Council finds that this Ordinance furthers and is necessary for the
promotion of public health, safety, and welfare.
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ASPEN, COLORADO, THAT:
Section 1:
Section 15.04.570, of the Aspen Municipal Code is hereby repealed in its entirety and replaced with
the following:
Sec. 15.04.570. - Discriminatory practices prohibited.
(a) Definitions.
Discrimination or to discriminate means, without limitation, any act because of race, creed, color,
sex, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic characteristics,
marital status, religion, religious expression, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, parenthood,
custody of a minor child, mental or physical disability, source of income, or immigration status, age,
family responsibility or political affiliation of such individual or such individual's friends or
associates, results in the unequal treatment or separation of any person or denies, prevents, limits or
otherwise adversely affects, the benefit or enjoyment by any person of employment, ownership or
occupancy of real property or public services or accommodations unless otherwise required by law.
Such discrimination is unlawful and is a violation of this Section, provided, however, that the
physical condition of an existing building or structure shall not, of itself, constitute discrimination.
Gender identity means a person's various individual attributes, actual or perceived, that may be the
same or different from their sex assigned at birth. An innate sense of one's concept of self as male,
female, a blend of both or neither.
Gender expression refers to the way a person communicates gender identity through external
appearance, characteristics or behaviors.
Household — All individuals who will be occupying a unit regardless of legal or marital status,
including a married couple, whether both will be living in the unit or not.
Housing means any building, structure, vacant land or part thereof during the period it is advertised,
listed or offered for sale, lease, rent or transfer of ownership and during the period while it is being
sold, leased or rented.
Person means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association organization,
unincorporated organization, labor union, government agency, incorporated society, statutory or
common law trust, estate, executor, administrator, receiver, trustee, conservator, liquidator, trustee
in bankruptcy, committee, assignee, officer, employee, principal or agent, legal or personal
representative, real estate broker or salesman or any agent or representative of any of the foregoing.
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Public services or accommodations means any place of business engaged in any sales to the public
and any place or business offering services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations to
the public.
Religious expression means any external manifestation of a person's religious beliefs, including but
not limited to attending worship services, praying, wearing religious garb, symbols, head coverings
of all kinds, hair including shaving or hair length observances, displaying religious objects, adhering
to certain dietary rules or refraining from certain activities.
Sex means biological sex, the sum of a person's physical characteristics, the biological categories of
male, female, or intersex, as determined by primary and secondary sex characteristics, hormones, or
chromosomes.
Sexual orientation means an emotional, romantic, physical, spiritual or sexual attraction to other
people.
(b) Discriminatory employment practices prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person who is an
employer or employment agency, directly or indirectly, to discriminate against any employee with
regard to application for employment, hiring, occupational training, tenure, promotion,
compensation, layoff, discharge or any other term or condition of employment except when based
upon a bona fide occupational qualification.
(c) Discriminatory housing practices prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person, directly or
indirectly, to discriminate against or to accord adverse, unlawful or unequal treatment to any other
person with respect to the acquisition, occupancy, use and enjoyment of any housing, including the
sale, transfer, rental or lease thereof.
The provisions of subsection (c) of this section do not apply to prohibit:
1. Any religious or denominational institution or organization that is operated,
supervised or controlled by a religious or denominational organization from limiting
admission or giving preference to persons of the same religion or denomination or
from making such selection of buyers, lessees or tenants as will promote a bona fide
religious or denominational purpose.
2. An owner or lessee from limiting occupancy of a dwelling unit occupied by such
owner or lessee as their residence.
3. An owner from limiting occupancy of rooms or dwelling units in buildings occupied
by no more than two households living independently of each other if the owner
actually maintains and occupies one of such rooms or dwelling units as their
residence.
4. An owner or lessor of a housing facility devoted entirely to housing individuals of
one sex from limiting lessees or tenants to persons of that sex, provided that people
shall be allowed to use a housing facility that is consistent with their gender identity.
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In housing facilities where undressing in the presence of others occurs, owners or
lessors shall make reasonable accommodations to allow access consistent with an
individual's gender identity.
5. The transfer, sale, rental, lease or development of housing designed or intended for
the use of the physically or mentally disabled, but this exclusion does not permit
discrimination on any other basis.
6. Discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, parenthood or custody of a minor child in:
a. Any owner -occupied lot containing four or fewer dwelling units;
b. Any residential building in which the owner or lessor publicly establishes
and implements a policy of renting or selling exclusively to persons fifty-
five years of age or older, but only as long as such policy remains in
effect;
c. Any dwelling unit rented, leased or subleased for no more than eighteen
months while the owner or lessee is temporarily absent, when the owner
or lessee leaves a substantial amount of personal possessions on the
premises;
d. Any residential building located on real estate whose title was, as of
November 17, 1981, encumbered by a restrictive covenant limiting or
prohibiting the residence of minor children on such property, but only so
long as such covenant remains in effect; and
e. Up to one-third of the buildings in a housing complex consisting of three
or more buildings; for purposes of this subparagraph, housing complex
means a group of buildings each containing five or more units on a
contiguous parcel of land owned by the same person or persons.
(d) Discriminatory public services and accommodation practices prohibited. It shall be unlawful for
a person engaged in providing services or accommodations to the public to, directly or indirectly,
discriminate against any other person by refusing to allow the full and equal use and enjoyment of
the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, including accommodations and the terms and
conditions under which the same are made available or to provide adverse, unlawful or unequal
treatment to any person in connection therewith.
(e) Enforcement.
1. The City Attorney shall enforce all provisions of this Chapter.
2. Notwithstanding any other provisions of Subsection (e)1., any person residing in the
City of Aspen claiming to be aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory act shall have a cause of
action in any court of competent jurisdiction for compensatory damages and such other remedies
as may be appropriate, including specifically the issuing of restraining orders and such temporary
or permanent injunctions as are necessary to obtain complete compliance with this Section. In
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the event any person residing within the City shall bring a civil action for injunction or to
otherwise enforce this Chapter and such person shall prevail in such action, then they shall be
awarded a reasonable attorney's fee and costs of the action to be paid by the defendant.
3. Any person residing in the City may bring a civil action authorized pursuant to
Subsection (e)2., above; provided such person first files with the City Attorney a written request
for the City Attorney to commence action. The request shall include a statement of grounds for
believing a cause for action exists. The City Attorney shall respond within fourteen (14) days
after receipt of the request indicating whether they intend to file a civil action. If the City Attorney
indicates in the affirmative and files suit within thirty (30) days thereafter, no other action may
be brought unless the action brought by the City Attorney is dismissed without prejudice.
(f) Penalties and civil liability.
Any person who violates the provisions of Subsections (b) through (d) hereof shall be deemed guilty
of an offense and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding the maximum
amount allowed pursuant to Sec. 1.04.080 - General penalty for violations of Code; or imprisonment
of not more than one-year or both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.
Whenever it appears that the holder of a permit, license, franchise, benefit or advantage, issued by
the City is in violation of this Section, notwithstanding any other action it may take or may have
taken under the authority of the provisions of this Section, the City may take such action regarding
the temporary or permanent suspension of the violator's City business license, permit, franchise,
benefit or advantage as it considers appropriate based on the facts disclosed to it. In the event that
such business license, permit, franchise, benefit or advantage is suspended, the aggrieved party may
appeal such action to Aspen City Council.
(g) Elements of Proof.
Proof of the characteristics of the victim, while admissible to prove intent, and to determine
reasonable accommodation for disabilities, shall not otherwise be required as an element of proof
in and of itself. The essential elements of proof shall be of discriminatory intent or disparate
treatment or disparate impact and a nexus between such intent, or disparate treatment or disparate
impact and an action or refusal or failure to act identified in this chapter.
(h) Applicability of Chapter.
The requirements of this chapter supplement those imposed by the laws and regulations of the
State of Colorado. If there is a conflict between such requirements, those which provide more
protection for protected individuals shall control.
(i) Statute of Limitations.
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The statute of limitations within which a prosecution must be instituted for a violation of this
Sec. 15.04.570 shall be tolled for one year from the date the violation is discovered.
Section 2:
This ordinance is necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the residents of
the city, and covers matters of local concern.
Section 3:
Any scrivener's errors contained in the code amendments herein, including but not limited to
mislabeled subsections or titles, may be corrected administratively following adoption of the
Ordinance.
Section 4:
This ordinance shall not affect any existing litigation and shall not operate as an abatement of any
action or proceeding now pending under or by virtue of the resolutions or ordinances repealed or
amended as herein provided, and the same shall be conducted and concluded under such prior
resolutions or ordinances.
Section 5:
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this resolution is for any reason held
invalid or unconstitutional in a court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a
separate, distinct and independent provision and shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions
thereof.
Section 6:
A public hearing on this ordinance was held on the 24th day of September 2024, at a meeting of the
Aspen City Council commencing at 5:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, Aspen City Hall, Aspen,
Colorado, a minimum of fifteen days prior to which hearing a public notice of the same shall be
published in a newspaper of general circulation within the City of Aspen.
INTRODUCED AND READ, as provided by law, by the City Council of the City of Aspen on the
24th day of September 2024.
TEST:
Nicole Henning, City berk
7RW1Ce----=
Torre, Mayor
FINALLY, adopted, passed and approved this 24th day of September 2024.
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ATTEST:
Nicole Henning, City Cler
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Ja es R. True, City Attorney
Torre, Mayor