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Fred Soderer said that as one of those who had pushed for a further educational program on fair housing that his concern was that large- scale planning efforts be aided by some form of communication " that gets down to the common folk . " Perhaps this could be done as part of the Housing Element , he said . Mel Kerwin wondered why the Planning Department didn ' t just get housing elements from other cities and " just write it out . " He said he didn ' t see why the City had to wait until May to see it . He suggested that the Committee should continue to search for tools to put teeth in fair housing policy . He said he didn ' t think that you were going to educate too many apartment owners in Redwood City. 4 LICENSING APARTMENT MANAGERS , • Mary Davey said that tlie. Palo Alto Human Relations Commiss.z.on would consider the. . draft ordinance regulating the owning and managing of apartment complexes at its October 19 meeting . Since the preparation of the ordinance , MCFH has met with the Tri-County Apartment Association and as many owners a-s possible to get their comments . They have found resistance to the ordinance because it requires action on the owners ' part designed to prevent discrimination . If discrimination does occur , it would mean the loss of their manager ' s license . The ordinance has, been well-researched by the Palo Alto attorney ' s office , she said , and they feel that it can be legitimately pursued under the provisions for licensing given cities . Paul Keckley asked whether Palo Alto had gone to apartment owners and managers as well as tenants to come up with the ordinance . Mary Davey said that Palo Alto had made a sincere effort over a considerable period of time to get to people . The ordinance had been talked about in Palo Alto for over a year . Managers , realtors , Tri -County Apartment Association had all been involved . -Then , when it was first presented to the Human Relations Commission in September , the IiRC asked for a month and a half for public input . She said the ordinance was the kind of affirmative action on fair housing that Palo Alto wanted to adopt in the Housing Element of their General Plan, she said , any, there was a good chance that the Council would pass it if it is given a " do pass" by the HRC . • Paul Keckley asked if the landlords are going to support it , having made input into it . Joellyn Murphy replied that their input had been negative , that they don ' t want any ordinance . Their criticisms were general , she said- -the ordinance was "arbitrary , just more bureaucratic red tape , too costly. " Mary Davey said that one of the things that the owners don ' t like is the require- ment that their name be posted in their apartment buildings . This is required so that anyone with a complaint has someone to go to . But the owners are loath to have this information public ; one called it an " invasion of privacy . " Joellyn Murphy said that one landlord has gone so far as to charge that making the owner known is part of a "conspiracy leading to the takeover of the property by the tenants . " She said that landlords also opposed the requirement that managers disclose previous criminal records before they are granted a license . The Palo Alto City Attorney had pointed out that, this is routine when someone is licensed to drive a cab , she said . MINUTES HOUSING CONCERNS COMMITTEE OCTOBER 11, 1972 PAGE 3 OF 5