County of Monterey - File #: 22-890

• File #: 22-890
• Name: Restrictive covenants (AB 1466)
• Type: General Agenda Item
• Status: Passed
• File created: 9/13/2022
• In control: Board of Supervisors
• On agenda: 10/4/2022
• Final action: 10/4/2022
• Title: a. Receive a report on the status of the County's compliance with Assembly Bill 1466 modifying discriminatory restrictive covenants; b. Authorize staff to further research and develop a proposed restrictive covenant modification education project for Monterey County; c. Provide further direction to staff, as appropriate.

Date	Action By	Action	Result
10/4/2022	Board of Supervisors

Title
a. Receive a report on the status of the County's compliance with Assembly Bill 1466 modifying discriminatory restrictive covenants;
b. Authorize staff to further research and develop a proposed restrictive covenant modification education project for Monterey County;
c. Provide further direction to staff, as appropriate.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
a. Receive a report on the status of the County's compliance with Assembly Bill 1466 modifying discriminatory restrictive covenants;
b. Authorize staff to further research and develop a proposed restrictive covenant modification education project for Monterey County;
c. Provide further direction to staff, as appropriate.

SUMMARY:
Restrictive covenants, legal agreements on deeds or real property restricting individuals based on race or ethnicity, were a method used to discriminate against certain groups and segregate neighborhoods in the United States and were particularly prominent from the 1920s to 1948. Though unenforceable since 1948 and made explicitly illegal by the 1968 Fair Housing Act, these discriminatory covenants and language remain in agreements related to real property throughout the United States and here in Monterey County. Restrictive covenants have been identified in Monterey County, particularly in Pacific Grove Retreat and Pebble Beach but are not exclusive to those areas. Most restrictive covenants in Monterey County were created in the 1930s and early 1940s.

California state law not only provides for a process by which restrictive covenants can be modified, as of July 1, 2022, state law requires the county recorder for each county to develop an implementation plan (see Attachment A) and establish a program to identify and redact unlawfully restrictive language from recorded California real property records via the recordation of a Restrictive Covenant Modification document. The county recorder shall retain each nonredacted record for future reference and public request needs.

The County ...