Public input sought on ordinance, commission

LANSDALE » A meeting date has now been set for public feedback, as Lansdale Borough Council continues to discuss whether to set up a local human relations ordinance and commission.

“The reasoning behind bringing something like this forward, was to stand as an advocate for unprotected — currently unprotected — classes,” said councilman Leon Angelichio.

Last month, Angelichio first proposed council and its code committee discuss setting up a new, volunteer commission that

would be tasked with hearing and ruling on any complaints from anyone who experiences discrimination in the borough, whether a resident or visitor. A draft version was read and discussed by council’s code enforcement committee on June 6, which Angelichio said was developed by solicitor Sean Kilkenny after researching other similar codes passed across the state.

“While we have labeled it ‘LGBTQ,’ it’s actually much broader than that: it speaks to race, color, age, religious creed, ancestry, national origin, handicap, use of guide or support animals because of blindness, deafness, or physical disability,’ said councilman Denton Burnell, reading a draft copy.

“Those are all of these classes that are sort of encompassed in this, but the key there is there are a few, a few, that are not covered at the state level, and have no recourse under any law if they are discriminated

against,” he said.

Borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on June 20, and a special public meeting has now been scheduled for 7 p.m. on June 26 to hear public feedback on the proposed ordinance. Angelichio and Burnell said the latest draft does not allow the local commission to levy any fines or penalties, only to hear complaints and make a ruling, which could then be appealed into the court system.

“There’s a mediation portion, and if that doesn’t resolve the issue, then it can be appealed to the court of common pleas. There would be remedies, penalties, et cetera, assessed at that level,” Burnell said.

The draft code was discussed during council’s administration and finance committee meeting on June 6, where resident Nancy Frei questioned whether it was truly necessary. Angelichio said he thought it was needed because those groups that would be covered under the borough ordinance has no protection at higher levels.

“We live in a time where

we are seeing massive amounts of discrimination against certain groups, for whatever reason. The federal government hasn’t changed their policy,” he said.

“The state has not brought any kind of human relations commission to protect these people from discrimination, based on the protected classes” that would be created in the borough, Angelichio said.

Angelichio said he was inspired to propose the ordinance and commission after learning of a friend who had lost their job after announcing a change in gender identity, and Burnell said he thought the new code would set up, at minimal cost, a new way for those cases to be resolved at the local level.

“Let me be utterly blunt: if a gay person is discriminated against in this town, they have no legal recourse to get relief,” he said.

“I can literally say to you, ‘I will not hire you because you are gay,’ and there’s nothing a court can do. I’ve picked that class, but there are several,” Burnell said.

The ordinance would establish a five-person board, appointed by council, comprised of residents or business owners, and whoever fields a complaint or accusation of discrimination would not be part of the adjudication process. Those who are appointed would choose their own officers and likely need training directed by the state, Burnell said.

Resident Ed Scheuring asked if other towns have passed similar ordinances, and Angelichio said he knows of more than 40 that have done so over the past decade.

“We’re talking about an ordinance to protect a demographic of our population that currently is unprotected,” Angelichio said.

During the committee

discussions, Angelichio asked if the committee thought a public meeting would be helpful to inform the public and field questions. Frei said she thought it would be helpful, but costly, and Scheuring said the thought the meeting and commission would create more billable hours for attorneys.

“We’re sitting here debating about whether we should be protecting a class of citizens, and we’re worried about how much that’s going to cost. Let that sink in,” Burnell said.

Angelichio asked residents to consider how history could have changed if the same conversations about costs had been held prior to the civil rights movement of the 1950s and ’60s.

“I’m not talking about people being beaten in the streets, about people that couldn’t eat in a restaurant with white people, or use the same water fountain because of the color of our skin,” Angelichio said.

“We have an opportunity to protect a large portion of our people. We can do one of two things: we can stand up and do something to protect these people, or we can do nothing and let them continue to be discriminated against,” he said.

Lansdale Borough Council meets at the borough municipal building, 1 Vine St. For more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www.Lansdale. org or follow @LansdalePA on Twitter.