City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: DECEMBER 5, 2023
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JOANNA C. ANDERSON, CITY ATTORNEY /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Report Regarding Release of Illegal Racially Restrictive Covenants on City-owned Properties.
BODY
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ISSUE: Providing an update to City Council on the process for releasing illegal racially restrictive covenants that remain on city owned properties from historic subdivision documents.
RECOMMENDATION: The City Council accept the update and direct the City Attorney to continue to work to release the illegal restrictive covenants.
BACKGROUND: As part of its studies included in the Zoning for Housing/Housing for All initiative, the Department of Planning and Zoning brought on Dr. Krystn Moon who undertook extensive research on the history of the use of racially restrictive covenants. See “Rethinking Race, Housing, and Community: A History of Restrictive Covenants and Land Use Zoning in Alexandria, Virginia, 1900s-1960s <https://www.alexandriava.gov/sites/default/files/2023-03/Zoning-and-Covenants-KMoon-20230320.pdf>”. During the early to mid-twentieth century, these racially restrictive covenants were prevalent and used as a way to continue illegal segregation. Typically, the covenants were placed on subdivision deeds which then apply to all of the subsequent deeds of sale of the particular lots. Therefore, while the covenant may not show up on the actual deed of ownership, it applies because of the historical subdivision deed.
The Virginia state law, Code of Virginia Section 36-96.6, declares illegal discriminatory restrictive covenants void and contrary to public policy of the Commonwealth. Therefore, whether or not released in the land records, restrictive covenants that restrict occupancy of property on the basis of a protected class are not enforceable even if no action is taken by the property owner to release them. However, recognizing that many property owners who discover these covenants in their title history will want to take affirmative action to release them, the Alexandria Circuit Court has provided a process for filing a certificate of release of the illegal covenant. A property owner can just fill out the form and file it with the clerk’s office and such release will be included in the line of title for that property. This process needs to be done by individual property owners but is easy for landowners to perform without the need for legal advice.
DISCUSSION: Initially, the City was made aware of three subdivisions that included racially restrictive covenants, a portion of which ultimately became city property. Those were The W.I. Angels West End subdivision which includes Angel Park, the Abington subdivision which includes undeveloped city owned land on Randolph Avenue, and Eagle Crest Subdivision which includes a portion of Fort Ward Park. Soon after we became aware of these properties, we went through the Circuit Court’s process for removing the covenants from the City owned portions of these subdivisions. This process was completed for these three properties in November and the certificates of release have all been recorded.
Becoming aware of these three subdivisions triggered the need to review all city properties to see if there are more. Dr. Moon’s research revealed 16 additional subdivisions that included racially restrictive covenants that include 33 properties owned by the city within them. Most of these properties are owned outright by the city for things like fire stations, parks, and rights of way. Some of them are owned by other city entities, like Alexandria Redevelopment Housing Authority (ARHA) or Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS). The next step will be for my office to review the deeds for the city-owned properties, prepare the release, have them signed by the City Manager, and filed in the court. For the properties that are owned by a partner agency, we will work with that agency to have them file the certificate.
Following is the list of city-owned properties that have a racially restrictive covenant on them:
Westover Subdivision (Alexandria Deed 152-272)
• 900 Second Street (Fire Station)
• 1028 Powhatan St (Fire Station’s Parking)
• 1024 Powhatan St (Fire Station’s Parking)
• 1010 Douglas St (Powhatan Park)
• 1009 Douglas St (Powhatan Park)
Monticello Park (Arlington County Deed 261-50)
• 2908 A Richmond LA (Monticello Park)
• 2801 Cameron Mills Rd (Fire Station)
• 2601 Cameron Mills Rd (George Mason Elementary School)
Threadgill (Alexandria Deed 121-299)
• 1607 Suter St (Metro Linear Park)
• 1614 Suter St (Metro Linear Park)
• 1625 Princess St [possibly 1629 Princess too, which is the right of way along the railroad tracks] (Metro Linear Park)
Baggett Tract (Alexandria Deed 167-350)
• 340 Buchanan St (Metro Linear Park)
• 300 Buchanan St (Metro Linear Park)
Fagelson’s Addition to Dempsey (Arlington County Deed 201-269)
• 810 Chetworth Pl (Chetworth Park)
Rosemont (Properties Restricted on Specific Deeds)
• 4 Sunset Dr (Alexandria Deed 65-449) (Sunset Mini Park)
• 201 Rucker Place (Alexandria Deed 106-105) (Beach Park)
• 701 Johnston Pl (Alexandria Deed 106-105) (Maury School Land)
Wapleton (Fairfax County Deed G-15-45)
• 530 Cameron Station Bv (Armistead L. Boothe Park)
• 270 S Reynolds St (Park-Open Space)
Beverley Plaza (Properties Restricted on Specific Deeds)
• 3909 Bruce St (Four Mile Run Park) (Alexandria Deed 156-290 and 157-333)
Cameron Park (Properties Restricted on Specific Deeds)
• 20 Roth St (Park-Witter Fields N of Business Center Dr) (Fairfax Deed 192-193)
• 3224 Colvin St (Parking Lot) (Fairfax Deed U-9-128)
Waverly Taylor (Alexandria Deed 193-182)
• 3000 Fulton St (Island between Roads)
Oakcrest (Alexandria Deed 162-278)
• 1521 Dogwood Dr (Sheltered Homes of Alexandria)
Beverley Park (Properties Restricted on Specific Deeds)
• 610 Notabene Dr (Hawaiian Garden Apartments) (Alexandria Deed 181-436)
• 3910 Old Dominion Bv (Glebe Park Apartments) (Alexandria Deed 181-436)
• 3902 Old Dominion Bv (Glebe Park Apartments) (Alexandria Deed 181-436)
• 3961 Old Dominion Bv (Old Dominion Housing Limited Partnership) (Alexandria Deed 176-455)
Veach Tract (Properties Restricted on Specific Deeds)
• 27 S Bragg St (15 Townhomes) (Fairfax Deed 449-127 and Fairfax Deed 421-42)
Fort Ward Heights (Fairfax County Deed Q-13-400)
• 4560 Strutfield Ln (Palazzo at Park Center)
Brenton (Properties Restricted on Specific Deeds)
• 5 W Braddock Rd (Park) (Arlington County Deed 233-229)
• 1005 Mt Vernon Av (George Washington Junior High School) (Arlington County Deed 255-588 and Alexandria Deed 90-90)
Dunton Property (Fairfax County Deed W-14-171)
• 5325 Polk Av (Polk Park)
Dr. Moon also flagged a number of city properties in the Del Ray, Rosemont, and St. Elmo’s subdivisions that may have the illegal racially restrictive covenants directly in the line of title for the ownership of the property because in these neighborhoods the historic practice was to place the covenant directly on the deed rather than the subdivision. These properties will require additional research on the title of each property to determine whether the covenant was in the title or not. This will be the next phase of our work after removing the covenants we are already aware of in the work described above. This includes an additional possibly 20 properties.
FISCAL IMPACT: This work can be conducted in-house by the City Attorney’s office so additional costs of legal services are likely not needed. There is a $36.76 filing fee for each certificate. We will likely file at least 25 certificates so the total cost of filing fees will be approximately $1000. This amount can be absorbed in the City Attorney’s Office current budget.
ATTACHMENTS: None.
STAFF:
Chrsitina Zechman Brown, Deputy City Attorney