A former Skokie homeowner who filed a federal housing discrimination complaint against the village of Skokie in 2016 after trying to sell his house has reached a settlement with the village, according to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development documents.
A conciliation agreement obtained from HUD by the Skokie Review through the Freedom of Information Act states that the village was to pay Mark Goldberg $41,500 to settle a complaint he filed in fall 2016. The settlement also requires that the village designate an employee as a “fair housing complaint specialist” to attend at least five hours of training related to fair housing and to train staff.
The agreement also states that the former homeowner will not take further legal action against the village.
Goldberg, formerly of 4229 Lee St., said he was set to sell his house for use as a group home occupied by people with special needs when the village interfered and the deal fell through.
Village officials denied any discrimination.
The settlement appears to have been signed Sept. 29 by Goldberg and Oct. 2 by Skokie Village Manager John Lockerby, according to the HUD documents. It also states that the village admits to no wrongdoing.
The village “denies all of the allegations of the complaint, admits no wrongdoing, and no evidence of wrongdoing was elicited in any proceeding but agrees to settle the claims … in order to avoid the time and expense of protracted litigation by entering into this conciliation agreement,” according to terms of the settlement.
The documents include a non-disclosure provision prohibiting the parties from talking to the media about the settlement.
“We’re unable to provide comment,” said Skokie Director of Marketing and Communications Ann Tennes when the village was contacted about the settlement.
“There is language in the agreement that restricts me from what I can say to the media,” Goldberg said.
In Goldberg’s 2016 complaint using HUD’s online filing process, he said the village discriminated by “not allowing a house to be used (as) a group home, even though the property (met) village criteria.”
The home sits on a narrow one-way street facing a golf course not far from Elizabeth Meyer School near Main Street and Crawford Avenue. It includes five bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms.
Goldberg said The Libenu Foundation, a nonprofit agency that serves Jewish adults with developmental disabilities, was set to purchase the house before the village stepped in.
Further, Clearbrook, an organization that bills itself as a leader in creating opportunities, services and supports for people with disabilities, was to provide programming, he said.
Goldberg said talks with the organizations — mostly The Libenu Foundation — broke down after village officials signaled that a needed special permit would not be approved.
In his complaint, Goldberg maintained that when he first contacted the village about the potential sale, he was informed about the process without any objections being raised during a preliminary review by the planning department.
His house met all other village regulations including being at least 800 feet from another group home, he said. He accused the village of trying to stop the sale, saying officials did not want a group home there.
The complaint alleges that some nearby residents complained that making the house a group home would “reduce property values and increase property taxes.”
It was then, he said, that village attorney Michael Lorge indicated to the agencies that the group home would not be approved by the Village Board.
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Lorge has denied that neighbor complaints caused the village to steer the agencies away from moving forward with buying the property. While concerns were raised through the review process, which is standard, he previously said, the agencies were not told the site plan would be voted down.
“There were concerns raised but there was no question that if they had chosen to pursue the process, they would have had a full opportunity to make it work,” Lorge said.
One HUD document obtained by the Skokie Review through the Freedom of Information Act is said to be a letter sent from Lorge to a lawyer representing Libenu.
Dated Oct. 14, 2016, the letter reads, “I hold out no expectation that the site plan approval required for this facility will be approved. I reach this opinion for many reasons, but the most critical factors are the size of the street and the operations which will be under the auspices of Clearwater.”
In the same correspondence, however, it says “this letter does not in any way determine what the board may decide.”
It also says “your client is welcome to continue the site plan approval process and some factors could possibly be worked out. It will take at least another 150 days.”
Goldberg said he eventually sold his house in March for $760,000 – $10,000 less than what the Libenu Foundation was to pay and four or five months later.
According to Goldberg, his losses were greater than the village’s payout for multiple reasons including having to delay purchasing property in his current home city of San Diego where real estate prices have increased.