TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Anthea Gianniotes, Development Services Department
THROUGH: Terrence R. Moore, ICMA-CM
DATE: March 5, 2024
Title
A DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED RESOLUTION NO. 71-24.
Body
Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Review and provide direction regarding Resolution No. 71-24, repealing Resolution No. 146, which was adopted on June 24, 1935.
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Background:
The City Commission should review and provide direction regarding the adoption of Resolution No. 71-24, repealing Resolution No. 146 (approved on June 24, 1935). Resolution No. 146 (1935) designated areas within the City of Delray Beach as the “Negro Settlement or Negro Area” and “all other lands lying and being within the City Limits of the City of Delray Beach” as the “White Settlement or White Area”. Resolution No. 146 was identified during research associated with the Frog Alley Historic Resource Survey.
At the February 20, 2024, City Commission Workshop meeting, a presentation of the status of the Frog Alley Historic Resource Survey project was made and included information regarding Resolution No. 146. At the regular City Commission meeting directly following the workshop, the City Commission directed staff to prepare a resolution formally repealing Resolution No. 146 (1935).
Resolution No. 146 stated it was “for the best interest” of people of the Black race and the White race that a “definitely described settlement and area” be platted and designated for the location of homes, buildings, and improvements, including use and occupancy limitations, for each race. Resolution No. 146 also stipulated ownership restrictions for each race, allowing people of the White race to own property anywhere in the City, including within the “Negro Settlement or Negro Settlement Area”, but limited people of the Black race to owning property only within the “Negro Settlement or Negro Settlement Area.” This type of restriction or “law” was not uncommon in this time period, associated wit...
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