Justice Department claims Hesperia 'crime free' ordinance targeted Latino, black renters

The U.S. Justice Department on Monday sued the high desert city of Hesperia, alleging that city leaders worked with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department to enact and enforce a city ordinance that discriminated against Latino and black renters. 

Dubbed the "Crime Free Rental Housing Program," the ordinance that went into effect in early 2016 required all rental property owners in Hesperia register their units with the city and mandated criminal background checks of all adult tenants. 

The ordinance required that landlords evict any adult tenant within three days if that person had been found to have engaged in criminal activity on or near the property.

The Justice Department filed the lawsuit against the city, San Bernardino County and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, which provides police services to Hesperia.

Justice Department attorneys cited public comments made by Hesperia City Council members, as well as Nils Bentsen, a former San Bernardino County sheriff's captain who helped draft the ordinance and is now Hesperia city manager, to paint a picture of the underlying motivation for the city ordinance. 

The city of Hesperia, like several throughout San Bernardino County, contract for their police services with the sheriff's department. The city of over 90,000 people has seen a dramatic shift of its demographics, with the non-Hispanic white population declining since the early 2000s, when it stood at 74.3%. In 2010, census figures saw that proportion had fallen by more than 13 percentage points to 61.1%. 

Hesperia spokeswoman Rachel Molina said the city intends to defend itself against the lawsuit. "The city loves and embraces diversity in Hesperia," Molina said by phone. "Under the 'Crime Free' ordinance, no one was targeted based on a protected class. The city intends to vigorously defend itself against the lawsuit." 

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Cindy Bachman responded by email that the agency disagrees with the allegations in the lawsuit. "We intend to vigorously defend this in court," Bachman said. 

According to the 20-page complaint, Hesperia city leaders were concerned about the relocation of residents from Los Angeles County who were moving to Hesperia, where the cost of living is cheaper.

The lawsuit quotes then-City Councilman Russ Blewett as saying the ordinance was needed "to correct a demographical problem," saying that the residents it was intended to target were "no addition and of no value to this community, period." Blewett died in early 2018. 

Another former Hesperia council member, Eric Schmidt, who was quoted as making biased remarks in the lawsuit, lost his re-election effort in 2016.

Federal attorneys contend Schmidt lamented that out-of-town newcomers were partaking in criminal activity. "The people that aggravate us aren’t from here,” the lawsuit quotes him as saying, adding that they “come from somewhere else with their tainted history.”

Mike Leonard, a former Hesperia City Council member who did not run for re-election in 2016, was quoted in support of the ordinance saying, "We’ve had a lot of people from over the hill move up here that are not very friendly people."

Mayor Pro Tem Bill Holland, who continues serving on the council, said the ordinance would have made it easier for landlords to get rid of "blight," making a comparison to exterminators. It's similar to “call[ing] an exterminator out to kill roaches, same difference," he was quoted in the lawsuit.

Federal attorneys allege enforcement of the ordinance was heavy-handed and that it disproportionately fell onto Latino and black renters. 

Molina, Hesperia's spokeswoman, said the city in July 2017 made the ordinance voluntary after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development began investigating the city and the "Crime Free" housing ordinance. 

Ricardo Lopez covers the eastern Coachella Valley cities of Indio and Coachella. Reach him at Ricardo.Lopez@DesertSun.com or 760-778-4637.