January 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 28

L AW R E V I E W

Residency Policy Sees Racial
Discrimination Claim
By James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

F

ederal civil rights law and the Constitution prohibit discrimination by
the government against a suspect class, i.e., a classification based on
race, creed, color, religion or national origin. In addition to direct discrimination against an individual or individuals of a suspect class, this prohibition can also include formal governmental policies as well as informal customs
that have an egregious " disparate impact " against a suspect class.
Residency is not a suspect class.
Moreover, public recreational opportunities are not a fundamental right
guaranteed under the Constitution.
Accordingly, governmental entities
can generally discriminate on the basis of residency in providing public
recreational opportunities, favoring
their residents, as long as there is a
rational connection between a residency classification policy and a legitimate governmental interest that
is not unduly burdensome on the

26	 Parks & Recreation

individual rights of nonresidents. On
the other hand, a policy that discriminates against nonresidents may be
illegal when it can be proven that the
residency policy is a mere pretext to
discriminate against individuals in a
particular suspect class.
Given increasing demand for limited public recreational resources,
many public park and recreation
agencies have adopted residency policies thatallocate public use and may
effectively discriminate against non-

| J A N UA R Y 2 0 1 5 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

residents. As illustrated by the case
described herein, for at least one nonresident, a perceived threat to his recreational activity produced sufficient
consternation to prompt a lawsuit in
federal court.
Many legal problems start out
as public relations problems. Most
people are not litigious by nature.
Accordingly, an individual usually has to become very upset before
contemplating the personal time and
resource burden associated with a
lawsuit. Although the city prevailed
in this particular case, with 20/20
hindsight, perhaps the public park
and recreation agency could have
negotiated an amicable resolution to
what was essentially an interpersonal
dispute between one individual and



January 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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