Neighborhoods were once 'restricted'

The whole idea was based on "protecting the value of property." Sale of one's real estate in these areas could be restricted to "those of the Caucasian race." Some property owners did not even know that they were in a "restricted" neighborhood. When people buy homes, most don't really read all the fine print. That was the case then, and it never came up unless a real estate agent attempted to make a sale to some ethnic minority.

Most towns had these restrictive covenants in their nicer areas. They didn't want to rely on price alone to keep the neighborhood "exclusive." When new subdivisions were planned, sometimes the developer had these covenants included to help keep the values up.

During the Post World War II housing boom in San Mateo County, there were new developments meant to attract the returning veterans and their families. New government loan programs made home ownership possible for young families just starting out. Years later in reviewing the original deed, one family discovered, to their surprise, a restriction against any non-Caucasians residing overnight in their home unless they were domestic servants. Apparently subdivisions developed by Joseph Eichler were a notable exception to this practice. Eichler strongly felt that discrimination was wrong. For those who were aware of the custom, it was even used as a selling point to a prospective (white) buyer. "This neighborhood is restricted, of course," was the euphemism. These restrictions applied to Asians, Latinos, African-Americans and sometimes Jews.

Race specific restrictions here were nothing new. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 restricted immigration of Chinese. This grew out of the old days of discrimination against the Chinese because it was thought that they took all the jobs, or found all the gold, or caught all the shrimp, or whatever. This law also made Chinese ineligible for naturalization. Under an informal "Gentlemen's Agreement" with Japan in 1906, the United States agreed to limit discrimination against the Japanese if Japan restricted emigration of their citizens to the United States. The Alien Land Law of 1913 prohibited the sale or lease of land to non-citizens, thus prohibiting land ownership by most Asians. All Alien Land Laws in California were not repealed until 1956.

Restrictive covenants were first challenged in Chicago in 1937. That lawsuit made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court by 1940, which found in favor of an African-American family. Cases were then fought piecemeal until a 1948 ruling that all restrictive covenants were in violation of the 14th Amendment. Compliance with this decision was not immediate, however. During the 1960s, specific legislation was passed prohibiting housing discrimination.

Those of you whose family has lived many years in one home just might find restrictive covenants still on your old deeds. It wasn't necessary to reissue the documents; the covenants are just no longer valid. It was only in 1999 that California passed a law requiring Homeowners' Associations to strike the offensive, if unenforceable, words from their bylaws.

Rediscovering the Peninsula appears in the Monday edition of the Daily Journal. For more information on this or related topics, visit the San Mateo County History Museum, 777 Hamilton St., Redwood City.