Oregon bill would let homeowners replace racially restrictive property deeds
When Gerrit Koepping and Elisabeth Zeller were signing the inches-thick stack of real estate documents to buy their Lake Oswego house in 2018, one ...
When Gerrit Koepping and Elisabeth Zeller were signing the inches-thick stack of real estate documents to buy their Lake Oswego house in 2018, one document left them stunned: A century-old covenant, long illegal , that prevented people of color from owning property in the Lakewood Bay neighborhood. Koepping, a longtime teacher at Lake Oswego High School, knew of private covenants, conditions and restrictions with race restrictions buried in historic title documents. Although their house was built in 1969, it sits on land platted in 1923 by the Oregon Iron & Steel Company , which drew up the neighborhood's agreements.