Encinitas denies civil rights grievance over Houbeck remarks

ENCINITAS — The city of Encinitas has denied a civil rights grievance stemming from controversial social media comments made by a member of the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee, concluding the complaint does not meet the legal threshold for a violation under federal law.

In an April 28 letter, the city denied a complaint filed earlier this month by Encinitas resident Daunte Fyall against committee member and local attorney Steven Houbeck under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, stating that the complaint lacked a connection to discriminatory action tied to a federally funded city program, in this case, the Urban Forestry Advisory Committee.

On April 1, Fyall, a professor of West African dance at UC San Diego, filed a grievance alleging Houbeck’s Feb. 13 Facebook post — which referred to participants in a Black History Month event at Canyon Crest Academy as “blacks” in “tribal gear banging on drums” — created a hostile environment and marginalized African American residents.

The complaint asserted that “Houbeck’s language is offensive, reductive, and perpetuates harmful stereotypes about Black culture,” according to the city.

Several weeks prior to his grievance claim, Fyall urged the council to take “bold action” in response to Houbeck’s remarks, calling on them to “remove individuals from public roles making racially loaded comments for accountability” during public comment at a Feb. 18 council meeting.

Since then, the incident has sparked weeks of sustained public backlash, with some residents repeatedly urging the City Council to remove Houbeck from his appointed position.

Garvin Walsh, a Cardiff resident and member of the San Diego County Republican Central Committee, wrote an April 19 letter opposing Lyndes’ motion, arguing that the rationale behind the proposal overstated community opposition and raised constitutional concerns.

“Removing an appointed commissioner based on prior, private speech unrelated to official duties would likely constitute impermissible viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment,” Walsh wrote.

After public comments and council discussion, Lyndes’ motion to remove Houbeck failed to receive a second, leaving him in his role.

Title VI Grievance

As part of the grievance process, city officials — including Assistant City Manager Jace Schwarm, Title VI coordinator and attorney Timothy Davis, and Kathya Firlik, a senior associate at Jones Mayer Law and deputy city attorney for several cities — held a Zoom meeting on April 14 with Fyall and his spouse, Tia Grant, along with Encinitas Action members Theresa Beauchamp and her husband, Bob Ayers, to discuss the allegations and review any evidence.

Beuachamp, who has known Fyall for several years through their participation in a West African dance group in Encinitas, told The Coast News she volunteered to help with the complaint only after the City Council declined to address the issue earlier.

“We gave them six weeks and they didn’t act until this came up, and then they had to respond, which is really unfortunate,” Beauchamp said.

According to the city’s letter of denial, the meeting provided the complainant a “full and meaningful opportunity” to present concerns, clarify the complaint and explore possible resolutions before issuing a determination.

The city’s formal response to the Title VI complaint, authored and signed by Davis, focused on whether Houbeck’s conduct constituted discrimination within the scope of his official duties.

“To establish a Title VI claim, a complainant must demonstrate a nexus between the alleged discrimination and a specific program or activity that received federal funding,” the letter states.

City officials concluded that the standard was not met, noting that Houbeck’s post occurred before he began serving on the advisory committee and that there was no evidence he engaged in discriminatory actions in his official role.

“Absent a discriminatory action taken by Houbeck, in his role as a UFAC member, no valid Title VI claim exists,” the letter states.

The city also emphasized that the grievance process is not intended to address calls to remove appointed officials based on past statements, even if those statements are considered offensive.

“It is important to note that the City’s determination does not constitute a finding as to whether Houbeck’s post was racially offensive or discriminatory,” the letter states. “Rather, the City’s finding is limited solely to the question of whether his actions violated Title VI.”

Ayers, a local attorney active in local politics, criticized the City Council’s response to Houbeck’s remarks and its handling of concerns voiced by residents and community advocates.

“Title VI complaint process is just one of several for a citizen of Encinitas to address discrimination by a city representative like Steven Houbeck,” Ayers said. “It’s a high bar. Our City Council, the same that appointed Houbeck, will use the complaint’s denial to justify its decision to protect Houbeck, clearly one of its own. The City Council can remove Houbeck regardless of a Title VI violation. It refused to do so and instead threatened to remove us from council chambers. We are left to address this with other processes.”

During the April 22 meeting, Mayor Bruce Ehlers described the original post as “insensitive and demeaning,” but said Houbeck had issued an apology and that removal would offer little opportunity for growth or dialogue within the community.

Ehlers declined to comment further for this story.

Lyndes, who brought forward the removal item, argued that keeping Houbeck in the role failed to address community concerns and called it a matter of accountability.

According to Lyndes, removing Houbeck from office was the “appropriate and responsive step” because he had become “a lightning rod for our community.”

Houbeck, who submitted a video apology which was aired in part during the April 22 council meeting, has said his post was misunderstood and that he did not intend to demean the community, describing the situation as a learning experience and expressing regret for any harm caused.

“I look upon this as a learning opportunity to be more sensitive to the words I use in certain venues and subjects,” Houbeck said in a March statement. “I do regret any harm that may have been caused to the members of the community.”