RP Wynstone and a group of landowners in New Hanover are accusing township officials of a racially motivated plot to prevent people of color from relocating to the area, writes Kenny Cooper for WHYY.

The developer and the group of landowners filed a federal lawsuit against the township, seeking an unspecified amount of damages for the delay of the Town Center project.

Introduced in 2005, the project envisioned over 700 housing units and commercial space.

In the legal complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on March 5, attorneys from Kang Haggerty LLC accused township officials of reviewing development applications in bad faith and adopting restrictive ordinances that are specifically designed to make construction unfeasible.

“These extreme measures are motivated by unconscionable and unconstitutional income discrimination and racial bias, designed to stop the construction of new affordable housing that in turn increases housing density and attracts new residents to the Township, and to prevent any increase in the population of racial minorities in New Hanover Township, which is currently 95 percent white,” the complaint read.

Read more about the lawsuit and several other accusations made against town officials in WHYY.

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