In late August, a Panorama Apartments tenant filed a formal complaint with the Fair Housing Equal Opportunity Division of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) after claiming to experience multiple incidents of discrimination.

The tenant, April Brown, shed light on months of racial and disability discrimination at the apartments at 9624 Frontier Ave. in Snoqualmie. After review, HUD accepted the complaint in October and referred the case to the Washington State Human Rights Commission.

Brown alleged Panorama Apartments’ failure to grant reasonable accommodation to a disability, failure to address racial harassment that creates a hostile living environment, and retaliation for exercising her rights under the law, according to the case file.

At the beginning of Brown’s residency in 2020, she reported requesting an accessible parking spot with an adjoining access aisle. She later followed up with two doctor letters confirming her medical condition.

Brown explained in a statement regarding the alleged violations that she needed to fully open the door to exit her vehicle.

Throughout the years, Brown also expressed being unable to reverse her car, and being blocked from opening her car door, according to the document.

Brown said, in a phone interview, that she had put two required surgeries off due to lack of access to her car and the inability to exit her car.

Three years after the initial request, and only when the complaint was filed with HUD, Brown said she was provided handicapped parking. However, she noted the parking spot is located at another building.

Brown, who is Black, has also reported being called various racial slurs by other tenants. One of these incidents was reported to the police on July 22, nearly a month before the filing of her complaint to HUD.

Brown had brought repeated attention to the multiple tenants racially harassing her up until Aug. 22. Although Panorama Apartments staff viewed the surveillance camera footage, the case file reported they have yet to take prompt or corrective action against the behavior.

When Brown sat down with the staff, after several complaints, the staff allegedly offered her money alongside a mutual termination of tenancy.

Brown said she immediately called HUD after the interaction and has since claimed to experience further acts of retaliation from Panorama Apartments.

According to the case file, the acts in the complaint, if proven, can constitute various violations of discrimination and coercion under Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 as amended by the Fair Housing Act.

The Valley Record reached out to the state commission who said, in an email, the agency cannot comment on the pending investigation.

The Panorama Apartments and the owner of the apartments, HNN Communities, did not respond to the request for comment on the case.