The first meeting of the Fair Housing Advisory Group was held on May 20, 1993.  The Advisory Group was established as a permanent board in 1996 by an executive order from the Mayor for the purpose of identifying barriers to fair housing in the Omaha community and strategies to address those barriers.

The group developed the following Mission Statement: “The Fair Housing Advisory Group is an ad hoc committee invited by the Mayor of the City of Omaha to bring particular insight and expertise to:

1. the City-sponsored assessment of barriers to fair housing choice in both the public and private sectors;

2. the identification of additional avenues of inquiry; 

3. the identification of barriers by industry/sector;

4. the development of activities to further fair housing choice and eliminate identified barriers;

5. the review of actions taken and the results of those actions.”

The composition of the advisory group is designed to include representatives of housing-related professions and groups most likely to encounter barriers to fair housing.  Specifically, the membership includes one builder, one lender, one realtor,four members of protected classes, two representatives of low-income and moderate-income neighborhoods, one at-large member, and one representative of the City administration.

The current members of the Fair Housing Advisory Board are: