Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Common house permitting and Cities...

[Ann Zabaldo (zabaldo]

So.  Thank you for starting a thread we've long needed.

I live in a community that is ADA compliant.  It is also highly green  
and sustainable. (We've won a lot of awards!)   We have an elevator.   
Except for 5 or 6 houses out of 43 ALL our homes are visitable.  All  
homes that are visitable and have a bathroom on the 1st floor have a  
BA that is accessible.  Our community made a commitment early on that  
ALL people would have equal access to our common property.  In  
addition, 70% of our homes qualified for below market financing (and  
I live in one of the hottest real estate markets in the country.  It  
was a hot real estate market when we moved in and it still is.)

I can't begin to tell you how painful it is to talk to and to hear  
cohousers who espouse values of egalitarianism, about being good  
neighbors, about inclusiveness and then hear them planning ways to  
avoid ADA compliancy.

This is extremely short sighted.

If you plan to have seniors in your community, or if you plan to be  
in your community when YOU are a senior you may wish to consider the  
long term consequences of this line of thinking.  Not all people who  
use lower than normal counter space are handicapped.  Some are  
children.  Others are people who are shorter than "average."  Some  
are seniors or expectant mothers who might like to sit down while  
they work in the kitchen.  Some are people who may have a temporary  
need such as a broken leg or foot surgery who may still want to  
contribute to CH life.

One of the most bizarre situations I've seen recently is in the CH at  
Nevada City Cohousing in CA.  They have a beautiful, fully equipped,  
completely accessible BA w/ a roll in shower on the 1st floor.  But  
the guest rooms are on the 2nd floor and there is no elevator.  When  
I queried Chuck about this (he designed the CH) he said he couldn't  
remember the reason why they have this BA on the 1st floor...

Now I know a bunch of you are going to jump on this w/ cries of "We  
accommodate guests w/ disabilities in our homes!"

I say "good for you!"  I'm delighted you are doing this.

That's not the point.

The point is that people with challenges are to be afforded the same  
opportunities as the temporarily able bodied.

But you know ... it's not the just the details, it's the attitude  
behind them. The message here is "tell us everybody how we can get  
out of this" NOT "Give us ideas on how we can be fair, inclusive,  
make things good for everybody AND be affordable."  You CAN do this.   
But you need the will to do it.

I work professionally in cohousing.  I also have a disability.  My  
commitment and the commitment of my partners is to collaborate with  
people to build happy, joyous and sustainable communities.  And  
sustainability means creating an environment that handles everyone's  
needs as they change over time.  And that includes accessibility.

Ann Zabaldo
Takoma Village Cohousing
Washington, DC
Partner, Cohousing Collaborative
McLean, VA



On Sep 13, 2006, at 12:33 PM, Lyle Scheer wrote:

> We're having some design/permitting issues with our Common house  
> and the
> City of Ashland.
>
> We think we've convinced them that the building is not a "commercial"
> building, so we don't need an elevator to the 2nd floor for  
> handicapped
> access or a commercial kitchen.
>
> They still believe it's a "public" building, and they are pushing for
> ADA (american disabilities act) compliance for the kitchen and the
> upstairs bathroom.  This means special cooktop and lower counters for
> the kitchen and then because the only shower in the building is in the
> upstairs bathroom they still want it a handicapped shower (regardless
> that we won't have an elevator up there).
>
> Has anyone argued this successfully with your particular planning
> department (about the public/private and ADA)?  If so, what arguments
> did you use?
>
> - - Lyle