For City Council Meeting December 10, 2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: G. Michael Milhiser, Interim City Manager
FROM: Tim Sullivan, Director of Public Works
Title
Request City Council to Approve the Public Right-of-Way and Facilities Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan.
Body
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff requests that the City Council Approve the Public Right-of-Way and Facilities Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan.
BACKGROUND:
On June 15, 2018, the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services notified the City of an award totaling $1,705,000, including $500,000 for ADA Improvements at City Facilities.
On February 8, 2022, the City Council approved a Professional Services Agreement with Sally Swanson Architects, Inc. for the Development and Preparation of the Public Right-of-Way (ROW) and Facilities ADA Transition Plans, City Projects No. 190808 & 190210 in the amount of $478,080.
On June 6, 2024, a webpage was added to the City’s website that introduced Mr. Tim Sullivan as the Americans with Disabilities Act/Accessibility Coordinator for the City of Rialto. Included on the City’s ADA webpage were the results of a Self-Evaluation, Grievance Procedure, the Final Draft ADA Transition Plan, and a Notice that a virtual meeting will be held by the City, where members of the public can provide any comments they may have on the City’s Draft ADA Transition Plan.
A public review period of the Final Draft ADA Transition Plan occurred from June 7, 2024, to July 8, 2024.
On July 8, 2024, a virtual meeting was held, and the following topics were presented:
1. What the ADA requires from local governments.
2. A description of the City’s Self-Evaluation.
3. The process and methodology for the preparation of the ADA Transition Plan.
4. A sample survey from the Final Draft ADA Transition Plan.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 provides comprehensive civil rights protections to qualified individuals with disabilities in the areas of employment, public accommodations, State and local government services, and telecommunications. A primary goal of the ADA is to ensure equal participation in public life for all Americans with disabilities. Title II of the Act covers programs, services, and activities of public entities, such as the City of Rialto.
The ADA defines "disability" as:
a. A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
b. Having a record of such an impairment.
c. Being regarded as having such an impairment.
If an individual meets any one of these definitions, they are considered to be an individual with a disability for purposes of the ADA.
Under Title II, a public entity may not deny the benefits of its programs, services, and/or activities to individuals with disabilities by maintaining accessible facilities that house those programs, services, and activities. The City's programs, services, and activities, when viewed in their entirety, must be made accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, except where to do so would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the program, result in undue financial and administrative burdens or threaten or destroy the historic significance of a historic property.
The City of Rialto ADA Transition Plan is a two-part Citywide accessibility plan established in accordance with the requirements of Title II §35.150 of the ADA. Section §35.150 requires that each program, service, or activity conducted by a city when viewed in its entirety, be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. The regulation makes clear, however, that a city is not required to make each of its existing facilities accessible (§35.150(a)(1)). Unlike Title III of the ADA, which requires public accommodations to remove architectural barriers where such removal is "readily achievable” or to provide goods and services through alternative methods where those methods are "readily achievable,” Title II requires a city to make its programs accessible in all cases, except where to do so would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the program or in undue financial and administrative burdens. The US Congress intended the "undue burden" standard in Title II to be significantly higher than the "readily achievable" standard in Title III. Thus, although Title II may not require the removal of barriers in some cases where removal would be required under Title III, the program access requirement of Title II should enable individuals with disabilities to participate in and benefit from the programs, services, or activities of cities in all but the most usual cases.
The Facilities ADA Transition Plan identifies compliance needs for City facilities and assists in transitioning to meet compliance Citywide. The Federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) stipulates requirements that govern the geometry and layout of access within public facilities. ADA requirements stipulated the need for agencies (cities, counties, and states) to craft a Self-Evaluation Report and Accessibility Survey, often referred to as an ADA “Transition Plan,” by July 26, 1992. Subsequent Federal rules amended the requirements of the timing and implementation improvements of the various agency plans. In 1992, the City crafted a plan addressing ADA compliance covering city-owned facilities.
To comply with the Title II requirements for accessibility to City programs, services, and activities, the City’s ADA Transition Plan:
• Identifies physical obstacles in the public entity's Public ROW that limit the accessibility of its programs or activities to individuals with disabilities.
• Assesses the extent of architectural barriers to program accessibility in the public rights-of-way and within the buildings, parks, and other facilities operated by the City.
• Describes in detail the methods that will be used to make Public ROW accessible.
• Estimates costs for mitigation solutions.
• Specifies the steps necessary to achieve compliance.
• Provides a schedule for barrier removal/mitigation.
• Sets priorities for barrier elimination.
• Indicates the official responsible for the implementation of the plan.
The Public ROW and Facilities ADA Transition Plan is the City of Rialto’s commitment to providing equal access to all its public programs, services, facilities, and activities for citizens with disabilities. The Transition Plan focuses on elements within the City’s Public ROW and City facilities, including sidewalks, pedestrian paths, curb ramps, street crossings, driveway crossings, crosswalks, median crossings, public transit stops, and pedestrian-activated signal systems. Elements within City Facilities include City-owned and maintained facilities and parking lots throughout the City, which provide many services and venues for the public and host municipal operations.
The ADA Transition Plan allows public involvement through a grievance procedure that may be done via telephone or email. The public can submit comments or bring up ADA-related issues they may have with the City to resolve any complaints alleging that the City of Rialto has not complied with the ADA. A link to the Grievance form and procedure may be found on the City’s ADA webpage.
The Public ROW ADA Transition Plan is funded by Measure I revenues. The funding for the Facilities ADA Transition Plan was made possible with the assistance of Assembly Member Eloise Gomez Reyes, District 47, at a roundtable meeting held on April 25, 2017. At the meeting, City Managers submitted a list of projects requesting funding from the State of California for various projects in their respective cities to assist with emergency services.
The Final Draft ADA Transition Plan report was not part of this staff report due to its unwieldy size being over 44,000 pages long. The following Table 1 identifies the total estimated construction costs to implement Public ROW ADA deficiency corrective measures:
Table 1
The construction costs reported by the ADA Facilities Transition Plan to implement deficiency corrective measures for City of Rialto Facilities is estimated at $6 million dollars.
Depending upon available funding and the cost of the recommended work at the City of Rialto facilities and within City Public ROW, staff will return to the Council for approval to advertise the bids for the work over multiple fiscal years.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The requested approval of the Public Right-of-Way and Facilities ADA Transition Plan does not constitute a “Project” as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to Section 15378(a), a “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. According to Section 15378(b), a Project does not include: (5) Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY
The City of Rialto General Plan establishes various guiding principles, goals and objectives through which the City looks to improve the community and protect the quality of life for our residents. This action is consistent with Guiding Principle 3A in the General Plan:
Our City government will lead by example, and will operate in an open, transparent, and responsive manner that meets the needs of the citizens and is a good place to do business.
Approval of this action also complies with the following City of Rialto General Plan Goals and Policies:
Goal 2-24: Take advantage of opportunities to increase and enhance open spaces throughout Rialto.
Goal 2-27: Provide a variety of park facilities that meet the diverse needs and interests of the community.
Policy 2-27.1: Establish a Master Plan for Parks and Recreation that achieves a park ratio of 3.0 acres per 1,000 residents, evenly distributes park facilities throughout the community, and contains strategies for funding facilities and maintenance.
Policy 2-27.2: Plan for and designate adequate funding to maintain new and existing parks and facilities.
Goal 4-9: Promote Walking
Policy 4-9.3: Provide pedestrian-friendly and safety improvements, such as crosswalks and pedestrian signals, in all pedestrian activity areas.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed the staff report.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Operating Budget Impact
There is no impact to the Operating Budget.
Capital Improvement Budget Impact
There is no impact to the Capital Improvement Budget.
Licensing
This action does not require payment of a business license fee or tax.