Thousand Oaks Votes to Hire Disabled-Access Coordinator

The city of Thousand Oaks, responding to a flood of complaints from a disabled rights group, will hire a handicapped-access coordinator to ensure that local businesses provide special parking spaces, wheelchair ramps and other aids.

The City Council approved the position Tuesday after city employees said they were overwhelmed by complaints filed by a local group called Advocates for Accessibility, or AFA. In the past 15 months, the three-member group has filed 304 complaints with the city against local businesses for failing to provide access aids for the disabled.

More than half of the complaints filed by AFA have been dismissed by city investigators as being too vague, but reviewing them has been time-consuming, said Barry Branagan, director of the city’s Building and Safety Department.

By agreeing to hire the coordinator, city officials “have seen the handwriting on the wall,” said AFA member John Ellis. “There will be a few more skirmishes, but the disabled have basically won the war in Thousand Oaks.”

The coordinator, who will earn $38,000 annually, will review developers’ plans, conduct inspections of projects under construction and coordinate the efforts of various city departments, such as planning and public works.

State Laws

State laws require that public buildings constructed since 1982, and older structures being remodeled, must be made accessible to the handicapped. The laws require features such as wheelchair ramps, special bathrooms and parking spaces for the disabled.

After AFA complained that city officials were ignoring many of its complaints, the state attorney general’s office requested that the city report quarterly on compliance with the laws until further notice. The first report, released last week, said 193 of the 304 complaints that AFA filed, about 63%, were too vague to investigate.

On Wednesday, Deputy Atty. Gen. Louis Verdugo said he was pleased at the “positive response” that the city had taken by approving the position.

The council Tuesday also approved creation of a five-member handicapped appeals board. Property owners and others who disagree with the city’s interpretation of the state access laws can bring their cases to the board. For instance, a developer could claim that an older building was exempt, Branagan said.

But council members put off deciding until a public hearing in May whether the board’s decisions would be final or could be appealed to the City Council. AFA members want to give the board final authority, such as similar bodies have in other communities, including Los Angeles.