For Consultant, Name of Game Is Access--for Those With Disabilities

It was supposed to be so simple.

When the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990, it was meant to help 45 million disabled Americans get into public restrooms, reach drinking fountains and easily and conveniently get out of their cars.

But the laws spawned lawsuits, conflicting statutes and confusion that in turn produced experts like Mike Gibbens--an energetic, nationally recognized consultant who can tell developers how many drinking fountains they need and at what heights, as well as many other things.

The Thousand Oaks man operates mostly behind the scenes, rarely getting credit for design changes that make hundreds of buildings just a little different to accommodate the disabled. But his influence is pervasive, from bathrooms to elevators, and it has affected everyone from the blind to those who can’t bend over to reach spouting water.

Gibbens, 43, and his company, National Access Consultants, are in the vanguard of a small but growing group of people who make it their business to know every nook and cranny of the complicated federal and state disabled-access laws.

He advises cities on how to build their buildings, teaches courses to lawyers, architects and investigators on state and federal compliance and serves as an expert witness and consultant in lawsuits around the country.

Gibbens is not disabled, though he does have some minor arthritis pain, and said he isn’t on a crusade to help the physically handicapped.

For him, it is a matter of doing a job well.

“I’m a total perfectionist in this area,” he said. “I can’t stand not to know something. And I don’t take anything for granted. I want to be sure the advice we give is absolutely correct.”

National Access Consultants, whose headquarters in Thousand Oaks employs 10 people, has been in existence for little more than two years. But Gibbens has written nine books and consulted on the topic full time for the last 12 years.

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He said he got into the field when his previous employer, Prudential Insurance Co., had a country club that needed to be accessible for the disabled.

Gibbens was put in charge of navigating the unexplored terrain and before long, he was the regional expert whom others were calling for advice.

So he left the company and set up shop for himself.

In addition to National Access Consultants, Gibbens is involved in two spinoff companies. Next year, he expects the business to break into the six-figure range, almost tripling profits made in the first year. And soon he hopes he and his partners will be able to set up franchises.

Those who have worked with Gibbens say he is good at his work because he has equanimity and lacks a political agenda. He can be counted on, they say, to give accurate, untarnished advice.

“I think he’s committed to both disabled people and the construction industry to make sure the fair and right thing is done,” said Claudia Pedroso, disabled-access coordinator for the city of Thousand Oaks, who has called Gibbens frequently for advice. “He wants to make sure that everything is done fairly.

Jim MacDonald, a Ventura County design official, said Gibbens has given him advice when the legal code is ambiguous. “For example, in commercial bathrooms the door-swing radius of a stall has to be wide enough to get a wheelchair in, but which way it’s supposed to swing is not completely clear. So I called him on it.”

He said Gibbens always has accurate and up-to-date information placed in a context that is easy to understand. “It’s been my experience that he is very knowledgeable and very reasonable, not extreme in approach,” said Jim MacDonald.

Gibbens sometimes advises county and city officials for free, but he charges $150 an hour for his consulting time.

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Some of his friends--and Gibbens himself--would describe him as almost a workaholic. But Gibbens said he has found more balance in the last three years, since he married and began helping to care for his three stepdaughters. He no longer works from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., now allowing himself the luxury of arriving at work between 6 and 7 a.m. and leaving a few hours earlier each day.

Despite his more moderate schedule, when Gibbens is traveling, he typically works 15-hour days. And on one recent December morning at his office, he was drinking an extra large caffe latte, fidgeting and seeming a bit anxious to get back to work.

While he likes his work, others seem to like working with him.

“He is extremely competent,” said Jay Whisenant, an architect in San Diego who has served on two state committees with Gibbens.

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“In this particular area you’ve got state regulations and federal regulations, and they are not compatible in all cases. He is very good at creating a road map of how people should get through that process with the goal of providing accessibility.”

For the long term, Gibbens’ goal is to continue doing what he’s doing, but better. “I really like knowing something that no one else knows,” he said. “The goal is to be the recognized expert in disabled-access consulting in every state.”

On a personal level, Gibbens said he would like to get back to the sport he was doing a few months ago--trap and skeet shooting.

In the meantime, he will spend his days reading proposed legislation, dissecting legal cases and surveying buildings.

And he’ll be enjoying the gift he most wanted for Christmas--a saber-toothed tiger skull with long pointy teeth for the mantle in his office.

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