Council Favors Bill to Ease Permits for Disabled

A proposed ordinance streamlining the process that disabled residents will go through when they apply for building permits or zoning changes was tentatively approved Tuesday by the Long Beach City Council.

The council members unanimously decided to join only a few other cities in the United States with special provisions for the disabled in building and zoning code permit approvals.

Before sending the proposed ordinance to the city attorney for final drafting, the council members removed a proposed $200 permit fee that critics called discriminatory. Testifying before the vote, representatives of disabled groups said none of the other three cities known to have similar ordinances--San Jose, Washington and Philadelphia--charge fees.

The council also agreed to allow individuals seeking permit or zoning approval to do so without a public hearing. Critics of the public hearing requirement said it would have violated their right to privacy.

Applicants such as group homes for the disabled would still have to notify neighbors and go through a public hearing process if they seek to lift density restrictions on their homes.