IRVINE

Delighted by the prospect of opening more homes to the disabled and elderly, the City Council approved spending $3,000 for a brochure that would describe accessibility options to new-home buyers.

“You don’t have to create an onerous program to be a success,” Councilman Greg Smith said. “This is a test for the private sector and I think they’ll come through.”

The three-page color brochure was proposed by a task force charged with finding voluntary incentives to prod builders to provide homes more user-friendly to the disabled.

Called “Universal Designs: Homes for the Future,” the brochure boasts the benefits of options such as lever door handles and widened doorways.

The brochure will be sponsored by the city, the Irvine Co. and the Orange County chapter of the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California.