IS ACCESSIBILITY ON YOUR HOUSING AGENDA?

There are so many great housing projects taking place across Cuyahoga County.   CDC’s , nonprofits and private developers are working to bring a wide array of housing to the area.  Most often the discussion is about fitting the neighborhood, tax incentives, the type of housing and minimum requirements that have to be met based on zoning, funding etc.

What doesn’t seem to be a popular item for the agenda is accessible housing for people with physical disabilities.  These are units that are fully accessible in design based on a specific standards.  Usually the 5% of units requirement for those receiving federal funding has become part of the building blueprint instead of being a part of the discussion on whether there is a need for more than the 5%.

There is consistently a shortage of accessible units.  People who need these units can be on a waiting list for years.  City’s such as in Philadelphia have recognized the issue and passed legislation to increase the minimum requirement to 10% and other cities have increased it even more.  At minimum, Accessibility should be included on every housing agenda and included in the project scoring.

Any thoughts?  Leave a comment.