After repeated requests, disability commission gets approval
Add another commission to the city’s long list of boards.
The newest addition gives people with disabilities a formal voice in local government.
The Santa Monica City Council formed a permanent commission Tuesday to work on issues facing residents with disabilities. The commission will advise city staff on how to comply with state and federal laws requiring equal access for the handicapped.
“This is exactly the way we like to do things in Santa Monica,” said Mayor Pro Tem Kevin McKeown. “We want to bring people in from the community and get them involved in city affairs.”
However, the city council last year denied creating a permanent disabilities commission because its members felt it was unnecessary.
Though a commission dealing with similar issues has been appointed annually by the city council for the past few years, the new commission — which has not been formally named — will provide a continuous resource for persons with disabilities.
“We feel these issues come about year-round,” said Elizabeth Bancroft, the disability commission co-chair. “For that reason we feel there is a need for an on-going committee.”
The new nine-member, all-volunteer commission will meet monthly with city staff.
In its report, the appointed committee outlined reasons why a permanent commission is needed and detailed which issues the commission will deal with.
“Really, a blueprint was put together of what a commission should be doing,” Councilwoman Pam O’Connor said. “I’m very happy about how this turned out.”
Santa Monica also is waiting for the results from an independent consultant looking at ways developers who use public funds to build facilities, especially affordable housing, can make them accessible for the disabled.
In this year’s report, senior city staff members said the disadvantage of creating a permanent disability commission is that its narrow focus may omit possibilities for collaborating with related groups with similar missions and issues.
For example, both the Social Services Commission and the Commission on Older Americans have addressed disability issues.
The council also approved recommendations from the standing committee, including sensitivity training for human resources staff, accessibility improvements to public buildings like City Hall and parking garages, and redesigning the city’s Web site to take into account persons with vision difficulties.
Santa Monica will create a database that tracks all municipally-owned buildings to make sure they comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, including required equipment and features on city property — like wheelchair accessible entrances and restroom facilities.
At least one committee recommendation that requested that the city ask landlords and businesses to upgrade their privately-owned buildings to accommodate persons with disabilities was not approved.
City staff members said the time and funding needed for such a program is not available. Council members recommended the issue could be an on-going discussion addressed by the permanent disabilities commission.
Members of the current committee said 20 percent of Santa Monica’s population is disabled, and about 8,900 Santa Monica residents have some sort of hearing problem.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 11, 2002. Read the original PDF.