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18 THE CITY OF - -- ~ ~ -~- "' CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT j~L~£~AS~4NTONo May 6, 2008 Assistant City Manager TITLE: APPROVE THE TRANSITION PLAN FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE AMERICAN WITH DISABILITIES ACT SUMMARY The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), enacted on July 26, 1990, provides comprehensive civil rights protections to persons with disabilities in the areas of employment, state and local government services, access to public accommodations, transportation and telecommunications. The ADA is companion civil rights legislation with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This legislation mandates that qualified disabled individuals shall not be excluded from participation in, denied the benefit of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity. The Act also protects employees with disabilities, with certain protections and requires employers to make reasonable accommodation for applicants and employees with disabilities. As part of the ADA, public agencies are required to prepare a Transition Plan to address those elements of City buildings and facilities requiring modification to meet the intent of the ADA. Prior to preparing the Transition Plan, the City completed a physical accessibility survey and evaluation of all its buildings and facilities. The results of the survey are incorporated in the Transition Plan. Since the Transition Plan has been in place since July 2004, its formal adoption will not in and of itself amend the progress the City has made to address facility modifications. Rather, adoption is seen as a formality to adhere to specific procedural requirements of the ADA. City staff conducted a pubic meeting at the Senior Center on March 13, 2008 to receive comments on the Transition Plan. A comment summary is included as Attachment 2. RECOMMENDATION Approve the Transition Plan for compliance with the American with Disabilities Act dated February 1, 2008. (Attachment 1) FINANCIAL STATEMENT The City facility replacement fund includes $50,000 annually to address ADA improvements to City facilities. The specific improvements are determined by the Public Works department based on priority need consistent with the Transition Plan.