Potential building ordinance accommodates disabled

A new version of a long-debated building ordinance being taken into consideration by the Austin City Council Wednesday may require some Austin homes to be built with more accomodations for disabled people.

The "visitability" ordinance would change the current building code standards to require single-family homes and duplexes to have wider hallways, wider doorways and stepless entries.

The ordinance is supported by Austin's Coalition for Visitability, a 15-member coalition that includes advocacy groups for disabled people, low-income housing and the elderly.

Several U.S. cities, including Atlanta and Chicago, have implemented similar ordinances.

"We are trying to get basic access standards included in the building code to make Austin a more inclusive city," said coalition spokeswoman Stephanie Thomas.

Thomas said wider hallways and no-step entryways will make disabled Austinites feel more comfortable in friends' homes and allow for a safer exit in the event of an emergency. The current building code only mandates that city money fund accomodations for housing.

City officials estimate the cost of these measures to be low, ranging between $300 and $500 per home.

Le Nguyen, a coordinator for Austin's Americans with Disabilities Act Committee, said the ordinance would not be significant in light of hundreds of other building code requirements.

"The ordinance is not that big of a deal," Nguyen said.

Harry Savio, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, said the costs of the new accomodations could be between $5,000 and $9,000 per home.

Even small measures like replacing doorknobs with levers and reducing stairs will be helpful for many disabled Austinities, said Paula Mixson, a member of the Gray Panthers, a senior citizen advocacy organization.

Savio said builders are working with the city on a compromise that would include mandating a 32-inch exterior and bathroom door, as well as reinforcing bathroom walls in first-floor restrooms.

Savio said the coalition's figures do not take into account the cost of reformatting design plans and the added square footage created by widening hallways and doors.

"The mandatory cost to the home-buying public would be too great," Savio said.