Ill., Ariz. Towns Seek Accessibility

.c The Associated Press

NAPERVILLE, Ill. (AP) - New homes in this fast-growing Chicago suburb will
have to be built so that they are more accessible to people in wheelchairs,
with wider doorways, lower light switches and other such features.

The City Council adopted the standards in a 7-1 vote Tuesday, the same day a
similar measure was approved in Pima County, Ariz.

The Naperville measure extends the ``visitability'' standards required in
public housing to private, single-family homes. (They are called
``visitability'' standards since they make it possible for handicapped people
to visit others.)

``I think we're on the cutting edge of something,'' Naperville Mayor George
Pradel said.

The new standards in this city of 128,000 do not apply to existing houses.

With the new standards, first-floor interior doorways must be at least 32
inches wide so that people in wheelchairs can get through more easily.

To make electrical sockets and light switches easier to reach from a
wheelchair, the sockets can be no lower than 15 inches above the floor and
the switches can be no higher than 48 inches.

A vote on a proposal to require homes to have at least one step-free entrance
was put off for further study.

Some builders said they were concerned that the new standards would add to
the cost of new homes.

But city officials said the cost will be minimal. For example, they said,
reinforcing bathroom walls in case the homeowner decides to install railings
will add no more than $250 per bathroom.

``This gives people in wheelchairs more freedom,'' said Bill Malleris, a
Naperville activist whose neuromuscular disorder requires that he use a
wheelchair. ``They can go where they want without having someone lift them
out of a chair to go into houses, or help them use the bathroom.''

In Arizona, the ordinance approved 3-2 by the Pima County Board of
Supervisors also requires new homes to have wider doorways, levers on some
doors, stepless entryways and grab bars on bathroom walls.

``This is one tiny little thing we can do to make that situation a little
easier for people in this community,'' said Colette Altaffer, who serves on
Tucson's Commission on Disability Issues.

County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said the measure will be phased in
over the next 12 to 18 months.

AP-NY-02-06-02 2346EST

Copyright 2002 The Associated Press.