With the help of its members and the California Building Industry Association, BIA|Bay Area submitted a lengthy comment letter on Alameda’s draft universal design ordinance that outlines how the regulation would substantially drive up the cost of new housing. As proposed, it would require 100 percent of the residential units constructed in Alameda to be "visitable" by a person with mobility issues. This includes mandatory access to the front door, ground floor bedroom or common visiting space, ground floor open space and bathroom without having to negotiate stairs. Also, all residential developments with five or more units must provide in 30 percent of the project an additional prescribed set of universal design features including an accessible route of travel from the front door to an accessible kitchen, an accessible bedroom, an accessible common area and an accessible laundry facility. If adopted, it would be the most stringent universal design ordinance in the entire state. Click here to read BIA's letter to Alameda dated April 26, 2017. Click here to read the draft ordinance. The city does not yet have a public hearing date scheduled for the ordinance. For comments or questions, contact BIA’s Lisa Vorderbrueggen at 925-348-1956 or lvorderbrueggen@biabayarea.org.
