COM 0598.011 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Disability v Rights Hawaii P.O. Box 5575, Hilo, HI 967211 (808) 9613862 working rogetherfor access 8/21/2007 Hawaii County Councilmembers Dear Councilmembers, This is a followup letter to our letter of 8/10/07 regazding Bill 151 and the new provisions that require raising the floors of new construction. It is on behalf of the Boazd of Directors of Disability Rights Hawaii, which has approved the previous letter (written on behalf of our Visitability Task Force). We oppose the measures to require higher elevation of the floors of new homes. We cannot support a rule that allows the creation of increasingly inaccessible buildings. Our society needs to increase accessibility, not decrease it. If building elevations must be increased, then the entrances to those buildings must be required to be accessible to people with mobility impairments. We understand Bill 151 to require higher floors unless owners finance a survey to prove that they are not in a flood azea (the implication of "non-shaded X zone"). The expense of the surveys will virtually guazantee that most homes will be built higher off the ground than they are now. This is a serious harm to people with mobility impairments. The creation of more inaccessible buildings increases the segregation that is already experienced by citizens with mobility impairments. The authors of this bill are awaze that it will harm the interests of people with mobility impairments. But they never bothered to inform disabled citizens of their plan. Why were we being kept in the dazk about this important erosion of our rights? Our society needs to increase the abilities of its citizens to live in the community throughout their lifetimes. A very large proportion of elderly people become mobility impaired. If their own houses were built to be accessible, they would be able to live independently at home rather than being locked into an institution. By requiring higher elevations, Bill 151 reduces the number of accessible new homes, and thereby reduces the possibility that elderly people will be able to live independently. We need improvements in accessible construction, not increases in the barriers that keep people with mobility impairments out of homes. DRH is trying to educate the public to the need for all homes to be accessible, not only the homes of people who happen to have mobility impairments. The idea that only the homes of disabled people need to be accessible is simple bigotry. Like everyone else, people with mobility impairments deserve to have access to the community. Comm: No. Ref. Toat,~~ Ref. DoteAUG 2_ ~2 Z_ pp7 Disability Rights Hawaii is atax-exempt nonpro&t mrporadan