2013-11-20, Committee on People with Disabilities Agenda

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have accommodations for the public. If not, under the old codes, restrooms in a restaurant were not required to be provided to the public. Our code only recently changed that required that public accommodation. In March 2012, we adopted 2006 International Building Code as part of Chapter 5 of our Building Code for the Hawai‘i County. And as part of that it requires accessible restrooms to employees and the public in most new structures or where a change of use has occurred. J. Floyd wanted to know what is defined as nearby. At Kuhio Plaza, if you’re in one quadrant, the nearest bathroom could be up to a quarter of a mile. Neil believes that it’s about 300 feet. In Prince Kuhio Plaza, there are restrooms in some of the major tenants, so maybe they are using that to meet the requirement. Jesse stated that the bathroom was out of order at one of the major tenants. Going back there a month later, the bathroom was still out of order. He wanted to know what the law say about how soon a bathroom in repair needs to be up and running to have access. Neil stated that temporary facilities would be a logical answer, but he doesn’t know if there is any time line on a given business that is making those changes. Warren reiterated that if someone is making a good faith effort to make that repair, then PW will not get into the penalty stage. But if they are doing nothing, at least the Order of Noncompliance serves as a notice that there are some consequences if you don’t bring yourself into compliance. J. Souza spoke about elevators and how people are fearful and non-trusting of elevators, because they are afraid of being stuck in the elevator and they don’t know how to get out. In Washington D.C. if a deaf person is stuck and can’t use the phone inside the elevator, there is a special button to press, and the display would light up saying help is on the way. So the deaf person would have peace of mind knowing that somebody knows and will be coming. James wanted to know what feedback the speakers had regarding this and how the deaf person would know that someone is coming for them when they are stuck in the elevator. Neil explained that the elevator inspections are actually done by a special branch of the State. It is spelled out in the Building Code as far as those kind of controls for accessibility. We rely on the design professional to meet all the standards and coordinate the installation with the State Elevator Board. If you find an elevator where the emergency apparatus is not functioning properly, you can let us know or let the State know and we’ll make sure that someone follows up on it. But unfortunately sometimes you never know if it’s not operating until you need it. J. Floyd inquired about the procedure for updating an elevator or installing a new one. According to Neil, the ADA requires that they do come into compliance within a certain time period and some of the apartment buildings like Hale Moana and Hale Kahakai, they’ve recently replaced their elevators to make them come into compliance. 4