d

August 3, 2007

Bryan Greene
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Programs
US Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, SW
Room 5204
Washington, DC 20410

Dear Mr. Greene,

It was great to see you on Wednesday night at RFK Stadium and thank you again for meeting with me on Friday, June 22nd to discuss accessibility issues impacting residential occupancies. I have been working with the undersigned organizations (i.e., American Association of People with Disabilities; Concrete Change; Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund; National Council on Independent Living; Paralyzed Veterans of America; The Arc of the United States and United Cerebral Palsy on developing ways that we can better work with your office on increasing accessible housing for people with disabilities.

As we discussed, we would like HUD to follow-up on the testimony that Cheryl Kent provided during the International Codes Council’s (ICC) recent code hearings in Rochester, New York by submitting a code proposal to recognize the effective date of the Fair Housing Amendments Act’s Accessibility Guidelines in existing residential occupancies.

As the IBC does not require Fair Housing (Type B Units) in existing buildings undergoing alterations, we and other disability organizations are concerned that federal adaptability requirements will be missed by building permit applicants and by code enforcement officials if the original effective date is not indicated. This is a significant concern as HUD has recently added the 2006 edition of the International Building Code (IBC) and the 2003 A117.1 to its list of safe harbor documents.

The code proposal below would alleviate this inconsistency:

3409.1 (IEBC 308.1) Scope. The provisions of Sections 3409.1 (IEBC 308.1) through 3409.9 (IEBC 308.9) apply to maintenance, change of occupancy, additions and alterations to existing buildings, including those identified as historic buildings.

Exception. Type B dwelling or sleeping units required by Section 1107 are not required to be provided in existing buildings and facilities structures for which an occupancy permit was first issued prior to March 13, 1991 and where Type B dwelling units were not required at the time of first occupancy in buildings designed and constructed after March 13, 1991.

The deadline for proposals for the 2009 International Building Code (IBC) is August 20, 2007.

Although HUD continues to add recognized updated editions of the IBC and A117.1, these safe harbor documents merely reflect HUD’s original, and now 17 year old, guidelines. As we discussed, we would like your consideration in forming a federal advisory committee charged with assisting HUD to update the Fair Housing Act Accessibility Guidelines to reflect industry trends and technologies that will benefit people with disabilities including people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Including disability organizations in this federal advisory committee would also be significant as people with disabilities are not adequately represented in ICC’s code development process as they do not have a vote or the financial resources to participate.

As you know, the US Access Board has updated the original Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) and we are aware that the Board’s practice is to consider funding disability organizations who would otherwise not be able to participate in various advisory committees.

I look forward to working with you on these important initiatives.

Sincerely,

Dominic Marinelli
United Spinal Association

Additional cosigners:
American Association of People with Disabilities
Concrete Change
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
National Council on Independent Living
Paralyzed Veterans of America
The Arc of the United States
United Cerebral Palsy