Title
Approving revisions to the City’s Public Works Department Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan.
Body
WHEREAS, following a harsh winter in 2013, the City of Saint Paul adopted a plan to accelerate mill and overlay resurfacing of twenty of the most critical streets over a two-year period; and
WHEREAS, the City completed mill and overlay construction on city streets in the fall of 2014; and
WHEREAS, three Claimants have asserted that the City violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Minnesota Human Rights Act by failing to bring non-compliant curb ramps on the streets that underwent mill and overlay construction into compliance with current accessibility standards; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul Department of Public Works has an ADA Transition Plan in place, adopted by this Council on April 21, 2010, Resolution #10-394 and most recently revised October 7, 2014; and
WHEREAS, the City Attorney recommends that the Public Works ADA Transition Plan be amended, which will allow the City to resolve the differences with the Claimants rather than engage in litigation.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED,
The City Council hereby authorizes the Director of Public Works to make the following changes to its Pedestrian Curb Ramp Policy:
1. The City will delete Paragraph 4 of Page 9 of its ADA Transition Plan and Pages 10-12.
2. The City will add the following language following Paragraph 3 on Page 9 of its ADA Transition Plan:
The City of Saint Paul is required to comply with the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Minnesota Human Rights Act when it completes alterations of city streets. “Alterations” are defined by law and include projects such as new construction, reconstruction and mill and overlay projects. These laws state that whenever the City complete...
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