Title
An Ordinance supplementing the Pittsburgh Code, Title Six-Conduct by adding a new Chapter 623 - "Pittsburgh Visitability Design" to require new housing, substantially renovated single-family dwellings, duplexes, tri-plexes, town homes and row houses constructed with city assistance, and adapted reuses of industrial and commercial buildings that are substantially renovated or converted for multi-family residential use with city assistance, to meet a minimum standard of visitability.
Body
WHEREAS, no statutory requirements presently exist on a federal, state or local level that require new single family homes and duplexes, tri-plexes, town houses and row houses, or those undergoing major reconstruction, and adapted reuses of industrial and commercial buildings that are substantially renovated or converted for multi-family residential use with city assistance, to install visitable features for persons with and without disabilities; and
WHEREAS, people with disabilities and their immediate families are often isolated to their own homes because of insurmountable barriers at the homes of their acquaintances, and often experience difficulty in locating a home to rent or buy that meets their needs; and
WHEREAS, certain features in construction make new houses visitable, and in many cases livable, and requiring that newly built and substantially renovated houses meet at least this minimum standard of visitability which will allow people with disabilities more freedom of visiting other homes and of locating a home themselves to rent or buy; and
WHEREAS, Allegheny County has the second highest proportion of senior citizens of any county in the United States. And as people age (as people get older), many become trapped by the physical barriers of their home. Many seniors cannot get out of their homes without assistance to seek medical care, and attend to daily living needs. This creates a serious threat to public health, and a heavy cost of social services.
WHEREAS, installing visitability features in newly constructed or substantially renovated homes is far more cost effective than making necessary accessibility modifications at a later time.
WHEREAS, the added cost of providing these visitability standards is minimal and is far outweighed by the public good they have the potential to provide.
Be it resolved that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Supplementing the Pittsburgh Code, Title Six-Conduct - by adding Chapter 623, "Pittsburgh Visitability Design" to require new and substantially renovated single-family dwellings, duplexes, tri-plexes, town homes and row houses constructed with city assistance, and adapted reuses of industrial and commercial buildings that are substantially renovated or converted for multi-family residential use with city assistance, to meet a minimum standard of visitability.
Chapter 623
Title and Purpose
(a) Pittsburgh Visitability Design Ordinance - This Chapter shall be known as the Pittsburgh Visitability Design Ordinance."
(b) The purpose of this Ordinance is to guarantee visitable housing
to all individuals, with or without disabilities, by requiring that new and substantially renovated single-family dwellings and duplexes, tri-plexes, town houses and row houses constructed with city assistance of any kind, and adapted reuses of industrial and commercial buildings that are substantially renovated or converted for multi-family residential use with city assistance, contain the visitability features set forth in this Ordinance, which will enhance both visitability and usability for all residents.
Section 2. Definitions
(a) "Visitability"- the presence of architectural design features which allow basic access and use of a residential dwelling by people with significant mobility impairments, and which minimize the cost of full accessibility modifications, if necessary, at a later time.
(b) "City Assistance" - funding or assistance from the City of Pittsburgh, or
any agent thereof, including the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA),
through any of the following means:
(1) receipt of a building contract or similar contractual agreement
involving any city-funded program or fund, including but not limited to
the URA or similar programs;
(2) real estate purchased, leased or donated from the City of Pittsburgh or
any agency thereof;
(3) receipt of preferential tax treatment, bond assistance, mortgage
assistance, or similar financial advantages derived from the City of
Pittsburgh, or any agency thereof;
(4) dispersal under city auspices of any Federal or State construction
funds; and
(5) beneficiary of city-funded property development infrastructure such as grading, development, decontamination, sanitation systems, sewers and other benefits; and
(6) receipt of any other funding or financial benefit from the City of
Pittsburgh, or any agency thereof.
(7) "City Assistance" does not include tax abatements under the LERTA program, or the URA's Pittsburgh Home Rehabilitation Program, Pittsburgh Home Ownership Program, Home Emergency Loan Program, Home Accessibility Program for Independence, or Pittsburgh Party Wall Program; provided that beneficiaries of these programs are given information concerning universal design and visitability principles.
(c) "Substantially renovated" - property alterations which involve the reconstruction of interior living space and which in total cost exceed $40,000 or 75% of the assessed value of the property, whichever is greater.
(d) "Circulation path" - An exterior or interior way of passage from one place to another for pedestrians.
(e) "Significant mobility impairment" - The disability of a person who needs assistive mobility technology in the form of a wheelchair, walker, crutches or similar device to move along a circulation path.
(f) "Powder room" - A toileting room having at a minimum, a water closet and a lavatory.
Section 3. Visitability
(a) Applicability -
(1) This Ordinance applies to all newly constructed, or substantially
renovated single-family dwellings and duplexes, tri-plexes, town houses and row houses after the effective date of this article that are constructed with city assistance; and adapted reuses of industrial and commercial buildings that are substantially renovated or converted for multi-family residential use with city assistance.
(b) Design Requirements -
(1) Building Entrances: Each unit must have at least one no-step entry,
approachable by a firm, stable and slip resistant circulation path (walkway, garage, or ramp) w/ a slope of no greater than 1:12. Where the average slope of the property line along and contiguous to the public right of way exceeds a slope of 1:12, the slope of the circulation path may be greater, if necessary to provide access to the entry, but may not exceed the average slope along that property line. Entry doors must have lever handle hardware and have a clear open width of at least 32". If the conditions of the lot are not compatible with a circulation path design usable by persons with significant mobility impairments, builder may apply for a waiver with the Department of City Planning as provided in Section 4 of this Ordinance.
(2) Interior Doorways: All interior doorways must have a clear open width of at least 32" except for those of closets less than 15 sq. feet. All must have lever door hardware.
(3) Interior Circulation Paths: Circulation paths into and throughout the visitable entry level floor of the dwelling must be at least 36" wide and have a surface that is firm, stable and slip resistant.
(4) Powder Room: Each housing unit must have at least one powder room on the visitable entry level floor, with a 30" by 48" minimum clear floor space contiguous to the water closet and the lavatory, clear space under a wall-hung lavatory can be included in this measurement. All bathrooms throughout the unit must have reinforcement in the walls adjacent to water closets, bathtubs and showers for the installation of grab bars if needed.
(5) Environmental Controls: Environmental controls, including light
switches, electrical outlets, and thermostats, must be at accessible heights.
Outlets may not be lower than 15" above the finished floor and switches and thermostats may not be higher than 48" above the finished floor. If there are two controls for the same appliance in a room (for example, two light switches), only one need be in compliance with these standards.
(c) Non-compliance -
(1) No City Assistance may be awarded in connection with housing covered by this Ordinance unless the scope of work set forth in the application complies with the design requirements set forth in this section
(2) No Building Permit shall be issued in connection with housing covered by this Ordinance unless the scope of work set forth in the application complies with the design requirements set forth in this section.
(3) No Occupancy Permit shall be issued in connection with housing covered by this Ordinance unless the requirements of this Ordinance have been met.
Section 4. Waiver of Visitability Regulations
(a) Any or all of the requirements of Section 3, may be waived or modified by a committee appointed by the Director of the City of Pittsburgh Planning Department through the issuance of a "Visitability Waiver." The application for said waiver must demonstrate that, due to unusually difficult circumstances such as the topography of the lot, limited buildable area, or limited size and configuration of an existing building, compliance can only be accomplished at great expense or hardship of the property owner. The waiver of one or more requirements under Section 3 does not remove the obligation to comply with the other requirements of Section 3.
(b) The Director of the City Planning Department shall appoint a 5-member committee to review Visitability Waiver requests. This committee shall meet at least once every month and shall include the following persons or their designees:
1. the City's Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator
2. a representative of the City-County Task Force of Disabilities,
3. an architect licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who is familiar with, universal design visitability, the Federal Fair Housing Act, and the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
4. a representative of the Pittsburgh community development corporation (CDC) community, and
5. an official with the City Bureau of Building Inspection
(c) Requests for Visitability Waivers shall be filed with the City's ADA Coordinator, who shall present all such requests at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the waiver committee. The waiver committee shall review each request and issue a decision within 14 days of the meeting. A property owner may appeal the denial of a waiver request to the Director of City Planning.
(d) The waiver committee shall adopt clear standards for the granting of waivers, and shall make those standards available to agencies that award City Assistance and to the public upon request. To the greatest extent possible, the waiver standards shall be designed to give property owners clear and understandable guidelines for determining whether they will be granted an exemption in a particular situation.
(e) Yearly reports shall be made to City Council of the numbers of Waivers requested and granted, and the basis thereof. Within two years of the effective date of this Ordinance, the waiver committee shall present City Council with a critical review and findings evaluating the effectiveness of this Ordinance. The waiver committee's report shall include any recommended changes to this Ordinance or to waiver standards that in the opinion of the committee would improve the effectiveness of this Ordinance.
Section 5. Effective Date
(a) The effective date of this Ordinance shall be July 1, 2003.