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Bellflower ordinance targets ADA lawsuits
Bellflower ordinance targets ADA lawsuits - Los Angeles Wave: Herald American
Posted: Wednesday, July 3, 2013 3:51 pm
By Wave Staff | 0 comments
BELLFLOWER — A city zone ordinance amendment aimed at preventing drive-by lawsuits will take effect later this month after receiving final approval from the City Council June 24.
A second ordinance will give City Council members in 2015 a 2.5 percent raise.
Planning Consultant Jennifer Lilley, in a report to council June 10, said the code amendments allow the city to waive certain requirements if a small business owner needs to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
She noted that Bellflower is an older, built up community with many businesses constructed on small lots before ADA was approved in 1990.
Lilley said drive-by lawsuits involve attorneys and handicapped people who drive around looking for older businesses that do not meet ADA requirements.
They often threaten to file a suit against the business, then agree to settle for a sum of $5,000 or $10,000. However, often the litigants return with other grievances.
“The best defense is to comply with the ADA rules,” Lilley said.
But on older lots and buildings, obeying the requirements might run afoul of city codes.
For example, the required number of parking spaces may need to be waived if space is needed to install a wider handicapped parking slot or doorway.
The rule against encroachment into side, front or rear yard setbacks might need to be waived if building expansion for an updated restroom or entrance ramp is needed, she added.
The pay for City Council members will increase $236 a month from the current $1,060 to $1,272 a month starting after the municipal election in March 2015, following final approval of the law June 24.
City Manager Jeff Stewart said under state law the council pay can go up by 5 percent a year, which would have resulted in an increase of $424.10 a month.
He added that funds for the pay hike will not come from Measure P, a voter-approved increase in the utility tax, which is bringing in another $1.6 million a year.
Those funds are reserved for more law enforcement, city services and events such as the street concerts, to return this summer; and economic development, Stewart said.
Mayor Ray Dunton said he asked to place the item on the agenda and proposed a 5 percent increase so future council members would keep pace with employee pay hikes in the 2013-15 budget.
The council instead opted for a 2.5 percent increase.
Bellflower ordinance targets ADA lawsuits - Los Angeles Wave: Herald American
Posted: Wednesday, July 3, 2013 3:51 pm
By Wave Staff | 0 comments
BELLFLOWER — A city zone ordinance amendment aimed at preventing drive-by lawsuits will take effect later this month after receiving final approval from the City Council June 24.
A second ordinance will give City Council members in 2015 a 2.5 percent raise.
Planning Consultant Jennifer Lilley, in a report to council June 10, said the code amendments allow the city to waive certain requirements if a small business owner needs to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
She noted that Bellflower is an older, built up community with many businesses constructed on small lots before ADA was approved in 1990.
Lilley said drive-by lawsuits involve attorneys and handicapped people who drive around looking for older businesses that do not meet ADA requirements.
They often threaten to file a suit against the business, then agree to settle for a sum of $5,000 or $10,000. However, often the litigants return with other grievances.
“The best defense is to comply with the ADA rules,” Lilley said.
But on older lots and buildings, obeying the requirements might run afoul of city codes.
For example, the required number of parking spaces may need to be waived if space is needed to install a wider handicapped parking slot or doorway.
The rule against encroachment into side, front or rear yard setbacks might need to be waived if building expansion for an updated restroom or entrance ramp is needed, she added.
The pay for City Council members will increase $236 a month from the current $1,060 to $1,272 a month starting after the municipal election in March 2015, following final approval of the law June 24.
City Manager Jeff Stewart said under state law the council pay can go up by 5 percent a year, which would have resulted in an increase of $424.10 a month.
He added that funds for the pay hike will not come from Measure P, a voter-approved increase in the utility tax, which is bringing in another $1.6 million a year.
Those funds are reserved for more law enforcement, city services and events such as the street concerts, to return this summer; and economic development, Stewart said.
Mayor Ray Dunton said he asked to place the item on the agenda and proposed a 5 percent increase so future council members would keep pace with employee pay hikes in the 2013-15 budget.
The council instead opted for a 2.5 percent increase.