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Federal lawsuit says Columbus apartment complexes don't meet accessibility requirements
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/08/20/Groups-file-federal-lawsuit-over-apartment-complexes.html
By Mark Ferenchik & Rita Price
The Columbus Dispatch • Thursday August 20, 2015 8:19 PM
Two fair-housing associations have filed a federal lawsuit against Westerville-based Preferred Living Real Estate Investments and several affiliated companies that says their Columbus apartment complexes are not as accessible to people with handicaps as federal law requires.
The lawsuit claims that the complexes do not have design elements required by the Fair Housing Amendments Act. The complexes are Palmer House and Clifton Park on the Northeast Side; Andover Park on the Far West Side; Alexander Square on the Far North Side; and Taylor House on the Northwest Side.
The suit says the complexes are “replete with accessibility problems,” including ground-floor units that do not have accessible routes to amenities and clubhouses; leasing offices with steps leading to the entrance; curbs without curb cuts; out-of-reach light switches and electrical outlets; and insufficient floor space for wheelchairs at toilets, sinks and bathtubs.
The suit was filed on Wednesday by the Central Ohio Fair Housing Association and the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center. Jim McCarthy, president and CEO of the two groups, said they did their own investigation and did not receive complaints from anyone.
The federal act requires that certain apartment complexes built after March 13, 1991 — generally, those with four or more units — be designed and built with features for people with disabilities.
Derek Mortland of the Gahanna-based Center for Disability Empowerment said accessibility violations are far too common. He said awareness and enforcement lag decades after the enactment of the Fair Housing Amendments Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and even-more-stringent state building codes.
“I’d like to see far more of these lawsuits,” said Mortland, the center’s ADA and community-outreach coordinator. “That’s probably the only way it’s going to be fixed.”
He said many developers and builders overestimate the cost of making a building accessible and adaptable from the beginning, adding that complying with accessibility standards typically adds about 1 percent to the cost of a new building.
“It’s my hope that building departments get better trained on this, so that when plans are submitted, there is awareness,” Mortland said. “They don’t make building-stretchers — you can’t go back and make extra space if it’s built out of compliance.”
Two architectural firms also were named as defendants: David L. Betz Architecture and Johnathan Barnes Architecture and Design Ltd.
Preferred Living did not return calls on Thursday.
The suit asks Preferred Living to make complexes comply with federal law and to design future buildings so they comply as well. It also seeks compensatory and punitive damages for the two fair-housing groups.
“It’s best to catch these types of properties as they’re going up,” McCarthy said. “Retrofitting is very expensive.”
Preferred Living has developed 12 apartment communities in Columbus; three more are planned.
Accessibility violations “are a huge problem,” Mortland said, and they can effectively bar people from renting or visiting. “Your housing choices are fairly limited if you have a disability.”
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/08/20/Groups-file-federal-lawsuit-over-apartment-complexes.html
By Mark Ferenchik & Rita Price
The Columbus Dispatch • Thursday August 20, 2015 8:19 PM
Two fair-housing associations have filed a federal lawsuit against Westerville-based Preferred Living Real Estate Investments and several affiliated companies that says their Columbus apartment complexes are not as accessible to people with handicaps as federal law requires.
The lawsuit claims that the complexes do not have design elements required by the Fair Housing Amendments Act. The complexes are Palmer House and Clifton Park on the Northeast Side; Andover Park on the Far West Side; Alexander Square on the Far North Side; and Taylor House on the Northwest Side.
The suit says the complexes are “replete with accessibility problems,” including ground-floor units that do not have accessible routes to amenities and clubhouses; leasing offices with steps leading to the entrance; curbs without curb cuts; out-of-reach light switches and electrical outlets; and insufficient floor space for wheelchairs at toilets, sinks and bathtubs.
The suit was filed on Wednesday by the Central Ohio Fair Housing Association and the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center. Jim McCarthy, president and CEO of the two groups, said they did their own investigation and did not receive complaints from anyone.
The federal act requires that certain apartment complexes built after March 13, 1991 — generally, those with four or more units — be designed and built with features for people with disabilities.
Derek Mortland of the Gahanna-based Center for Disability Empowerment said accessibility violations are far too common. He said awareness and enforcement lag decades after the enactment of the Fair Housing Amendments Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and even-more-stringent state building codes.
“I’d like to see far more of these lawsuits,” said Mortland, the center’s ADA and community-outreach coordinator. “That’s probably the only way it’s going to be fixed.”
He said many developers and builders overestimate the cost of making a building accessible and adaptable from the beginning, adding that complying with accessibility standards typically adds about 1 percent to the cost of a new building.
“It’s my hope that building departments get better trained on this, so that when plans are submitted, there is awareness,” Mortland said. “They don’t make building-stretchers — you can’t go back and make extra space if it’s built out of compliance.”
Two architectural firms also were named as defendants: David L. Betz Architecture and Johnathan Barnes Architecture and Design Ltd.
Preferred Living did not return calls on Thursday.
The suit asks Preferred Living to make complexes comply with federal law and to design future buildings so they comply as well. It also seeks compensatory and punitive damages for the two fair-housing groups.
“It’s best to catch these types of properties as they’re going up,” McCarthy said. “Retrofitting is very expensive.”
Preferred Living has developed 12 apartment communities in Columbus; three more are planned.
Accessibility violations “are a huge problem,” Mortland said, and they can effectively bar people from renting or visiting. “Your housing choices are fairly limited if you have a disability.”
