The "Visitability Rules" approved by city of Austin (loan, house)

[LanceD]

The crazy "visitability rules" was approved few days ago. Unbelievable.

I really have no word to describe how stupid these rules are. I don't need a ramp on my house and I don't want a ramp on my house. If I have a disabled person pay a visit, I would go out of my way to give the guest of honor any assistant he/she needs. But I don't want the fking city to force it up on me.

What next? lower the sinks, cook-top to 24" to make it usable for people on wheel-chair?

Thermostat at 48"? not only I have to bent down, my 3-year old can start messing around with it all day long. All of that inconvinience is to make guest on wheel-chair what will never come? or a disabled person to consider my house when it's on the market?

This is pure stupidity. Government does have a role in our society. But this is certainly not their roles to force me to make my guests feel comfortable.

[Idlewile]

And yet there are post offices, malls and various other LARGE businesses in this city that don't even have automatic door wheelchair accessible entrances. It's like something out of 1999.

Glad they've got their priorities in check.

[HappyTexan]

I guess you could build a ramp on wheels that you could put in place for when the inspectors come round snooping

[gpurcell]

I'm not a fan, but for most new construction the access through the garage will meet the requirements.

As to the rest...I'll just say it is pretty easy to swap door knobs and raise up light switches et al if it matters to you after you are in the house.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by gpurcell

As to the rest...I'll just say it is pretty easy to swap door knobs and raise up light switches et al if it matters to you after you are in the house.

Which is the reason the new requirements should not be a law. Instead of requiring ALL new construction to have these features for the 1% that might some day need them, offer a loan program for homeowners who must have these things.

[LanceD]

Originally Posted by gpurcell

I'm not a fan, but for most new construction the access through the garage will meet the requirements.

As to the rest...I'll just say it is pretty easy to swap door knobs and raise up light switches et al if it matters to you after you are in the house.

Agreed that you can undo them. But why forcing a rule on me simply for someone else comfort. If I just spend $600K on a house, why would I have to spend another $5K to swap out the door knobs or undo the ramp?

If your house in on a uphill slope (many in Austin actually), how will you put a ramp? Not in the garage for sure as the garage floor is usually lower than the house floor in such cases.

The door knobs, the thermostat: lowering them are not good for the kids safety. My 2-year old girl has no problem opening doors with lever door knobs but can't with a round ones. On this line of thought, this is almost a trade-off between the comfort of someone over the safety of kids. Probably not very profound with the current set of rules, but if they keep going down this road, it will be.

[LanceD]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

Which is the reason the new requirements should not be a law. Instead of requiring ALL new construction to have these features for the 1% that might some day need them, offer a loan program for homeowners who must have these things.

Agreed. This law put the financial burden on people who don't need these features. Basically, they HAVE TO pay for it then pay for it again to undo it.

[Trainwreck20]

Although I think it is unnecessary, I am not going to have a coronary about it unless they require retrofitting at some point. Even under a remodeling job, the cost could be very significant.

[hoffdano]

One of the most simple and obvious things this law does is raise the cost of housing in the city of Austin. When affordability is getting worse, why are they doing this for the benefit of a tiny portion of the city?

I have lived in the area since the mid-1980s. I have elderly relatives nearby. Not once has a person in a wheelchair needed entry into my house (either of them). If I regularly had handicapped visitors, I would happily spend the money to make my house easier for them. But I won't spend the money until I need to.

[HappyTexan]

Be thankful they didn't require fully accessible homes.

Odd choosing of what they wanted though.
Ramp to door.
Light switches and outlets.

Nothing about the doorways or bathroom or kitchen.