MDA Task Force Member
Helps Pass Accessible Home Ordinance

TUCSON, Ariz., Feb. 8, 2002 — Should homebuilders be required to build in features that accommodate people with disabilities? The Board of Supervisors of a county in Arizona answered "yes" on Feb. 5 by passing the Inclusive Home Design Ordinance for new homes.

Pima County now will require new home construction to include such features as stepless entryways, wider doorways, levers on some doors and reinforced bathroom walls that can accommodate grab bars.

William Altaffer, a Tucson attorney who serves as a member of the Steering Committee of the MDA National Task Force on Public Awareness, helped lead the drive to pass the ordinance.

"We made history," said Altaffer, who has spinal muscular atrophy. "Pima County is the first jurisdiction in the country to pass a full ‘visitability' ordinance, which applies to all new homes." Vermont has a similar ordinance, but doesn't require a stepless entry due to its heavy snowfall, he said.

"Visitability" means that a home is accessible for a visit by a person with a disability. Visitability regulations also are intended to benefit a growing elderly population and people who have been injured in accidents.

Improving home accessibility also improves the ability of a person with a disability to live at home longer, more independently and with greater dignity, Altaffer said.

Altaffer can be reached at william.altaffer@azbar.org by those who'd like to discuss local visitability ordinances.