The Memphis ADA Plan Fails Minimal Requirements

The City of Memphis Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan does not meet the minimal requirements outlined in the federal civil rights law to protect citizens with disabilities from discrimination by local and city governments. The City of Memphis released an unsigned and undated draft of the ADA Transition Plan last week more than 3,800 days late and has given citizens 15 days to respond.

Picture is linked to original resolution photo. A sample page of the 24 volumes provided to advocates seems to report that the facility complies with the referenced code, but notes an apparent violation. Text description of photo.

The printed copy supplied to Memphians for review does not include the list of obstacles or methods of achieving compliance but claims citizens may review these documents at City Hall. The Cities Attorney’s office; however, could not even produce half of promised documents when MCIL representatives made a request June 20th.

The fundamental failure of the City of Memphis ADA Transition Plan is that it does not include a schedule of changes to be made. Rather than providing a schedule the City of Memphis has made “estimates” of compliance based on a survey of less than 15% of the facilities that may require renovation. 

“There is a significant difference between a schedule and an estimate,” said Deborah Cunningham the Executive Director of The Memphis Center for Independent Living. “The federal law requires a schedule and people with disabilities demand a schedule.”

Ironically, a schedule of curb-ramp compliance is listed in Appendix D, but no similar commitment is made by the City of Memphis concerning public buildings.

“By not meeting the minimal requirements established in the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act,” said Deborah Cunningham; “the City of Memphis exposes itself to costly litigation.”

People with disabilities and advocates are finding further weaknesses in the City of Memphis ADA plan. For example, the grievance procedure that Memphis lays out has no appeals process, no review and no means for resolution. 

“The grievance procedure is only a gossip-line,” said Robert Morris of MCIL. “Without an appeals process, citizens will be forced to sue the city to get even the most basic response to realistic accessibility complaints.”

Of particular concern is that the City of Memphis Transition Plan is not signed or dated. The fact that the document lacks these basic features has material impact on the content of the plan. The City of Memphis ADA Transition Plan states:

Public entities are obligated to remove physical obstacles which limit accessibility only when program changes cannot ensure access to services, programs, and activities in existing facilities.

This statement would be true if the plan had been produced on time; however, because the document is ten-years late, all of the effective dates of compliance with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act have passed. The statement does not recognize the affirmative responsibility the City has to ensure that new construction is accessible. It is important that the City of Memphis realize that in 2002 they have more than the program accessibility requirement that the statement implies.

The plan furthermore fails to address obvious Memphis responsibilities such as the new Arena, AutoZone Park and the Center City Commission “facelift.” If the city has done a lot of work in compliance with the ADA, it is not evident by reading the plan. In fact, on June 20th, a week after the plans release, Mel Scheuerman an architect in the cities Engineering Division, claimed to know nothing about the publication of the ADA Transition Plan or the invitation for the public to view the site surveys at his office.

MCIL is asking the City of Memphis to:

1. Date and sign the document
   
2. Expand the Public comment period to 60 days 
   
3. Provide a real schedule of compliance that includes the priorities and comments of Memphis citizens
   
4. Create a reasonable grievance procedure with an appeals process and review
   
5. Identify obstacles and give detailed compliance methods in the City of Memphis Transition Plan
   
6. Directly address the new Arena, AutoZone Park and the CCC “facelift.”

The City of Memphis ADA Transition plan can be obtained at www.cityofmemphis.org. Public comment should include your name and address and be submitted by Friday, June 28, 2002 to:

Robert L. J. Spence, Jr.
City Attorney
ADA Coordinator
125 N. Main St.
Room 314
Memphis, TN 38103

Citizens may also contact the Mayor’s Citizens Service Center
Phone: (901) 576-6500
TDD: (901) 576-6501

- Tim Wheat