Residential Disabled Parking Signs
Question:
I live in Oak Lawn, Illinois. I requested a handicapped parking sign for the street in front of my home and was told by the Village that this is not an option. I am confused since I see handicapped parking signs in the city and surrounding suburbs.
Answer:
With the exception of multi-story housing units, disabled parking requirements for most private places of residence are regulated by local ordinance. For example, as you observed, the city of Chicago offers residential disabled parking permits to qualified disabled City residents for convenient and accessible parking in front of their residences. Other suburbs, such as the city of Peoria, also appear to allow for the establishment of on-street handicapped/accessible parking spaces, at residential properties, to provide accessible access to residences where parking congestion may occur. Unfortunately, the Village of Oak Lawn does not appear to provide this benefit to its residents.
Question:
There is an individual who lives in an apartment building built before 1990 that has no handicapped parking spaces. He would like for the village that he lives in to designate a spot on the street (city controlled and owned) for him to park on. Is the village obligated to do this?
Answer:
Unfortunately, neither Illinois law nor the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) would require a city or village to offer accessible city street parking to residents of an apartment complex. However, some city and village ordinances provide the opportunity for individuals to apply for residential disabled parking signs on city streets. For example, the city of Chicago grants residential disabled parking permits to qualified disabled City residents for accessible parking in front of their residences. We recommend that you contact your village directly to inquire whether it offers this, or similar, accessible parking opportunities.
While village street parking may not be an option, the individual to whom you refer may be entitled to reserved, accessible parking at his or her apartment building if parking for other tenants, employees, and/or visitors is provided.
- First, under the Illinois Accessibility Code, the disabled individual may be entitled to a handicapped parking space (1) if the apartment complex offers parking for employees and/or visitors, (2) if the complex renovates or otherwise alters its parking lot, and (3) if the complex qualifies as a multi-story housing unit (“any building of four or more stories containing ten or more dwelling units”). Specifically, the Code states that accessible parking for people with disabilities must be “set aside and identified for use by environmentally limited persons wherever parking is provided for employees and/or visitors” at all public facilities and multi-story housing units during new construction or alterations to existing facilities. See Illinois Environmental Barriers Act, 410 ILCS 25; Illinois Accessibility Code, 71 Ill. Adm. Code 400.310.
- Second, under Title III of the ADA, the disabled individual may be entitled to a handicapped parking space if (1) the complex renovates or otherwise alters its parking lot, (2) if such reserved parking is “readily achievable,” meaning easily accomplished without much difficulty or expense, and (3) if the residential facility in question is considered a “place of public accommodation.” Residential facilities qualify as places of public accommodation only where the use of the building is not limited exclusively to owners, residents, and their guests (e.g., residential buildings that include leasing offices or attached commercial facilities). See http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/#purpose.
- Third and perhaps most immediately helpful to the individual to whom you refer, an apartment complex that offers parking to its tenants may be obligated to provide a disabled tenant with a reserved, accessible parking space as a “reasonable accommodation.” Under the Fair Housing Act, a residential facility must afford disabled individuals the equal opportunity to use and enjoy their dwelling units, unless such an accommodation would impose an undue financial or administrative burden on the housing provider. Please note that there are fairly limited exemptions for owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units, single-family housing sold or rented without the use of a broker, housing operated by organizations and private clubs that limit occupancy to members, and for changes that would fundamentally alter the program or create an undue financial and administrative burden. For information on the procedures for requesting a reasonable accommodation, See http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/handbooks/sech/78551/index.cfm. To file a complaint or for information on how the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development processes housing discrimination complaints, See http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/disabilities/inhousing.cfm.
EFE, July 12, 2009