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**American Association of People with Disabilities**

September 17, 2007

**American Association of People with Disabilities Comments**

Office of General Counsel, Rules Docket Clerk

Department of Housing and Urban Development

451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 10276

Washington, DC 20410-0500

**RE:** 24 CFR Part 100 Design and Construction Requirements, Compliance
with ANSI A117.1 Standards, Proposed Rule July 18, 2007

**Submitted electronically via the eRulemaking Portal by:** Anne
Sommers, <aapdanne@earthlink.net>

American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) welcomes the
opportunity to provide comments on the US Department of Housing and
Urban Development's (HUD) proposed rule published in the July 18, 2007
Federal Register. AAPD is a national, non-profit membership organization
that brings together diverse constituencies within the disability
community to be a force for change, socially, politically and
economically. With more than 100,000 members around the country, AAPD is
the largest cross-disability membership organization in the U.S.

The need for affordable, accessible and integrated housing is one of the
biggest barriers in the lives of people with disabilities, and continues
to be a major planning and policy issue regionally and nationally. When
AAPD surveys our members regarding their priorities for our advocacy,
they always identify advocacy for affordable, accessible, safe housing
as one of their top issues. AAPD, in coalition with a variety of
national disability organizations, feels strongly that the Fair Housing
Act\'s Accessibility Guidelines (Guidelines) as they currently exist are
inadequate to meet the housing needs of people with disabilities.

In response to the Proposed Rule, AAPD's recommendations include:

1.  AAPD recommends that HUD reference the latest ICC A117.1 standard
    (i.e., 2003) as a *safe harbor* standard while *sun-setting*
    previous *safe harbor* documents to avoid confusion. Referencing
    A117.1- 2003 also serves to clarify many requirements while
    maintaining consistency with the original Fair Housing Act's
    Accessibility Guidelines.

2.  So that people with disabilities might benefit, AAPD recommends that
    HUD continue to participate in the International Code Council's
    (ICC) model code development process (i.e., the International
    Building Code). An example is HUD's proposal to include the March
    13, 1991 effective date as a reminder to design professionals and
    builders of their continued obligation to comply with the Fair
    Housing Act's Accessibility Guidelines in alteration projects within
    covered multifamily dwellings.

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1629 K Street, NW, Suite 503 **·** Washington, DC 20006 **·** (202)
457-0046 (V/TTY) **·** fax (202) 457-0473

***Visit us online at* [www.aapd.com](http://www.aapd.com/)**

3.  AAPD also recommends that HUD participate as a full and equal
    partner on the A117.1 committee and offer proposals regardless of
    possible objections from committee members. Recently, HUD proposed
    that maneuvering clearances be provided on the interior side of the
    dwelling unit entrance during the code development cycle for the new
    ANSI A117.1 2008 standard. AAPD other disability organizations
    applaud this positive action and HUD's effort to [not]{.underline}
    accept or foster the status quo.

4.  Finally, many organizations representing people with disabilities
    including AAPD, Concrete Change, Disability Rights Education and
    Defense Fund (DREDF), National Council on Independent Living (NCIL),
    Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), The Arc of the United States,
    and United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) joined the United Spinal Association
    in early August in writing HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary Greene to
    request the formation of a federal advisory committee charged with
    assisting HUD to update the Fair Housing Act Accessibility
    Guidelines to reflect industry trends and technologies that will
    benefit people with disabilities. Including disability organizations
    in this federal advisory committee would be a significant step since
    currently, people with disabilities are not adequately represented
    in ICC's code development process as they do not have a vote nor the
    financial resources to participate.

Thank you for the opportunity to present our recommendations. If further
information is needed, please contact me at AAPD at
<aapdanne@earthlink.net> or (202) 457-0046 ext. 26.

Respectfully,

**Anne C. Sommers, J.D.**

*Policy Counsel*

American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)

1629 K St, NW, Suite 503

Washington, DC 20006

\(202\) 457-0046 (V/TTY)

800-840-8844 (V/TTY) *toll-free*

\(202\) 457-0473 *fax*

<aapdanne@earthlink.net>

Visit us online at [www.aapd.com](http://www.aapd.com/)