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Chapter 18-11 (Accessibility) of the Chicago Building Code
For Immediate Release
October 1, 2003
Contact:
Mayor's Press Office
312.744.3334 (Voice)
Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities
312.744.4496 (Voice)
City Council Approves Groundbreaking Ordinance that will Increase Housing Options for Generations of People with Disabilities and Seniors
Chapter 18-11 of Chicago's Building Code will Create Accessible Housing Options for People with Disabilities and the Elderly
The City Council today passed an ordinance to add a chapter devoted exclusively to accessibility provisions to the Chicago Building Code (CBC).
This landmark piece of legislation places the City of Chicago at the forefront of the national housing movement. Chapter 18-11 requires a certain percentage of the total number of units in a development to be adaptable and visitable, that will increase housing options for people with disabilities and seniors. Adaptability allows a residential unit to be modified for accessibility without requiring major structural modifications, while visitability provides minimal accessibility housing features allowing a person who uses a wheelchair to visit the home of a friend or neighbor.
"With the approval of City Council for Chapter 18-11 of the Chicago Building Code, the City is in the enviable position of ensuring the availability of accessible, residential housing that is safe, usable and desirable for generations of Chicagoans with disabilities and seniors," said Mayor Richard M. Daley.
These new code requirements will increase Chicago's housing stock with accessible features through reasonable requirements that are not burdensome to the construction industry. The adaptable and visitable housing requirements extend to privately and governmentally owned and financed planned developments with single family homes, townhomes, 2-flats and 3-flats.
"The new code requires homebuilders to construct housing types that will meet projected changes in consumer housing preferences in the coming years - namely the 76 million aging baby-boomers who are approaching retirement, the realities associated with aging and the likelihood of developing a disability," said David Hanson, commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD).
Chapter 18-11 of the CBC represents the culmination of over two years of work from a CBC Accessibility Subcommittee composed of developers, homebuilders, architects, City officials and representatives from the disability community. This subcommittee was created to ensure that all interests were consulted and afforded the opportunity for input throughout the process.
Chapter 18-11 of the CBC incorporates all federal and state accessibility codes, standards and guidelines into one comprehensive and technically coordinated set of requirements. The new building code chapter also includes the recently proposed federal Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines, thereby eliminating the need for future rewrites of the CBC accessibility standards.
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Pictured on the right is a four-story, multi-family building with an accessible unit located on the first floor. Note the no-step entrance that provides easy access for a person who uses a wheelchair.
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