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ORDINANCE NO. t O 1.1 <br /> AN ORDINANCE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, <br /> INDIANA, ADOPTING THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND'S ADA TRANSITION PLAN <br /> FOR PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY <br /> STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND INTENT <br /> In 1990 Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which, among <br /> other things, requires that municipalities throughout the United States adopt standards to improve <br /> access and remove barriers for disabled persons in their use of public facilities and governmental <br /> services. <br /> The City of South Bend, Indiana, has advanced these objectives through an aggressive <br /> sidewalk and curb cut replacement program in the downtown South Bend area where <br /> government service facilities are concentrated. It has replaced sidewalks in neighborhoods <br /> through a public/private improvement plan over a period of many years. Downtown and <br /> neighborhood sidewalk replacement has consistently been made in conformity with ADA <br /> Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right of Way. These standards were formally <br /> adopted by the South Bend Common Council December 12, 2011 under Resolution #4131-11. <br /> Municipal public hearing rooms all offer accommodations for the hearing and sight <br /> impaired upon request, and notice of this is regularly posted. The City has designated an ADA <br /> Coordinator and adopted a procedure for grievances affecting accessibility for the disabled. This <br /> was formally enacted by the Common Council December12, 2011 under Resolution#4130-11, <br /> although since 1998, the City was an active member of the St. Joseph County Disability Rights <br /> Commission which, among other things, received and resolved concerns of the disabled within <br /> this community. <br /> As part of its ADA compliance process, the City of South Bend has formulated a <br /> Transition Plan which is attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit "A." It provides the <br /> City's future plan for addressing accessibility barriers to pedestrian facilities in the public right <br /> of way within the South Bend corporate limits. <br /> This Transition Plan has been the subject of public hearing by the Board of Public <br /> Works at a meeting held January 8, 2012 as to which notice was properly published in the South <br /> Bend Tribune. The Transition Plan has also been posted on the City of South Bend's website at <br /> www.southbendin.gov/ada for at least the past 30 days prior to this date along with the form for <br /> public comment, and a copy has been made available at the downtown branch of the St. Joseph <br /> County Library and at the office of the South Bend City Clerk . <br />