Burlington City Council debates whether allowing handicap parking spaces in residential neighborhoods makes sense

Apr. 1—The Burlington City Council is considering defining which residents are eligible for a handicapped parking space outside their home based on perceived accessibility.

The discussion came Monday night as Assistant City Manager for Public Works Nick MacGregor discussed with the city council whether the existing approval requirements for handicap spaces should be reexamined.

"The question is does the current process make sense?" MacGregor asked.

As it stands, those who request a handicap space outside their home must meet three qualifications — there must be a lack of off-street parking, the person living within the home must hold a handicap placard, and the city must deem the home handicap accessible. This policy is set by public works.

How the city determines whether the home is handicap accessible was not made clear in the meeting, but MacGregor said he does consider the presence of stairs an indication the residence is not handicap accessible.

Under Iowa law, there are six reasons a person would qualify for a disability placard. While being in a wheelchair may seem like an obvious reason, other reasons include not being able to walk 200 feet without stopping, using portable oxygen or having certain heart conditions. In addition, the person must have a statement from a medical professional who practices in Iowa or a state bordering Iowa to attest to the person's disability.

MacGregor said he has received about 20 requests for handicap parking over the past 10 years and all but one request was denied. MacGregor said some denials are due to a question of whether the city legally must provide a ramp to the sidewalk. The city is under a consent order to make all of its sidewalks handicap accessible, which includes adding wheelchair ramps to street crossings.

Downtown, accessible parking spaces are adjacent to sidewalk ramps.

One example MacGregor showed the council of a denied residence was a home off of Gnahn Street that has a parking garage behind the property and a wheelchair ramp attached to the front door of the home.

"We did deny this request back in December," MacGregor told the council.

Elsie Stafford, who lives in the Gnahn Street home with her husband, Ron, initially wanted to build the ramp at the back of their home, but to do so according to city code would have meant removing a significant portion of their back porch.

Stafford now finds it difficult to find a parking space that allows she and her husband, who is disabled to the point he can barely walk, access to the front ramp, forcing her to park in the parking garage behind her home. From there, she must help her husband walk the about 50-foot path through the yard and up two, un-railed steps to their back door, then through the home to their living room, which is located at the front of the home.

"My husband can't walk that far," Stafford said.

MacGregor said the Gnahn Street home is the main reason the topic was brought to the council.

Mayor Jon Billups said a garage not being connected to a handicap ramp is not the city council's problem and agreed the person should not have a handicap spot outside their home.

For some, the installation of ramps, especially in accordance with city code, may be too costly.

According to a 2017 report by the Boston-based Technologic Assistance Collaborative, a disability rights advocacy group, people with disabilities may find themselves unable to afford acceptable housing, especially if they are on Social Security income.

"People with disabilities who rely on SSI and manage to rent a lower-cost, non-subsidized unit are likely to be living in substandard housing or using virtually all of their income just to pay the rent each month," the report reads.

The result, the report argues, is homelessness is rampant among the disability community. The report cites a 2017 report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development that found about a quarter of those living in emergency housing, such as homeless shelters, had a disability and had been homeless for more than a year.

In addition, the Iowa Data Center estimates that about half of those with disabilities receive food stamps and the unemployment rate for disabled Iowans is more than twice the rate for non-disabled Iowans.

About 6% of those in the workforce have a disability. In Iowa, the median wage for disabled workers is half of that for non-disabled workers.

There are five homes in Burlington with disability parking, one of which has existed for about 20 years.

"I think we need to have something in place to make sure someone is not abusing it," said mayor pro-tem Lynda Graham-Murray.

As it was a work session, the council did not vote to move anything forward but did ask MacGregor to speak with his staff and to compare Burlington's handicap parking to similar communities.

Councilman Matt Rinker said he wants to have a policy, but he is concerned some homes with a garage might not accommodate a wheelchair van.

A person who has previously asked for a handicap space is expected to be at the council meeting next week.

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