Disability Technology & News

UD in City of Murrieta, CA — Part 1

Push for new building codes
MURRIETA: The city is moving toward requiring more homes accessible to disabled persons.
April 25, 2006
By JESSICA ZISKO
The Press-Enterprise

Universal Design FeaturesWider doorways and hallways.Full bath on the main level with space for a wheelchair and future grab bars.Lower cabinetsNo-threshold doors, meaning no steps on ether side of a doorway. Easy-to-use faucets and door knobs. Higher electrical outlets and switches

Murrieta took the first steps Monday night to becoming the first California city that requires developers to think a little older when they build homes.

A city advisory panel held an initial hearing for proposed building guidelines that call for great accessibility for the elderly or residents with physical handicaps.

Members of the Community Steering Committee will review the standards again May 8 and hold a full hearing with developers before they vote. City Council makes the final decision.

Homes built under the guidelines — known as universal design — would feature wider doorways and hallways, grab-bar backing in the walls, waist-high electrical outlets, lower cabinets and easy-to-use facets and doorknobs.

Universal design would be required in at least 25 percent of all new single-family, townhome and condominium projects. There are about 2,000 units left to build before the city reaches capacity, City Manager Lori Moss said.

The price would be about 3 percent higher than traditional homes, according to city officials.

A representative from Centex Homes was the only developer to attend the meeting. Bruce Osborn, construction services manager for the company’s Inland division, warned of resistance from the building community.

The requirements, such as a full bedroom and bath on the ground floor, could hurt builders’ ability to design affordable, quality homes in small tracts, he said.

However, Osborn said his company supports the idea of universal homes and would offer suggestions to make it work for developers.

“We feel this is a very forward-thinking concept,” Osborn said. “There’s not many cities that would tackle an issue like this.”

The committee has been crafting the guidelines at City Council’s request for two years. Census data in 2000 showed about 12 percent of Murrieta residents were on disability and 11 percent were at least 65.

A 2000 AARP survey found one in four respondents expect they or a member of their household will have problems getting around in their home in the next five years. More than three-quarters said they would prefer to stay in their home as long as possible.

Universal design, so called because the features can benefit everyone in a home, has been a hot topic among cities since 2005, when a new law allowed local governments to adopt universal guidelines into their building codes.

In 2000, Pioneer Century Homes began introducing two universal-design models in housing projects in Murrieta and Temecula. Susan Mack, a local registered occupational therapist, designed the models, called “Homes for Easy Living.”

Murrieta’s ordinance would surpass the rules in Long Beach. Developers in that city are only required to build with universal design if their housing projects are granted expedited building permits or bonuses.

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