pages: CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2016-06-08.pdf, 14
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CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities | 2016-06-08 | 14 | Beth Kenny: Yes. And so, what Anto's speaking about is an issue that I forgot to put on this document, and that is that CDI would definitely like to see a model home available that is designed universal, so that when you're looking at the model homes, you can go in and experience it. What has been proposed is a brochure to a virtual reality experience of the home. But certainly if there's going to be model homes available, we feel that they should have a universal designed home as one of the model homes. Susan Deutsch: I don't think we can expect somebody to visualize it without actually feeling their wheelchair going through a doorway through. Beth Kenny: Yes, Arnold? Arnold Brillinger: Yes. Beth, I've been in a wheelchair for four years, but I've only found out about Universal Design being on the Commission here. And so I have done a lot of research, and I have gone into some of the new housing developments. I went into Marina Shores, and I went up and down the streets and I started crying because each of them had a block of concrete at the front door that kept me from going inside. So, not even thinking do I want to buy one, but if my friends buy one, I can't go to visit them. If they want me to come over and see their new big screen TV, and watch the game, they're going to have to rip the TV of the wall and haul it out to the garage, because that's the only place that I can get into with my wheel chair. Arnold Brillinger: So when we talk about visitability, we need to have it 100% on all of the things that are built in Alameda. We love the homes that we have now, but with stairs of eight to 18, there's no way I'm going to get into one of those things. We don't need to keep on building homes on slabs with a barricade in front of the front door. At Marina Shores they say, "Everything is included." I went over there and checked it out. Now I could get up into the office, when I asked for, "Well, can I go and check out some of the models, because I want to see if I can turn around in a bathroom, or in the kitchen?" I couldn't even get in. They didn't have a one that was accessible to a person with a wheelchair. Arnold Brillinger: And I asked them for some information, they have a real nice, slick brochure about their houses. And I said, "What about the UDO items?" Well, they gave me six sheets of kind of a boring. You know, it's not a pamphlet or anything, it's just six sheets of paper with some X marks in front of things that they would put in if you wanted it. No pictures, no nothing. And I thought, "Well, this is not going to sell a lot of UDO homes. This is going to just "Everybody likes what they can see. So I didn't see anything. And I realize that Marina Shores was planned and built a couple of years ago and stuff. But I went out to Alameda Point, and I've got to go again, because I wasn't sure that I was at the right area for finding the models, but there again, there's a lot of houses with They don't necessarily have the step right in front of the threshold, but they've got it about two feet out. There's the step. So you're not even going to let me get to the door to ring the doorbell. It just doesn't make sense, and Alameda needs to make sure that 100% of the Well, first of all, there are only so many places to build homes in Alameda, and most of it is a flat area out there, and at the Point and so forth. Arnold Brillinger: We need to make sure that all of those are built with Universal Design things included. We need to make sure, first of all, that they are all accessible through the front door, that it's wide enough so that people can drive in. It's not only for people in wheel chairs, it's also for mothers and their baby strollers, baby buggies and all that kind of thing. It's for people who are 08/17/16 Page 14 of 19 | CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2016-06-08.pdf |