A pilot program in the Outer Sunset district is offering to fund free American Disabilities Act (ADA) inspections and reports for businesses.
Many businesses are unaware of the requirements of state and federal ADA laws and are vulnerable to lawsuits. From 2005-2011 there were about 4,500 ADA lawsuits statewide, 300 of which were in San Francisco.
San Francisco District 4 Supervisor Carmen Chu has partnered with Mayor Ed Lee and the San Francisco’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development to launch the ADA inspections pilot.
Under the program, more than 40 businesses in District 4 will be able to receive a free state-certified inspection to determine if any improvements need to be made to comply with ADA requirements. In addition to funding provided by the Mayor’s Office, Chu’s office contributed $20,000 to the program.
Businesses must submit an application to be considered for these free inspections. Applications and additional information are available through this website: http://www.oewd.org/ADAAssessments.aspx.
In the past, Chu’s office has worked in partnership with the City’s Office of Small Business to partner with the Opportunity Fund, a micro-lender that pledged $1 million in loans to small businesses for ADA construction work; to provide notices about ADA requirements to all restaurants in San Francisco; to partner with the Bar Association of San Francisco to provide training for attorneys and affordable, multi-lingual assistance for those needing help; and conducted several outreach walks along our business corridors to inform merchants about ADA requirements.
We hope businesses will take advantage of this opportunity to take steps toward ADA compliance. For more information, contact Chu’s office at 415-554-7460 or [email protected].