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Concerned about the constant challenges Berkeley’s large disabled community faces when it participates in special events, the Commission on Disability is currently working on a new set of guidelines for the accessibility of city-funded events. 

Under the city’s current procedures, festivals and fairs must follow the so-called “Rules for Special Events Permits,” which mandates that the organizers provide at least one accessible portable toilet and that applicants sign a non-discrimination agreement. 

But to the members of the commission’s Disability Awareness and Outreach Subcommittee who met Friday to discuss accessibility issues, these requirements are not sufficient. 

“If the city does sponsor a public entity then things are supposed to be accessible unless it costs too much or is not feasible,” said Karen Craig, chair of the subcommittee. “In other words there is always a way around (the current guidelines).” 

The subcommittee is preparing a draft document that suggests a number of changes in city procedures. The key elements underlying these modifications, the document says, are the need to educate the public on accessibility issues and to make the language used in the permit application process more precise. 

“Right now all we require is that the event sponsors sign an agreement that they won’t discriminate. What that means is what we have to explain to them,” said disability services specialist, Eric Dibner. “(We have to) educate people on how to carry on an event in an accessible way.” 

In the draft of the new policy for event accessibility, the subcommittee is recommending, among other things, to have city staff distribute to event organizers material explaining what the non-discrimination agreement means concretely, and to require organizations getting city funding to give guarantees that the event will be accessible. It also proposes a number of guidelines. For instance, event organizers should follow a strict traffic and pedestrian circulation plan for maintaining accessibility for disabled people, and at least 5 percent of the portable toilets installed at an event should be accessible. 

Although the concept of what the new policy should include is clear, the subcommittee still needs to address a number of issues before submitting its final recommendations to the full committee, then to the City Council. One of the main questions that remains unanswered is the definition of what is considered the city’s “financial contribution.” 

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, Berkeley is not required to provide accessibility for events that are not part of the city’s program. The commission, however is trying to establish new rules that would make a greater number of activities accessible to the 17 percent of Berkeley’s population that is disabled. 

“If it’s something that really isn't a function of the city, the fact that we add our name to it is not the same thing as being our event,” said Dibner. “Or the fact that we give money to something does not make it our event and that’s why the commission is working on the rule.” 

This question is particularly complicated for the large number of events organizers who rely on the city to help fund them. While Craig said city staff was proposing that the guidelines consider only donations of $500 or more as financial contributions, some on the commission believe any kind of contribution should make the city responsible for guaranteeing accessibility.  

Another important issue the members of the subcommittee raised was the question of the accessibility standards that special events should meet. The members generally agree that indoor special events should take place in buildings with accessible bathrooms. But they still have to determine what the code should be in terms of accessible emergency exits, for example. 

Rodney Wong, an architect who attended Friday’s meeting, suggested that the commission consult the health, fire and police departments on safety issues before deciding what accessibility standards the guidelines will adopt. 

The discussion around these issues will continue at the subcommittee’s next meeting on Aug. 3, at 1 p.m. It will take place at Civic Center Building, on 2189 Milvia St. The meeting is open to the public.