San Leandro Municipal Code Art. 2 Reasonable Accommodation Policy for City Services, Programs, Facilities,…

It is the policy of the City of San Leandro to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the comprehensive civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities. Under the ADA and FEHA, persons with disabilities must have equal access to all City services, programs, events, facilities and public meetings that are available to individuals without disabilities through a reasonable accommodation.

(a) Services, Programs, Events, Activities, Facilities and Public Meetings. In all of its services, programs, events, activities, facilities and public meetings, the City of San Leandro will strive to eliminate any barriers that prohibit persons with disabilities from participating in those services, programs, events or activities, or from having full access to facilities. This will not preclude the City, however, from adopting legitimate safety requirements necessary for safe operation based on identified risks. If a service, program, event or activity is not fully accessible, the City will, to the best of its ability, relocate said service, program, event or activity to an accessible facility, or provide equal services at alternate accessible sites. A request for special accommodation for a service, program, event or activity must be made to the ADA Coordinator by the individual needing the accommodation or his/her representative with at least two weeks advance notice of the service, program, event or activity.

(b) Public Meetings.

(1) Meeting Locations. City Council, Commission, Board, Committee and all other open public meetings of the City will be held in facilities that are fully accessible.

(2) Meeting Materials. Taped, recorded, large print, electronic, or Braille versions of any written materials produced for public usage, review or inspection may be requested with five working days advance notice to the department responsible for the meeting or the City Clerk's Office.

(3) Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (TDD). The City will maintain Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (TDD) telephone service during normal business hours. The San Leandro Police Department will maintain a dedicated TDD line at all times.

(4) Sign Language Interpreters or Assistive Listening Devices. Sign language interpreters or assistive listening devices will be made available upon request for all City meetings or activities open to the public with an advance request to the department responsible for the meeting, or the City Clerk's Office, with at least five working days advance notice.

(5) Other Accommodation Requests. Accommodations other than those listed above must be submitted to the department responsible for the meeting or the City Clerk's Office with at least five working days advance notice.

(c) Undue Hardship. The City is not obligated to provide an accommodation that will impose an undue hardship on the operation of the City's business. An undue hardship would be an accommodation that will impose significant difficulty or expense in the provision of the accommodation. Undue hardship includes, but is not limited to, financial difficulty, and refers to any accommodation that would be unduly costly, extensive, substantial, or disruptive, or that would fundamentally alter the nature or operation of City business.

Whether a particular accommodation will impose an undue hardship on the City will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the City's ADA Coordinator and the Department Head responsible for the program, activity or service in question. If the City initiates the accommodation process in response to the request of an individual, but ultimately does not provide an accommodation, the following will be documented by the ADA Coordinator:

(1) All accommodations considered or offered in the accommodation process.

(2) The reasons other accommodations were not feasible.

(3) The reasons the requesting individual rejected any accommodations.

(4) The requesting individual's response to each offered accommodation.

(5) Written notification to the requesting individual of rejected accommodations.

The City of San Leandro hereby adopts a grievance procedure to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (504). It may be used by anyone wishing to file a grievance alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by the City of San Leandro.

(a) The grievance should be in writing on the City of San Leandro ADA/504 Grievance Form. Alternative means of filing a grievance, such as personal interviews or a tape recording of the grievance, are available to persons with disabilities upon request.

(b) The grievance must be submitted by the complainant and/or his/her designee to the City's ADA Coordinator or Section 504 Coordinator as soon as possible but no later than 60 calendar days after the alleged violation.

(c) Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the grievance, the ADA Coordinator, the Section 504 Coordinator or his/her designee will schedule a meeting or telephone interview with the complainant to discuss the grievance and possible resolutions.

(d) After an investigation and review, the ADA Coordinator or Section 504 Coordinator will respond in writing, and where appropriate in a format accessible to the complainant. The response will explain his/her position on the issue and offer options for substantive resolution of the grievance.

(e) If the response by the ADA Coordinator or Section 504 Coordinator does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or his/her designee may appeal the decision to the City Manager within 15 calendar days after receipt of the response.

(f) After receiving the appeal, the City Manager or his/her designee will review the appeal and the ADA Coordinator's or Section 504 Coordinator's finding. Within a reasonable period, after a review, the City Manager or his/her designee will respond in writing, and where appropriate in a format that is accessible to the complainant, with a final resolution to the grievance.

(g) Grievance files shall be maintained for a period three years from the date the grievance was received by the City.