United States of America v. Humboldt County, California - Settlement Agreement

J. PHYSICAL CHANGES TO EMERGENCY SHELTERS

29. Some County emergency shelters may be owned or operated by other public entities subject to Title II or by public accommodations subject to Title III and therefore they must provide program access or remove barriers to accessibility under the ADA.  This Consent Decree does not limit future enforcement action against the other owners or operators of these emergency shelters.

30. Within nine (9) months of the entry of this Consent Decree, the ILA will survey all emergency shelters in the County using the survey instrument entitled ADA Checklist for Emergency Shelters, Attachment F to identify barriers to access for individuals with disabilities.

31. For County emergency shelters with barriers to access for individuals with disabilities, the County will either (1) remove all barriers to access by people with disabilities and have the ILA confirm removal of the barriers to the United States, or (2) relocate the emergency shelter to another facility that can be used as an emergency shelter and that has no barriers to access by people with disabilities within fifteen (15) months of the entry of this Consent Decree.

32. For shelters that are not owned or operated by the County, the County will request in writing that each of the owners and operators of the shelter facilities remove the noted barriers to access for people with disabilities within fifteen (15) months of the entry of this Consent Decree.  The County will simultaneously send a copy of the request to the United States.

33. Within eighteen (18) months of the entry of this Consent Decree, the ILA will survey each shelter to determine whether the barriers have been removed.  If not all barriers have been removed at a shelter, the County will identify and designate within twenty-four (24) months of the entry of this Consent Decree an accessible replacement shelter for each inaccessible shelter, which will be confirmed by the ILA using the survey instrument entitled ADA Checklist for Emergency Shelters, Attachment F.

34. Within three (3) months of the entry of this Consent Decree and until all emergency shelters are accessible as confirmed by the ILA, the County will identify and widely publicize to the public and to people with disabilities the most accessible emergency shelters.