Commission sends recommendations on accessibility and appearance for 702 Clark to zoning board

Staff presented a simplified site plan for 702 Clark Avenue showing a widened rear door (32 to 36 inches) and an approximately 8×8 deck to provide maneuvering space for people with disabilities as part of a proposed social-service use that will go to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a special use permit.

Commissioners asked whether the facility must meet ADA standards and whether the deck should be built to accommodate a future ramp. Staff said the city does not enforce ADA (building-inspections would review permit-level compliance) and that the deck can be designed to allow a future ramp; staff also said certificates of appropriateness for the door and deck are often handled by staff but the commission should comment because the property is a contributing structure in the historic overlay.

David Thielen, executive director of Romero House, said the door-change was city-mandated to achieve the required ADA width: "The door has to be ADA, so we have to replace the door to make it 4 inches wider." He added that the small deck is intended only for maneuvering, not for socializing, and that the project team can make the deck detached, add lattice or a foundation skirt and adapt the railing to be more consistent with the house’s period.

After public comment and debate about process and code scope, the commission moved and passed a recommendation that the body forwarding the special-use application require the back door be centered under the porch overhang, that the deck and railing be of a style consistent with the period of the house, and that the door have a faux-wood finish or otherwise appear period-appropriate; those recommendations will be included in comments to planning and zoning.