Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Planning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Maplewood staff plan branding refresh, website ADA work and updated building codes
Summary
Community development and public works staff described a rebranding and website refresh tied to ADA compliance, and said the city plans to update building and property-maintenance codes to 2021 standards; full technical ADA compliance is not required until April 1, 2027 for communities of this size.
Community development staff told the council they are advancing a citywide branding initiative and a website refresh intended to improve usability and meet ADA accessibility requirements. "We're putting together guidelines on how we're going to tackle this," Community Development Director Laura Miller said, noting the city has been participating in workshops and testing e‑reader accessibility as part of the effort.
Staff explained that because Maplewood's population is under certain thresholds, full technical compliance with federal website accessibility requirements does not become mandatory until April 1, 2027; nonetheless, staff said they will archive older materials and begin remediation in advance of that date. The branding work is intended to bring continuity across city assets (signage, vehicles, parks and department materials) and will inform the website refresh.
On building codes, staff said Maplewood currently operates under a 2006 property maintenance code and a 2015 International Building Code and intends to bring ordinances and code references up to the 2021 model codes. Council members asked about insurance implications and the enforcement of the International Energy Conservation Code; staff said those details either have not been finalized or will be analyzed as part of the code-update work.
Staff asked for council input on whether to pursue code changes in-house or outsource the ordinance rewrite and flagged that the ADA transition study scope remains under negotiation and could stretch over two fiscal years. The city will bring proposed code updates and ADA implementation plans back to council for review and approval.
