title
An Ordinance of the County of Allegheny establishing a “Visitability Design Tax Credit” and providing for the administration of such tax credit.
body
Whereas, no federal, state or local law, ordinance or regulation presently requires new residential housing or renovated residential housing to install “Visitable” features for Persons with and without disabilities; and
Whereas, people with disabilities and their immediate families often remain isolated because of insurmountable physical barriers in their homes and at the homes of their friends, family and acquaintances; and
Whereas, people with disabilities often experience difficulty in locating a home to rent or buy that meets their needs; and
Whereas, certain features in construction can make new houses “Visitable,” and in many cases livable, and that encouraging homeowners of newly built and renovated houses to meet at minimum standards of visitability will allow people with disabilities more freedom to visit other homes and to find a home for themselves to rent or buy; and
Whereas, Allegheny County has the second highest concentration of seniors, per capita, of any metropolitan area in the United States having a population of more than one million, and as people age, many become challenged by the physical barriers of their home, and many seniors cannot get out of their homes without assistance to seek medical care or to attend to their daily living needs, which creates a serious threat to public health, and a heavy cost of social services provided by the County and other agencies; and
Whereas, installing “visitability” features in newly constructed or renovated residential housing is far more cost effective than making necessary accessibility modifications at a later time; and
Whereas, the added cost of providing these “visitability” standards is minimal and is far outweighed by the public good they have the potential to provide; and
Whereas, Governor Rendell recently...
Click here for full text