DJ 192-180-05606 April 24, 1992 Ms. Catherine Richter San-Suz-Ed RV Park Post Office Box 387 West Glacier, Montana 59936 Dear Ms. Richter: This letter is in response to your correspondence regarding the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ground surfaces that are required to be accessible. You appear to believe that you would Violate the ADA if you followed your county's requirements for gravel ground surfaces on a public roadway and in parking spaces in your RV park. The ADA authorizes the Department of Justice to provide technical assistance to individuals and entities with rights or obligations under the Act. This letter provides informal guidance to assist you in understanding the ADA accessibility standards. However, this technical assistance does not constitute a legal interpretation of the statute and it is not binding on the Department. If you are a private entity operating a place of recreation that affects interstate commerce, you are a public accommodation subject to title III of the ADA and this Department's regulation, including its ADA Accessibility Guidelines. There are, however, no specific requirements under the ADA for public roads. Thus, the county's requirements for the public roadway would not be inconsistent with the ADA. As for the parking spaces, the ADA Accessibility Guidelines require that the access aisle of the accessible parking space be "stable, firm, slip-resistant." It is true that gravel is generally not considered to be a complying ground surface for new construction or alterations. However, because your project was undertaken before the effective date of the ADA, you should apply the ADA requirements for existing facilities, not new construction or alterations. -2- In existing facilities, a public accommodation must remove barriers when it is "readily achievable" to do so. "Readily achievable" means easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense. If you determine that it is readily achievable to add pavement or other suitable binder treatment to the surfaces of the access aisles of certain of your parking spaces to provide accessibility, you would be complying with the barrier removal requirements of the ADA. It is likely that such action regarding the parking spaces would be permitted by the county regulations. I am enclosing a copy of the regulations and a copy of the title III Technical Assistance Manual prepared by the Department of Justice. I hope this information is useful to you in complying with the ADA. Sincerely, John R. Dunne Assistant Attorney General Civil Rights Division Enclosures (2) CARING FOR THE HANDICAPPED and obeying the State and Federal Accessibility Law brings guilty verdict to the Richter's of the San-Suz-Ed Trailer & R.V. Park. ATTENTION HANDICAPPED - DISABLED & SENIOR CITIZENS We want you to know - Howard Gipe DID NOT speak up on your behalf! Sharon Stratton DID NOT speak up on your behalf ! Mary Atkins DID NOT speak up on your behalf! Your County Planning Board, Mr. Herbaly and Mr. Greer, who are in charge of this department, DID NOT speak or ACT IN YOUR BEHALF! These people and our politicians have not paid any attention to the Federal and State Laws. These people are DEGRADING our campgrounds by wanting to use OIL AND/OR THREE-QUARTER INCH ROCKS for you to walk on and try to get around in your wheelchairs. "This information will help you to comply with the new Accessibility Laws:" - Public accommodations such as restaurants, hotels, theaters, doctors' offices, pharmacies, retail stores, museums, libraries, parks, private schools, and day care centers, may not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. - Physical barriers in existing facilities must be removed, if removal is readily achievable. If not, alternative methods of providing the services must be offered, if they are readily achievable. - All new constructions and alterations of facilities must be accessible. - Auxiliary aids and services must be provided to individuals with vision or hearing impairments or other individuals with disabilities unless an undue burden would result. - Complaints can be filed with the Attorney General, who may file lawsuits to stop discrimination and obtain money damages and penalties. This information was sent to the San-Suz-Ed by their wheelchair people that come every year and by Michael J. Regnier, Advocacy Coordinator of the Summit Independent Living Center Inc. The San-Suz-Ed has been using these hard packed, clean, gravel spaces since 1968 and all electric wheelchairs can travel all over the campground with no assistance from others. They DO NOT track oil into their 80 to 800 thousand dollar homes on wheels. Oil and/or 3/4" rocks are degrading. Montana STATE LAW says all roads must be well drained and graded. -------------------------------------------- (Handwritten letter) March 30 - Hello from Beautiful Western Montana I was told to send you this information I went to our county commissioner they did not care our judge could care less and the state attorney general said sorry and so I sent it to the Attorney General's Office in D.C. and I was able to get them on the phone and they said they received my information and would call me back in a week probably on Tuesday. Well I also turned Justice of the Peace Stewart (word illegible) in to the judicial committee and have not heard from them yet, to see how they are go(illegible) to vote on this. We have to know soon as we are getting reservations and need to know if we can use these spaces as they are. We started our camp in 1964 so we do know what it is all about and we are proud of our camp. We have gravel, "lots", of it, and it is the kind that wheel chairs can get around in. 3/4" rock gravel is not what we need. Oil is supposed to settle the dust. Well if and when we have dust we sprinkle it with water (illegible) we water our grass, natural flowers, & (illegible) this is clean and no (illegible) get ----------------------------------------------------------------- upset with water but oil don't (illegible) it to our tourist campers, the word passes fast and the campers would just go by. So will our business We have a very short season and we don't want to go into bankruptcy over this. Hope to hear from you soon. I can get the D.C. Attorney General office on the phone or by mail. Thanks Catherine Richter of the San-Suz-Ed