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JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES DEVELOPERS OF FIVE IDAHO

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Justice Department sued the developers of five apartment complexes in Boise, Idaho for failing to comply with the federal Fair Housing Act's requirement that new multifamily housing be accessible to persons with disabilities.

The suit, filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Boise, charges Pacific Northwest Electric Inc., Walter T. Sigmont, Ruth A. Sigmont, Edmonds Construction Co. Inc., Wirt Edmonds, Frances D. Edmonds, and PNE Construction, with violating the Fair Housing Act by failing to include certain features in the units which would make them accessible to persons with disabilities. All units in elevator buildings and ground-floor units in non-elevator buildings having four or more units that were designed and constructed after March 1991 are subject to the Act's requirements. These requirements include: accessible common areas; doors and hallways wide enough to allow wheelchair mobility throughout the unit; installation of electrical outlets, light switches and thermostats at accessible heights; reinforced bathroom walls for the installation of grab bars; and bathrooms and kitchens which allow enough space to maneuver a wheelchair.

"It's been more than 10 years since these requirements became law, yet multifamily housing continues to be designed and built so that it is not accessible to persons with disabilities," said Bill Lann Lee, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "We will continue to work hard to make sure that all housing is made accessible and complies with the law."

The Justice Department's complaint alleges that Jade Village No. 2, Grayling Place, Imperial Court, Lawton Apartments, and Eagleson Park Apartments, which together have a total of 72 ground-floor units, are inaccessible to persons who use wheelchairs. The complaint alleges that the ground-floor units in each of these developments are inaccessible in many respects, including that they have steps at apartment entrances, doors that are too narrow for a wheelchair to pass through, and bathrooms that are too small for wheelchair access. The complaint also names as defendants Capstone Inc., and Teal-Whitworth Architects, P.A., the architectural firms that designed Jade Village No. 2 and Lawton Apartments, respectively.

This matter was referred to the Department of Justice by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD investigated complaints that it had received from the Idaho Fair Housing Council alleging that the five complexes did not meet the requirements of the Act.

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