MAY 12 1994





The Honorable Sam Farr
Member, U.S. House of Representatives
701 Ocean Street, Room 318
Santa Cruz, California 95060

Dear Congressman Farr:

     This is in response to your inquiry on behalf of your
constituent, John Jones, regarding the requirements of the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Mr. Jones an architect,
asks whether city and county governments must enforce the ADA by
insuring that local building projects comply with the ADA
Standards for Accessible Design (ADA Standards).

     The ADA requires all renovated and newly constructed
commercial facilities and places of public accommodations to be
built in accordance with the ADA Standards. The ADA is not
enforced by county or city officials but by the Department of
Justice and private individuals who may bring suits in federal
court.

     Under the ADA, local building codes remain in effect.
However, if elements of a local code provide a lesser standard of
access than the ADA requires, a public accommodation or
commercial facility is still required to comply with the
applicable provision of the ADA Standards. The ADA further
provides that local accessibility codes can be submitted to the
Department of Justice for certification that they meet or exceed
the ADA requirements. Compliance with a certified State or local
code will constitute rebuttable evidence of compliance with the
ADA in any enforcement proceeding.

     You may advise your constituent that further information
about the APA is available by contacting the Department's ADA
Information Line at 800-514-0301 between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
E.S.T.


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      I hope this will be helpful to you in responding to your
constituent.

                                Sincerely,



                             Deval L. Patrick
                        Assistant Attorney General
                           Civil Rights Division


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