To: Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma
Department or Agency Name(s): Human Resources, Sonoma Public Infrastructure, Information Systems, County Administrator’s Office, County Counsel
Staff Name and Phone Number: Janell Crane and Neha Singh, Human Resources, 707-565-2331; Johannes Hoevertsz and Soojin Park, Public Infrastructure, 707-565-2550; Dan Fruchey, Information Systems, 707-565-2911; M. Christina Rivera, County Administrator’s Office, 707-565-2431; Robert Pitman and Debbie Latham, County Counsel, 707-565-2421
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
County of Sonoma Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan Update
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Approve the update to the County of Sonoma’s 2009 ADA Transition Plan relating to accessibility barrier removals in the unincorporated areas of the County.
B) Adopt a Resolution amending 2009 Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Transition Plan, effective February 11, 2025.
end
Executive Summary:
The County of Sonoma’s ADA Transition Plan details a schedule/plan to remove barriers that limit accessibility to County facilities, programs, and services in compliance with the ADA Title II. The initial County of Sonoma’s ADA Transition Plan was adopted in 1992 and the update was approved by the Board on December 8, 2009.
In order to implement the final phase of the 2009 Plan, an ADA compliance assessment surveyed 72 County-owned and leased facilities in unincorporated areas of Sonoma County in 2024. The survey identified 4,508 accessibility-related barriers and estimated the cost for mitigation solutions to be approximately $23.8 million. On October 3, 2024, the Human Resources Department hosted a virtual public meeting to share survey findings, the plan to bring identified barriers into compliance with the ADA, and to provide an update on how the County is evaluating the accessibility of sidewalks, curbs, bus stops, park spaces, and other County-owned sites. Additionally, the County sought public feedback on proposed solutions and improvement priorities.
This recommended action updates the 2009 ADA Transition Plan to include the barriers identified from the 2024 surveys as well as the current schedules and plans to address the barriers identified in the surveys.
Discussion:
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a comprehensive civil rights law for persons with disabilities in both employment and the provision of goods and services. A primary goal of the ADA is to ensure equal participation in public life for all Americans with disabilities.
After the adoption of the ADA in 1990, Cities and Counties were required to conduct a self-evaluation of all programs and services to determine what barriers to access existed and how those barriers would be removed and under what schedule as part of a Transition Plan, which:
• identifies physical obstacles in the public entity’s Public Rights-of-Way (PROW) that limit the accessibility of its programs or activities to individuals with disabilities;
• assesses the extent of architectural barriers to program accessibility in the PROW and within the buildings, parks, and other facilities operated by the County;
• describes in detail the methods that will be used to make the PROW accessible;
• estimates costs for mitigation solutions;
• specifies the steps necessary to achieve compliance;
• provides a schedule for barrier removal/mitigation;
• sets priorities for barrier elimination; and
• identifies the official responsible for implementation of the plan.
In response, the County of Sonoma conducted public outreach and performed a self-evaluation of its policies, programs, and procedures to determine current levels of service and the extent to which its policies and programs created barriers to accessibility for persons with disabilities. An initial Transition Plan was adopted in 1992 and was updated in December of 2009 with a new Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan (“SETP”). The 2009 SETP set forth a phased schedule of a 12-year plan for barrier removal with priority given to the barriers to accessibility in public buildings and parks based upon the immediate necessity of programmatic access, degree of complexity, and overall cost.
In order to implement the final phase of the implementation of the 2009 Plan relating to the unincorporated areas of the County which had not yet been surveyed, the County conducted a Request For Proposal (RFP) and selected Sally Swanson and Associates to conduct a survey of the unincorporated areas and to assist the County in conducting public outreach to help set the remediation schedule for those projects.
Sally Swanson and Associates was retained on August 4, 2021, and concluded the following work in 2024:
• Surveyed the County facilities and locations that serve the public in the unincorporated areas of the County that were part of the 2009 Plan but not yet surveyed in accordance with the requirements as defined in Title II of the ADA.
• Updated the ADA Transition Plan using the same format and barrier action codes from the 2009 ADA SETP.
• Prioritized the ADA barriers and/or deficiencies by facility and type of work based on building code requirements and community stakeholder input to include rough order of magnitude construction costs to assist the County in formulating the annual program barrier removals.
• Assisted the County conduct a public outreach meeting on October 3, 2024, to provide the public with an opportunity to provide input regarding in the prioritization of projects.
Sally Swanson and Associates’ survey of all 72 County-owned and leased facilities in the unincorporated areas of the County identified 4,508 accessibility-related barriers and estimated the cost for mitigation solutions to be approximately $23.8 million. The full report of the 2024 Update to the ADA Transition Plan is attached to this report. This report, along with other 2024 Transition Plan documents are posted online at <https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/ada-tp>, which includes:
• -2024 Updated ADA Transition Plan Full Report <https://socogisweb.sonomacounty.ca.gov/documents/hub/ada_transition_plan/outlying_areas_ada_transition_plan_full_report.pdf> (PDF: 586.69 MB) (6,383 pages)
• -2024 Updated ADA Transition Plan Executive Summary <https://socogisweb.sonomacounty.ca.gov/documents/hub/ada_transition_plan/outlying_areas_ada_transition_plan_section_i_executive_summary.pdf> (PDF: 2.27 MB) (56 pages)
• --Survey Data Bus Stops October 2024 <https://socogisweb.sonomacounty.ca.gov/documents/hub/ada_transition_plan/sonoma_county_bus_stops_ada_survey_database_oct2024.xlsx> (Excel: 26.0 KB)
• --Survey Data Curb Ramps June 2024 <https://socogisweb.sonomacounty.ca.gov/documents/hub/ada_transition_plan/sonoma_county_curb_ramps_ada_survey_database_june2024.xlsx> (Excel: 200 KB)
• --Survey Data Parks and Facilities October 2024 <https://socogisweb.sonomacounty.ca.gov/documents/hub/ada_transition_plan/sonoma_county_parks_and_facilities_database_oct2024.xlsx> (Excel: 851 KB)
• --Survey Data Pedestrian Signals October 2024 <https://socogisweb.sonomacounty.ca.gov/documents/hub/ada_transition_plan/sonoma_county_pedestrian_signals_ada_survey_database_oct2024.xlsx> (Excel: 41.4 KB)
• --Survey Data Sidewalks June 2024 <https://socogisweb.sonomacounty.ca.gov/documents/hub/ada_transition_plan/sonoma_county_sidewalks_ada_survey_database_june2024.xlsx> (Excel: 2.13 MB)
• October 3, 2024, public meeting presentation slides <https://socogisweb.sonomacounty.ca.gov/documents/hub/ada_transition_plan/outlying_areas_ada_transition_plan_public_engagement_presentation_2024.pdf> (PDF: 2.9 MB)
The website also offers interactive GIS map showing the findings from the 2024 assessment of unincorporated Sonoma County. Upon the approval of this item, the identified barrier removal projects will continue with remediation according to the priorities outlined in the updated Transition Plan.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the Resilient Infrastructure pillar and the goal three, “Continue to invest in critical road, bridge, bicycle, and pedestrian infrastructure” among other infrastructure improvements.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
1992 - Initial approval of the ADA Transition Plan
December 8, 2009 (item 69) - Approval of the ADA Transition Plan updates
Fiscal Summary
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FY24-25 Adopted |
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FY26-27 Projected |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
No additional funding is requested. The budgeted amount has already been approved.
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
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Attachments:
1. 2024 Updated ADA Transition Plan - Full Report
2. Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None.