ICON - The magazine of the American Society of Interior Designers - (Page 57) aging in style in states (such as California, Michigan and New York) where no local code can be more stringent than the state code. “I do believe laws are the primary way to make [visitability] happen,” maintains Smith. Proposed legislation is usually challenged or diluted, however. The National Association of Homebuilders in Pima County, Ariz., challenged the constitutionality of a 2002 law, saying it infringed on a homeowner’s rights. The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled unanimously against the plaintiffs, noting that the state already regulates property owners (via building codes, for example), and the visitability law was more of the same. The Arizona Supreme Court subsequently upheld the ruling. The law applies to all new housing in Pima County, built with or without public funds, but excludes the city of Tucson. Even so, as of December 2006 more than 15,000 new homes are visitable. In contrast, a 2002 challenge in Naperville, Ill., forced the removal of the zero-step entry provision from their version of a visitability ordinance. Even proposed legislation that fails ultimately can gain traction by raising visitability’s profile and provoking discussion. The Inclusive Home Design Act, a federal law introduced by Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) during the 107th Congress (2002), has never gotten out of committee. There has been progress, however: The bill had no co-sponsors at first introduction, and by the 109th Congress it had 39. Jordana Maisel, M.U.P., director of Outreach and Urban Planning Studies at SUNY Buffalo, tracks the progress of visitability statutes nationwide. There are currently 48 local and state statutes, with more than a dozen more pending. Her department meticulously details the current laws via spreadsheets available on their Web site, which also offers a 48-page visitabilty case study and resource booklet. “There is a need to keep going with this [tracking],” Maisel explains, since new initiatives proceed more easily when there is data on the success of previous ones. Citizen advocacy efforts, visionary public officials and committed professionals play a major role in moving programs forward. A leading exam- ple is Bolingbrook, Ill., (population 72,000), 35 miles southwest of Chicago. Beginning in 1999, Mayor Roger Claar urged voluntary compliance with a visitability ordinance. Showing reluctant builders that the features cost little and were easily incorporated was crucial. Pasquinelli and Portrait Homes, a large builder in the area, got on board with the plan, and others soon followed. The legislation passed in 2003. Mayor Claar stated recently that the law is “working well,” and that he had received no complaints. “Cost is not an issue; curb appeal is not an issue,” he said. The successful outcome seems directly related to the inclusivity of the campaign and its unwavering leadership. Claar was proactive about the ordinance, and he gives ample credit to Bolingbrook resident and advocate for the disabled, Edward Bannister, saying “he made it happen.” The town’s building commissioner, Dan Buonamici, estimates that by year’s end Bolingbrook will have 3,600 visitable houses. Interior designers and architects have an important role to play as well. They have the experience to explain the “why” of visitability and the skills to show—and implement—the “how.” Designers can convince builders and clients that the cost of incorporating these features into new construction is negligible, and that they can be attractive; in fact, it is often the retrofits and afterthought add-ons that are expensive and ugly. Designers who are caregivers for the mobilityimpaired add this hard-earned personal experience to their resume. Sally Erickson Bornschein, CAPS, a principal in POM Associates, Inc., in Traverse City, Mich., recently built the “Livable Lifestyles Home.” She was inspired by personal experience, vowing to build accessibly after her husband had a skiing accident and back surgery, pushing stairs off his agenda for a year. “Frailty is just an arm’s length away,” she realized. The Livable Lifestyles project—a $350,000 home Bornschein dubbed “a 1,600 square-foot jewel box” on a golf course in the Grand Traverse Resort—was such a success that AARP later held its National Governors Association meeting there to demonstrate visitability principles. Bornschein believes that “many builders would like to [build accessibly], but don’t know how, don’t take the time to learn, don’t learn the nuances.” Such nuances include incorporating a second zero-step entrance in case one is blocked in an emergency, or moving low-placed electrical receptacles six inches higher than normal. Single-family homes comprise about two-thirds of all existing housing in America and two-thirds of the houses being constructed. Most houses built today will exist in 25 years, providing housing stock for the senior tsunami. Eleanor Smith cites the fact that 40 percent of nursing home residents enter directly from the hospital or rehab. She wonders how many of them enter the nursing homes because they can’t “revisit” their own homes. Consider Representative Schakowsky’s sentiments in the Inclusive Home Design Act: “Under current law, 95 percent of federally supported homes do not have to meet any accessibility standard. This creates unnecessary barriers for disabled veterans and other people with mobility impairments. It defies logic to build new homes that block people out when it’s so easy and cheap to build new homes that let people in.”] Nena Donovan Levine, Allied Member ASID, is the owner of N Design, Inc., in W. Hartford, Conn. She is a kitchen designer and a freelance writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications. See the Resource Guide on page 78 for additional resources and information about “Aging in Style.” ASID ICON | SEP/OCT 2007 57
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