TITLE
Recommendation to, by motion of the City Council, request City Manager to review the City’s emergency operations plans prepared for planned response to extraordinary emergency situations associated with natural disasters, technological incidents, and national security emergencies in both war and peacetime, and to engage members of the disabled community to make certain the needs of the disabled are included in these plans and that the City website is updated to provide all residents access to critical information necessary for emergency preparedness.
DISCUSSION
The U.S. Department of Justice has prepared a document for local governments (
) An ADA Guide for Local Governments Making Community Emergency Preparedness and Response Programs Accessible to People with Disabilities, and states in pertinent part:
One of the most important roles of local government is to protect their citizenry from harm, including helping people prepare for and respond to emergencies. Making local government emergency preparedness and response programs accessible to people with disabilities is a critical part of this responsibility. Making these programs accessible is also required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
Last month, the City of Los Angeles settled litigation for $2.1 million dollars because it failed to include the needs of the disabled in emergency operations plans prepared for planned response to extraordinary emergency situations associated with natural disasters, technological incidents, and national security emergencies in both war and peacetime.
Representatives of the disabled community raised the issue that the City of Los Angeles needed to have a plan to notify and evacuate the disabled or provide them with transportation and shelter in a disaster and that the City’s failure violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Unlike many other Southern California cities, Long Beach does not post its ...
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