In August 2022, the Board of County Commissioners adopted a Transition Plan that was developed between 2019 and 2022 to help identify physical conditions in county facilities that need modifications to achieve accessibility as outlined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The primary goal of the update process was to ensure that current and future facilities (buildings, parks, trailheads, etc.) are accessible to and usable by qualified people with disabilities.
The county retained the services of ADA-consulting firm Meeting the Challenge, Inc. (MTC) to assist with the update process. In late 2019, MTC began collecting data by visiting county buildings and trailheads. Work was delayed in 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic. In all, data was collected at 32 buildings and facilities, 32 trailheads/open spaces, and the Boulder County Fairgrounds.
It is not the purpose of the ADA to alter or rebuild all features of either the built or the natural environment. The purpose is to eliminate disability-based discrimination and facilitate inclusion and participation by qualified individuals with disabilities in public programs, viewed in their entirety, in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of visitors. Beyond the obvious physical barriers, such as stairs where there should be a ramp, title II of the ADA requires public entities, like Boulder County, to address any conditions, including attitudes (i.e., implicit bias), policies, practices, and procedures which prevent or might prevent qualified individuals with disabilities from having equal opportunities to participate in public life.
With the help of the findings identified in the Transition Plan, the county is developing policies and practices to ensure, where and when elements of its facilities are not consistent with relevant standards or guidelines and cannot, within the limits of technical feasibility, be made fully accessible. Intervention and assistance by staff may include the modification of county policies, practices, and procedures necessary to give qualified people with disabilities equal opportunities to participate in the programs offered at those facilities. When such accommodations or modifications of policies, practices, and procedures are not possible or effective, the county will relocate those programs to an accessible venue, or find other methods or means to deliver those programs in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of the individual. Boulder County will not deny a qualified person with a disability the opportunity to participate in services, programs, or activities that are not separate or different, despite the existence of permissibly separate or different programs or activities.
Post adoption, it is anticipated that it will take 10 years to resolve the findings in county buildings (including the Fairgrounds) and at trailheads and open spaces. This schedule will be contingent on budgetary resources from year to year. The earliest actions will likely be those which can cost-effectively result in the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people.
Transition Plan
Public Involvement
During development of the plan, there were opportunities for public review, discussion, and feedback. Opportunities included:
- Public survey – 2021
- Online question/comment form – 2021
- Presentation to the Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee (POSAC) – August 2021
- Presentation to the county’s Mobility for All group – September 2021
- Public meeting with County Commissioners to present DRAFT plan – November 2021
- Watch a Recording of the Meeting (use passcode t.^2.r0t)
- County Commissioners Business Meeting for formal adoption of ADA Transition Plan – August 2022
Contact Information
Please contact the County’s Human Resources Department if you’d like to know more about the ADA Transition Plan.