[Adopted by Ord. No. 1338 (§ 2-19 of the 1987 Code)]
The Mayor and Borough Council are desirous of
rendering full civic partnership to persons with disabilities. There
is a need for the Borough government, with community involvement,
to adopt existing and future programs and services to bring all individuals
into full civic partnership.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meaning indicated:
An individual with a physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual;
a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an
impairment.
An individual is considered to have a disability
based on a physical or mental impairment if he or she has:
Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic
disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following
body systems: neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs,
respiratory (including speech organs), cardiovascular, reproductive,
digestive, genitourinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin and endocrine;
Any mental or psychological disorder such as
mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness,
and specific learning disabilities; and/or
Any contagious or noncontagious disease or condition,
such as orthopedic, visual speech, and hearing impediments, cerebral
palsy, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cancer, heart
disease, diabetes, mental retardation, emotional illness, specific
learning disabilities, HIV disease (whether symptomatic or asymptomatic),
tuberculosis, drug addiction and alcoholism.
"Major life activities" are functions such as
caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing,
speaking, breathing, learning and working.
An individual is considered to have a record
of a physical or mental impairment if he or she has a history of,
or has been misclassified as having, a mental or physical impairment
that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
An individual will be regarded as having an
impairment if he or she has:
A physical or mental impairment that does not
substantially limit major life activities but that is treated by a
public entity as constituting such a limitation;
A physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits major life activities only as a result of the attitudes of
others toward such impairment; or
No physical or mental impairments but is treated
by a public entity as having an impairment.
[Amended by Ord. No. 1626]
There shall be and is hereby created a Commission
for Universal Access.
[Amended by Ord. No. 1464]
A.
Such Commission shall consist of five members and
two alternates who shall be appointed by the Mayor with the advice
and consent of the Borough Council. In addition, the Borough's American
Disabilities Act Coordinator shall be a nonvoting member of the Commission.
All members shall serve without compensation. Initially, two members
shall be appointed to serve three years, two members shall be appointed
to serve one year. Thereafter, members of the Commission shall serve
for terms of three years.
B.
Alternate members shall be designated "Alternate No.
1" and "Alternate No. 2." Alternate members shall attend all meetings
of the Commission but may not vote except in the absence or disqualification
of a regular member. In the event of the absence or disqualification
of a regular member, Alternate No. 1 shall participate first and Alternate
No. 2 second.
C.
Initially, alternates will be appointed: one alternate
shall be appointed to serve for three years; and one alternate shall
be appointed to serve for two years. Thereafter, alternates shall
serve for three years. Each member and alternate shall serve until
such person's successor is appointed. Vacancies in the membership
shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term.
[Amended by Ord. No. 1464]
Quorum shall mean a majority of the voting members
of the Commission.
The Mayor, with the advice and consent of the
Borough Council, shall appoint the Chairperson of the Commission,
who shall serve in that capacity for a one-year term. The Commission
shall elect out of its own members the Vice Chairman and Secretary
who shall serve for a one-year term.
The Chairman of the Commission and any members
so designated by the Commission shall advise the Mayor and/or the
Council liaison of those programs, grants, legislation, policies and
practices they deem in the best interest of fostering full civic partnership
by individuals with disabilities.
The Mayor and/or the Council liaison shall review
and evaluate all advice and grant proposals from the Commission and
recommend action to be taken by the Borough Council.
[Added by Ord. No. 1626; amended 11-8-2006 by Ord. No. 1707]
A.
A complaint should be addressed to: ADA Coordinator,
Borough of Highland Park, 221 South Fifth Avenue, Highland Park, New
Jersey, 08904;
B.
A complaint should be filed in writing, contain the
name and address of the person filing it, and briefly describe the
alleged violation of the regulations, including a reference to all
times, locations and witnesses of the alleged violation, if applicable;
C.
A complaint should be filed within 30 days after the
complainant becomes aware of the alleged violations. Processing of
the allegations of discrimination which occurred before this grievance
procedure was in place will be considered on a case-by-case basis;
D.
An investigation, as may be appropriate, shall follow
a filing of a complaint. The investigation shall be conducted by the
ADA Coordinator. These rules contemplate informal but thorough investigations,
affording all interested persons and their representatives, if any,
an opportunity to submit evidence relevant to a complaint;
E.
A written determination as to the validity of the
complaint and a description of the resolution, if any, shall be issued
by the ADA Coordinator and a copy forwarded to the complainant no
later than 30 days after its filing;
F.
If the complaint cannot be resolved to the satisfaction
of the ADA Coordinator, the complainant shall have the right to request
that the matter be reviewed by the Commission. Such request must be
made, in writing, to the ADA Coordinator at the Borough of Highland
Park, 221 South Fifth Avenue, Highland Park, New Jersey, 08904, within
15 days after the decision issued by the ADA Coordinator;
G.
The individual's right to prompt and equitable resolution
of the complaint must not be impaired by his/her pursuit of other
remedies, such as the filing of a complaint with the U.S. Department
of Justice or any other appropriate Federal agency. Furthermore, the
filing of a lawsuit in State or Federal District Court can occur at
any time. The use of this grievance procedure is not a prerequisite
to the pursuit of other remedies and will not act to toll any statute
of limitations on the filing of a lawsuit.
[Added by Ord. No. 1626; amended by Ord. No. 1626]
The Commission should be charged to establish
ground rules or procedures for hearing complaints, requests or suggestions
from disabled persons regarding access to and participation in public
facilities, services, activities and functions in the community. Further,
the Commission should be directed to hear such complaints in public,
after adequate public notice is given, in an unbiased, objective manner.
The Commission should issue a written decision within 30 working days
of completion of the hearing. A record of action taken on each request
or complaint must be maintained as part of the records of minutes
at each level of the grievance process.
