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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-08-08-COD-ltr (a) Town of Lexington Commission on Disability Victoria Buckley, Chair August 8, 2014 Thomas Hopkins, Director Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Public Safety Architectural Access Board One Ashburton Place, Room 1310 Boston, MA 02198-1618 RE: 394 Lowell Street, Lexington Dear Mr. Hopkins, At the monthly meeting held on August 7, 2014, the Commission on Disability spoke to representatives of the property known as Harrington Park, located at 394 Lowell Street, Lexington.The representatives were Thomas Wood, Principal Property Manager, of J.A. Wood Management, and John Greco, Attorney. The Commission originally contacted the AAB about this property in a letter dated 6/7/14. The original request concerned asking the Commission to support a variance for the relief of providing ADA compliant bathrooms in two units on the second floor of the condominium building. The two representatives made it clear that they would like to work with the Commission but it is unclear what to advise at this point. As a Commission, we are concerned that the entire complex is not accessible. This raises the question of why they are seeking relief from compliance for bathrooms located on the second floor. There are no elevators or chair lifts to the second floor. Since the original renovation costs for those second floor conjoined condominium units was over 30% of the value, the ADA compliance issues are 1625 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE • LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02420 triggered. We assume that is why the idea of a variance first arose. One suggestion made was for a unisex bathroom, but that does not address the question of why the bathroom is accessible when the unit is not. We would like to see a 2- 3-year plan of how to make the entire complex accessible in terms of second floors and entryways. Then we would see the value of compliant second floor bathrooms. Additionally the units in question are newly owned by RDTEU (Research, Development & Tech. Employees Union). This raises the question of whether the new owners intend to run public meetings or public services in an inaccessible site. Please advise whether we as a Commission can ask for a plan to increase accessibility and how we should proceed to work together with the property representatives and the local building inspector, Fred Lonardo, to address the issues. Thank you. Sincerely, Victoria Buckley, Chair Cell phone 617-997-5472 Cc: Thomas Wood, JA Wood Management LLC, 594 Marrett Road, Suite 21, Lexington, MA 02421 Fred Lonardo