UPDATE - Legislation Introduced by Supervisor David Chiu: ADA, POPOS, On-Site Water Reuse and Drinking Fountains

BOMA San Francisco Members,

BOMA San Francisco's Government and Public Affairs Committee (GAPAC) members met with Supervisor David Chiu recently to discuss a number of legislative issues his office has been working on.

Please review the following information and send and email to kenc@boma.com and johnb@boma.com with any questions or concerns.  Thank you!

Disability Access (ADA) Improvements for Small Businesses and Landlord Obligations

The last meeting our members had with Mr. Chiu was in February 2012. Supervisor Chiu has amended his legislation to inform prospective tenants of accessibly issues rather than mandate upgrades for first floor commercial tenants.

Specifically, this ordinance will require the commercial property owner to inform the prospective tenant of any disabled access deficiencies in the space, and to work out any agreement with that tenant on the upgrades or corrections that may be necessary. It does not ban leasing of spaces that aren’t accessible, but it does require the owner to inform the tenant of that fact.

New Signage Requirements for Privately Owned Public Open Spaces (POPOS)

BOMA has stressed with the Supervisor that this proposed new set of signage requirements should only apply to new buildings with public amenity spaces. However, the Mr. Chiu would like to see the existing POPOS be better advertised onsite than some are currently. We are not sure where this will go at this point. Buildings with POPOS should weigh in on what they consider adequate signage directly to the Supervisor.

On-Site Water Reuse for Commercial, Multi-Family and Mixed Use Developments 

The Supervisor has agreed to amend this legislation to make it clear that this ordinance is optional for both existing and new developments. If a developer or owner does opt to do onsite water recycling, then these requirements, primarily administered through the city’s Health Department, will apply.

Requiring New and Remodeled Buildings That Have Drinking Fountains to Provide Bottle Filling Stations 

This ordinance will be amended to only apply to new installations or major rehabs that impact existing drinking fountains.