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Disability Programs & Services

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Costa Mesa Services & Programs for Individuals with Disabilities

It is the policy and practice of the City of Costa Mesa to take all reasonable steps to ensure its services, programs and activities are accessible to all members of the public including persons with disabilities. For more information, contact:

ADA Coordinator, City of Costa Mesa
Brenda Green, City Clerk
77 Fair Drive, City Clerk Office, 1st  Floor
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
phone: 714-754-5221
Email: Brenda.Green@costamesaca.gov

The City's ADA Coordinator works to ensure all departments comply with this policy by carrying out the following functions:

  • Provide technical assistance to support City departments in complying with federal, state and local disability access laws.
  • Assist departments and divisions in evaluating their facilities, programs, services, and activities to ensure provision of reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities.
  • Facilitate the resolution of grievances filed against the City of Costa Mesa that allege noncompliance with disability access laws.

Website Accessibility

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Grievance Procedure

Grievance Procedure Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

It is the policy of the City of Costa Mesa to provide access to its services and programs for persons with disabilities in accordance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. This Grievance Procedure is established to meet the requirements of the ADA. It may be used by anyone who wishes to file a complaint concerning access to City facilities, services, activities, programs, or benefits.

The complaint should be in writing and contain information about the alleged discrimination such as name, address, phone number of complainant and location, date, and description of the problem. Alternative means of filing complaints, such as personal interviews or a tape recording of the complaint will be made available for persons with disabilities upon request. The complaint should be submitted by the grievant and/or his/her designee as soon as possible but no later than 60 calendar days after the alleged violation to:

ADA Coordinator, City of Costa Mesa
Brenda Green, City Clerk
77 Fair Drive, City Clerk Office, 1st  Floor
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
phone: 714-754-5221
Email: Brenda.Green@costamesaca.gov

Receipt of a Complaint
Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, Brenda Green or her designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days of the meeting, Brenda Green or her designee will respond in writing, and where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, such as large print, Braille, or audio tape. The response will explain the position of the City of Costa Mesa and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint.

If the response by Brenda Green or her designee does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or his/her designee the decision within 15 days after receipt of the response to the City Executive Officer, or his designee.

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the City Executive Officer or his designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days after the meeting, the City Executive Officer or his designee will respond in writing, and, where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, with a final resolution of the complaint.

Retainment Policy
All written complaints received by the Brenda Green or his/her designee, appeals to the City Executive Officer or his/her designee, and responses from these two offices will be retained by the City of Costa Mesa for at least three years.

Employee and job-related complaints are governed by our City’s Memorandum of Understanding “Disability Discrimination,” article as well as the City’s Non-Discrimination Title VI Program.  All disability related complaints may be filed with Human Resource at (714) 754-5350.

The City's ADA Complaint Form can be obtained at:

  • Online at the link below
  • By calling the City Clerk Office at (714) 754-5221
  • In person by picking the form up at City Hall: 77 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 (1st Floor)

Mail Completed Complaint Forms to:

Brenda Green, ADA Coordinator

City of Costa Mesa

P.O. Box 1200

Costa Mesa, CA 92628

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Notice

Discrimination Compliance
In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the City of Costa Mesa will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in the City’s services, programs, or activities.

Employment
The City of Costa Mesa does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment practices and complies with all regulations promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Employment discrimination complaints can be made to the Human Resources Department at (714) 754-5350

Effective Communication
The City of Costa mesa will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in the City’s programs, services, and activities, including qualified sign language interpreters, documents in Braille, and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.

Modifications to Policies and Procedures
The City of Costa Mesa will make all reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all City programs, services, and activities. For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in City of Costa Mesa’s offices, even where pets are generally prohibited.

Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in a City program, service, or activity, should call the telephone number printed on the meeting notice or contact the office of Brenda Green at 714-754-5221 or by email: Brenda.Green@CostaMesaCA.gov as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.

Limitations
The ADA does not require the City to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services, or impose an undue financial or administrative burden.

Complaints that a City program, service, or activity is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to:

ADA Coordinator, City of Costa Mesa
Brenda Green, City Clerk
77 Fair Drive, City Clerk Office, 1st  Floor
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
phone: 714-754-5221
Email: Brenda.Green@costamesaca.gov

Free Services
The City will not place a surcharge on a particular individual with a disability or any group of individuals with disabilities to cover the cost of providing auxiliary aids/services or reasonable modifications of policy, such as retrieving items from locations that are open to the public but are not accessible to persons who use wheelchairs.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II State & Local Government

About the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) is a Federal law that provides civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. The ADA guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations (such as stores, restaurants, and hotels), employment, state and local government services, and transportation.

Title II
The ADA has five sections or “titles” which each address different areas of the law. Title II of the ADA addresses state and local governments, such as the City of Costa Mesa. Title II protects qualified individuals with disabilities from discrimination on the basis of disability in accessing services, programs, or activities. For more information, please see our frequently asked questions.

The documentation of an ADA Self Evaluation and a Transition Plan are required to meet the requirements set forth in Title II of the ADA.  The intent and purpose of an ADA Self Evaluation Plan is for a public entity to identify issues and conditions that could apply to a qualified individual with a disability.  The intent and purpose of a Transition Plan is to set forth a written process and method whereby the public entity can modify, replace, or remove identified issues and conditions over time that could apply to qualified individuals with disabilities.

As required by Title II of ADA, the City of Costa Mesa has conducted a self-evaluation of its facilities within public rights of way and has developed this Transition Plan detailing how the organization will ensure that all of those facilities are accessible to all individuals.

Building Division Access Regulations

Disabled Access Regulations
All new building, alterations and additions to existing buildings shall comply with the disabled access requirements of California Building Code chapters 11A or 11B. The local Building Division plan checks and inspects for compliance with accessibility as per adopted California Building Codes chapters 11A for covered multifamily dwellings or chapter 11B for public Buildings, public accommodations, commercial buildings and public housing. Compliance with the California Building Code (CBC) does NOT necessarily mean that the design also automatically complies with the requirements of the American Disability Act (ADA).

CBC Chapter 11 contains general accessibility requirements that apply to most occupancies. Chapter 11A contains regulations pertaining to multifamily buildings and Chapter 11B contains regulations for Commercial and Industrial buildings.

For Questions regarding Accessibility in privately-owned buildings in Costa Mesa, contact a Building Department at  (714) 754-5614.

It is the Owner’s and Architect’s responsibility to ensure the building complies with all applicable Codes and Laws.

References

Curb Ramp Program

Accommodation for Persons with Disabilities
The City of Costa Mesa is concerned with public right-of-way access for everyone including people with disabilities. Staff is aware of pedestrian mobility concerns for people with various disabilities. The following information describes department programs available to the public.

Curb Ramp Program
The City of Costa Mesa administers the Sidewalk Accessibility Curb Ramp Program by identifying locations and managing the installation of curb ramps throughout the city. These ramps provide safer and easier pedestrian access to sidewalks, particularly for persons with disabilities. All newly constructed ramps comply with the current Americans with Disabilities Act standards. For more information please contact City of Costa Mesa at 714-754-5633.

Contractual Services
City of Costa Mesa utilizes contractual services to install curb ramps each year through the ongoing capital-funded program. Along with these ongoing City-funded installation projects, the program also assists and coordinates installation projects with a variety of other programs and construction projects.

The City of Costa Mesa staff utilizes a priority approach to select locations for new ramps. Installation project priorities are based on the following criteria:

  • Known routes used, and requests by persons with disabilities
  • Known locations in the walking route to school plans
  • Known routes to senior and community centers and around parks
  • Requests from the community

Mobility Access Analysis for People with Disabilities
Upon request, staff conducts a study of obstructions blocking pedestrian or wheelchair travel. Call (714) 754-5633 for information.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Resources on the Internet

ADA Law, Regulations and Design Standards
The ADA law identifies who is a person with a disability, who has obligations under the ADA, general non-discrimination requirements and other basic obligations. It delegates fleshing out those obligations to federal agencies. The agencies issue regulations and design standards. The regulations have the details on the rights of people with disabilities and responsibilities of employers, state and local governments, transportation providers, businesses and non-profit organizations. The design standards specify how many entrances need to be accessible, how many toilet rooms and the design for those elements.  To know what the ADA requires, you need to read the law, regulations and design standards.

ADA Statue (the Law)

ADA Regulations and Design Standards

Note: Inclusion in this resource list does not constitute endorsement by the City of Costa Mesa, nor does omission imply non-endorsement. Our goal is to provide you with information on some available key resources. Please let us know if you are aware of a useful resource missing from this list.