U-T Article

INTERIORS BY DESIGN

Bringing down the barriers

Universal design fits the bill for many types of homeowners

Mack, an occupational therapist, has worked with Pacific Century Homes to create 17 "universal design" houses in suburban Murrieta. The idea is to promote accessible dwellings by building homes that appeal equally to disabled and able-bodied buyers.

She has collaborated on a modern, single-story design that blends seamlessly into the suburban landscape of southern Riverside County. Her strategy for increasing the supply of barrier-free housing is to make it appealing to the masses. The designer contends that most new homes are based on outdated blueprints that don't serve the needs of the diverse home-buying public.

"Builders don't really understand yet," she said. "The houses we are living in today are based on standards developed after World War II."

Many new homes fail to consider the needs of children, the elderly or those with physical limitations, she said. The key benefit of universal housing is that "it is usable for everybody."

Mack started planning home modifications for the disabled in 1971 but turned to design in 1992. The 2,500-square-foot houses she helped create in Murrieta have open floor plans, zero-step entries, extra-wide hallways and counter heights that allow access for people who use wheelchairs.

The homes started coming onto the market about two years ago, she said. She recently led a tour of the last vacant unit in the community of ArborGlen. A model, the house was built by Pacific Century Homes. That company was later acquired by Lennar Homes, Mack said. The dwelling has a price tag of nearly $340,000.

Amor Taylor, director of public policy services for the California Foundation for Independent Living in Sacramento, supports Mack's approach to creating accessible housing.

"Mainstreaming is what it is all about," Taylor said. "These design features will work for everyone."

Another world

Located on 49th Street, near El Cajon Boulevard, the two-bedroom, two-bathroom units will rent for $925 per month, slightly below the area's median. Three first-floor units are completely wheelchair-accessible. The three second-floor units incorporate many of the features of universal design, including lowered counters and open, barrier-free floor plans.

Each apartment encompasses about 800 square feet. Move-ins are scheduled to begin this month. "When I started researching this," Novick said, "the first question I asked people in wheelchairs was, 'If you could have anything what would it be?' The pat answer was 'finding a place to live.' If I had the means, I would build as many as I possibly could. Everybody deserves a decent place to call home."

The surrounding area isn't nearly as tony as ArborGlen. Novick's two-story, earth-tone complex has taken shape amid an eclectic mix of multiple-family dwellings, aging bungalows and businesses. The area is so diverse that blending in isn't a concern. His goal simply is to help address the acute shortage of rental housing for the disabled.

The $500,000 project was a decade in the making. It represents the 54-year-old contractor's first venture into apartment construction. Novick was building office buildings and restaurants when his parents became disabled in the 1980s. The experience made him aware of the barriers confronting people with mobility problems, he said.

"About 10 years ago, the construction market hit the skids," he recalled. "A lot of contractors left town. I was in transition. I was mid-40s and looking for the rest of my life. Money wasn't my motivation." He found new purpose in modifying homes for the disabled. The company he formed, AM ABLE Inc., is headquartered in La Mesa. Mike Conroy, an activist for the disabled in San Diego County, said accessible rental housing is badly needed. A wheelchair user, Conroy says he has experienced the frustration of searching for accessible, affordable rentals.

Closed doors

The barriers are everywhere. Able-bodied people might get an idea of how big the problem is if they could imagine a world where most of the dwellings they encounter have no front doors or bathrooms, Conroy said. "We have access to public places required in law, but housing is still inaccessible."

There are no laws to make single-family homes more friendly to the disabled, said Bob Raymer, the California Building Industry Association's technical director. While new multiple-family complexes larger than three units must be accessible under the federal Fair Housing Act, there is no requirement for owners to retrofit those built before March 1991.

That means for the bulk of the region's multiple-family complexes, residents who have disabilities must request the modification of sidewalks and doorways. Those costs often are passed on to tenants. Cost is an important factor when deciding whether to make homes more accessible, said Paul Tryon, executive vice president of the San Diego Building Industry Association.

"That cost isn't always commensurate with the demand," he said. "An analogy would be, 'Why aren't all Ford automobiles handicapped-accessible for those with physical limitations?' Quite frankly it's because of the cost and because it is not required universally."

Universal access requirements for single-family homes in California may be coming, however, said Raymer. The state Legislature recently agreed to create voluntary accessible-housing guidelines for single-family dwellings. Implementation won't take place until 2005, however.

A new blueprint

When the parents of the baby boom generation bought their homes in the late 1940s and early 1950s, designers were catering to returning GIs, she explained. The typical consumer was "5-foot-10, 165 pounds and as strong as an ox." As a result, kitchen storage cabinets were placed near ceilings or floors, Mack said. Light switches were placed high on walls, while electrical outlets were placed immediately above baseboards. Stairways weren't considered to be barriers. And no one gave a thought to aging or ergonomics, the science of designing for human safety and convenience.

"What universal design is trying to do is (say) we are all different sizes. We are all different strengths," she said. "I am not as flexible as I was when I was 20. Twenty-five years from now I will be less flexible than I am now. We are on a continuum of function."

Louis Irvin, executive director of Cal-Diego Paralyzed Veterans Association, views Mack as a visionary who is trying to change the way builders approach home construction. In contrast, Novick has a more immediate view, he said. The contractor has recognized that some people can't wait for the housing industry to change the way it builds. They need accessible dwellings now.

Despite their differences, both Mack and Novick are fulfilling an urgent need, said Irvin, a wheelchair user. "You need both people."

Bill Stothers, deputy director of the Center for an Accessible Society in San Diego, says the nation's growing elderly population may create pressure for change. Those born during 1940s and 1950s have reached middle age, he noted. "The baby-boom generation should drive a lot of it."

Raymer agrees that the call for universal housing is likely to increase as the current generation of homebuyers ages.

"The baby boomers, once they start hitting their 60s and 70s, this will be a major issue," he said. "There is going to be a demand for this."

More information about Mack's universal designs is available on the Internet at www.homesforeasyliving.com, or by calling (760) 409-7565. Novick can be reached on the Internet at www.amable2.com or by calling (619) 262-2532.

Emmet Pierce: (619) 293-1372; emmet.pierce@uniontrib.com