Making Alameda Accessible

Veterans Memorial Buidling Ramp

The City is committed to providing equal access for all and recognizes that access is not just a civil right, it is a social responsibility to uphold. The City's Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Self Evaluation and Transition Plan(PDF, 7MB) and Plan Appendices(PDF, 5MB):

  • Describes how policies, programs, and facilities were evaluated for compliance with the ADA
  • Presents the findings of the City's evaluation
  • Documents public input and engagement in setting priorities
  • Provides phased approach to addressing identified accessibility barriers

The plan was endorsed by the City's Commission on Persons with Disabilities on June 5, 2024 and was approved by City Council on June 18, 2024.

ADA/Section 504 Coordinator

The ADA/Section 504 Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the efforts of the City of Alameda to comply with Title II of the ADA and investigating any concerns, complaints, or requests regarding access to City programs, services, and activities.

Erin Smith

City of Alameda ADA/Section 504 Coordinator and Public Works Director

950 W Mall Square, Suite 110Alameda, CA 94501

ada@alamedaca.gov or 510-747-7938

If you need a copy of the the City's Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Self Evaluation and Transition Plan(PDF, 7MB) or Plan Appendices(PDF, 5MB) in an alternative format, please contact Erin Smith.

Notice Under the Americans with Disabilities Act

In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), the City of Alameda will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.

Employment: The City of Alameda 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 ADA.

Effective Communication: The City of Alameda will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in City 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 Alameda will make all reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all of its programs, services, and activities. For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in City 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 program, service, or activity, should contact the City's ADA Coordinator, as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event:  ada@alamedaca.gov or 510-747-7938.

Requests for reasonable accomodations at City Council meetings should be made by contacting the City Clerk’s office: clerk@alamedaca.gov or 510-747-4800.

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 program, service, or activity of the City is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to the City's ADA Cordinator:  ada@alamedaca.govor 510-747-7938.

The City of Alameda 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.

 

Grievance Procedure

This Grievance Procedure is established to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"). It may be used by anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by the City of Alameda. The City's Personnel Policy governs employment-related complaints of disability discrimination.

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 their designee as soon as possible but no later than 60 calendar days after the alleged violation to:

Erin Smith
Public Works Director/ADA Coordinator
esmith@alamedaca.gov
950 W Mall Sq Suite 110
Alameda, CA 94501

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, Erin Smith or their designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days of the meeting, Erin Smith or their 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 Alameda and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint.

If the response by Erin Smith or their designee does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or their designee may appeal the decision within 15 calendar days after receipt of the response to the City Manager or their designee.

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the appeal, the City Manager or their designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days after the meeting, the City Manager or their designee will respond in writing, and, where appropriate, in a format accessible to the complainant, with a final resolution of the complaint. All written complaints received by Erin Smith or their designee, appeals to the City Manager or their designee, and responses from these two offices will be retained by the City of Alameda for at least three years.

 

Website Accessibility

If you use assistive technology (such as a Braille reader, or a screen reader) and the format of any material on this website interferes with your ability to access information, please contact us. To enable us to respond in a manner most helpful to you, please indicate the nature of your accessibility problem, the preferred format in which to receive the material, the web address of the requested material, and your contact information.

ACCESSIBILITY DESIGN GUIDELINES

Our website has been designed with the following accessibility guidelines in mind:

  • We work to comply with Section 508 as well as WCAG 2.0 A and AA referring to website accessibility standards.
  • If you have difficulty accessing the site or have any comments or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact us.

BROWSER ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION

Many popular browsers contain built-in accessibility tools.

ADDITIONAL PLUG-INS

Adobe Reader is required to view and print PDF documents that appear on this website.

SUPPORTED ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

  • Latest Version of JAWS for Windows
  • Latest Version of NVDA for Windows
  • Latest Version of VoiceOver for Mac OS X
  • Keyboard-Only Navigation