Making Alameda Accessible (ADA)

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 510-747-7961.

Requests for reasonable accommodations 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 Coordinator:  ada@alamedaca.gov or 510-747-7961.

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.

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 (Title II of the ADA). 

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:

Lilian Jewell
ADA Coordinator
ada@alamedaca.gov
950 W Mall Sq Suite 110
Alameda, CA 94501

Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, Lilian Jewell or their designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and the possible resolutions. Within 15 calendar days of the meeting, Lilian Jewell 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 Lilian Jewell 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 Lilian Jewell 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.

Click here to file a Title II Grievance online

Click here for the printable version of the Grievance form

ADA Title I, Employment

If you wish to file a complaint related to Title I, the City's Personnel Policy governs employment-related complaints of disability discrimination. Click here to visit the webpage of the Human Resources department.

ADA Title III, Private Business and Public Accommodations

If you wish to file a complaint related to Title III of the ADA (which includes entities such as non-profit organizations, hotels, apartment complexes, grocery or retail stores, or restaurants), you may file a complaint with the City of Alameda's City Attorney by clicking here. Other options for filing a complaint are the Federal Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ or with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) at https://calcivilrights.ca.gov/Unruh/.

Fair Housing Act

If you have a complaint related to residential housing, you may file a complaint with the City of Alameda's City Attorney by clicking here, or with the Federal Office of Housing and Urban Development Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO): https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/online-complaint.

If you are a person with a disability and require an accommodation to participate in a City of Alameda program, service, or activity, requests may be made by calling 510-747-7961 (Voice) or by submitting the Accommodation Request Form below at least:

• seven (7) business days in advance of a City meeting (City Council, Commission, Board, etc.);
• fourteen (14) business days in advance of an ARPD event or activity.

We will do our best to fulfill the requests received. Copies of documents are available in alternative formats upon request.

Submit Reasonable Accommodation Request

Printable version of the Request form

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.

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• If you have difficulty accessing the site or have any comments or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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