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A bill that would require some businesses in Jacksonville to retrofit restrooms to provide changing tables for adults with disabilities was approved after the City Council Finance Committee approved a revised version of the proposal on March 19. , cleared the hurdle.
Ordinance 2023-0780, introduced in November 2023, was originally intended to require businesses with a capacity of 150 or more people to provide family restrooms with changing tables.
Committee member and restaurateur Raul Arias said the bill would help small business owners with both the upfront costs of building separate bathrooms and the long-term cost of losing revenue-generating facility space. He said that this has led to concerns from the public.
He said building an ADA-compliant bathroom would cost more than $40,000.
Before the ordinance was presented to the Neighborhood Commission on March 18, it was amended to increase capacity to 400 people and apply only to businesses that provide a total of six or more restrooms.
Arias said Neighborhood Committee members still have concerns about the bill, but approved it with the understanding that it would be amended further.
After additional consultation with business owners, Arias submitted another amendment before the March 19 Finance Committee meeting. Chief among them was a provision that allows businesses to adapt or convert existing restrooms into changing tables, as long as tables are installed in both men’s and women’s restrooms.
Arias said the amendment is a compromise that saves business owners money while providing two changing tables. He said the cost of installing two tables is about $20,000, which is half the cost of building a separate toilet for a home.
The committee approved the amendment and sent it to the City Council for a final vote on March 26th.
The vote came after the commission heard parents of children with disabilities discussing the need for changing tables in public places.
Robin Bridges, who converted her minivan to change her 18-year-old son Dalton while she’s out, said her only option is typically to change her son Dalton on the floor of the women’s bathroom.
“Every child and every person has the right to the dignity and privacy of being able to use the toilet, change their clothes and be cleaned without being exposed to anyone else,” she said.
Changing clothes on the floor is unsanitary and can make other customers feel awkward and uncomfortable, she said.
“Would you please take your daughter to the bathroom so I can change her clothes?” she asked the committee members.
Bridges said he was questioned by police for changing Dalton’s clothes in his minivan. Minivans are equipped with curtains that can be opened and closed to protect privacy. She said police heard noises coming from her vehicle, which made her suspect she had done something inappropriate.
Sean M. Seagroves, who opened a sandwich shop with his wife in early 2023, said his shop would not be affected by the ordinance as it is currently written. He said he was concerned that this requirement could eventually apply increasingly to small and medium-sized businesses.
Seagrove said it will cost at least $50,000 to bring his store into compliance. In addition to renovation costs, he said there will be a loss of income from having to close the store during construction.
“If I had to remodel my restaurant for this now, I’d be out of business,” he says.
Mr Seagroves said he sympathized with disabled and elderly parents who needed support, but urged committee members to consider the economic impact on businesses.
City officials said the proposed changes are modeled after the International Building Code, which would require businesses with at least six restrooms to have adult changing tables. The ordinance applies to companies that carry out new construction and major renovation work, including plumbing work.
City Councilman Matt Carlucci, who introduced the ordinance, said he supports the amendment but hopes to see more private facilities for the disabled and elderly.
Bridges expressed similar sentiments regarding the ordinance changes.
“It’s better than what we have today, and we may be able to improve it in the future,” she said.
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