Local News in Brief : Access Panel for Disabled

Mayor Tom Bradley said Monday that Los Angeles will soon establish a commission to help the handicapped gain access to public and private buildings.

A Handicapped Access Appeals Commission will hear complaints about buildings lacking facilities for the disabled, he said, and “will take appeals before the fact, during the fact, or after the fact” on the planning and construction of buildings.

The five-member commission will go into business when a new city ordinance becomes effective Oct. 25 and will include two of the city’s estimated 400,000 disabled residents as well as two current or former members of the building industry.

The commission’s authority will lie in its power to determine whether a building is in compliance with existing laws calling for reasonable access for the handicapped. An unfavorable ruling will place a building owner on notice that there is a violation and that the property must be brought up to code.