Americans with Disabilities Act Information

Looking up into the branches and leaves of the historic Founders Oak in Landa Park

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 New Braunfels will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities. 

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes, ensures that no person in the City of New Braunfels shall, on the grounds of race, color and national origin be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity it administers.

Employment: City of New Braunfels 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: City of New Braunfels 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 of New Braunfels’s 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.

Requests for Effective Communication: 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 of City of New Braunfels should contact the City of New Braunfels, at (830) 221 – 4275 or tci@newbraunfels.gov as soon as possible but no later than 72 hours before the scheduled event.

Modifications to Policies and Procedures: City of New Braunfels 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 of New Braunfels offices, even where pets are generally prohibited.

City of New Braunfels 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.

The ADA does not require the City of New Braunfels to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services or impose an undue financial or administrative burden. 

Contact Us

  1. Scott McClelland (ADA Coordinator)

    Email
    Phone: (830) 221-4248

    Address:

    550 Landa Street  New Braunfels, TX 78130


Faust Street Bridge1

Resources

ADA Transition Plan

New Braunfels ADA Transition Plan Summary


Introduction

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that public agencies maintain an ADA  Self Evaluation and Transition Plan which lists physical barriers to access and communicates a plan for improving accessibility.

ADA Transition Plan Need and Purpose

The City of New Braunfels is committed to inclusion, non-discrimination, barrier removal and accessibility. ADA requirements for the City of New Braunfels include the following:

  • Evaluate programs, services, activities, communication and right-of way per the ADA
  • Identify physical and other barriers that may limit access to programs and services
  • Propose potential compliance solutions
  • Determine estimated cost and the responsible party to implement solutions
  • Develop a time schedule for implementation
  • Maintain the Transition Plan for public inspection for three years

Plan Progress

In 2019, the City selected a civil engineering consultant to begin the process of creating a Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan.

Phase I of the Transition Plan conducted self-evaluation through the following steps:

  • Data collection, beginning with public facilities and parks:
    • Hinman Island Park
    • Prince Solms Park
    • Civic Convention Center
    • Downtown Plaza & Bandstand
    • Public Library
    • Westside Community Center
  • Summary of findings from department surveys
  • Review of citizen inquiries for non-compliant sidewalk
  • Meetings to engage with community members

In 2020, New Braunfels conducted an inventory of pedestrian facilities within its public right-of-way consisting of the evaluation of the following facilities:

  • 42 miles of sidewalks (approximately 15% of total system)
  • 818 curb ramps (approximately 21% of total system)
  • 28 signal push buttons

The City has improved ADA policy compliance through creation of a grievance procedure and designation of an ADA Coordinator.

Next Steps

Self-evaluation and outreach efforts will continue until completion of the plan. An effort to inspect all 2023 Bond projects was implemented in Summer 2023. The final ADA Transition Plan is anticipated in 2026.