APR 16 1996

The Honorable Mitch McConnell

United States Senator
601 West Broadway
Room 630
Louisville, Kentucky 40202

Dear Senator McConnell:

I am responding to your recent letter on behalf of your

constituent, Mr. XX , Florence, Kentucky.
Mr. XX filed a complaint with the Department of Justice
alleging violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
by the City of Florence for failure to pass an ordinance
requiring the removal of snow from sidewalks by property owners.
Please excuse our delay in responding.

Under title II of the ADA, State and local governments are

required to ensure that their programs, services, and activities
are accessible to individuals with disabilities. To the extent
that accessible sidewalks are required to be provided in order to
satisfy that obligation, those required sidewalks must be
maintained in operable condition. Temporary interruptions in
accessibility, such as those caused by snow, generally do not
constitute violations of title II, however, unless they persist
beyond a reasonable period of time. Notably, only those
sidewalks that are required by the ADA to be accessible and that
are within the control of the city will be required to be
maintained by the city.

To the extent that a public entity provides snow removal

services, title II requires those services to be provided in a
non-discriminatory manner. However, sidewalk snow removal by
private property owners is private action not covered by the
title II absent some substantial involvement by the public
entity. The ADA, therefore, does not generally require local
governments to pass ordinances compelling property owners to
remove snow from sidewalks.

cc: Records, Chrono, Wodatch, McDowney, Talian, FOIA

n:\udd\talian\congress\mcc XX \sc. young-parran
01-04217
 -2-

To the extent that sidewalks lead to places of public

accommodation covered by title III of the ADA, however, the
private owners of such places of public accommodation may have
obligations to maintain them under title III. If a sidewalk is
required to be accessible under title III and if the abutting
place of public accommodation exercises control over the
sidewalk, the place of public accommodation may be required to
maintain the sidewalk in operable condition. As under title II,
temporary interruptions because of snow are permissible under
title III unless they persist beyond a reasonable period of time.

Enclosed are copies of our Department's ADA Title II and

Title III Technical Assistance Manuals, which may further assist
Mr. XX in understanding the obligations of entities covered
by the ADA. I hope this information is useful in responding to
your constituent's inquiry.

Sincerely,

Deval L. Patrick
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division
Enclosures
01-04218
​ United States Senate
WASHINGTON, DC 20510-1702
(202) 224-2541

January 17, 1996

Mr. Kent Markus

Asst. Attorney General
Dept.Of Justice/Office of Leg.Affairs
Main Justice Building, Room 1145
10th & Constitution Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Mr. Markus:

This letter is in reference to XX . He contacted my office regarding his

discrimination complaint form filed under Title II of the Americans with
Disabilities Act.
For your convenient reference, I have enclosed a copy of his correspondence.

Since I want to be responsive to all constituent inquiries, your prompt

consideration, findings and views concerning the enclosed will be greatly
appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Please send your response to my state office. The address is 601 West
Broadway, Room 630, Louisville, Kentucky 40202. It should be sent to the
attention of Beth D. Kinnaman. She can be reached at (502) 582-6304 for
further information.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Sincerely,

MITCH McCONNELL
UNITED STATES SENATOR

MM/bdk
01-04219

Dec. 8, 1995

Senator Mitch McConnell

1885 Dixie Highway
Ft. Wright, KY 41011

XX

Dear Sen. McConnell;

I filed a complaint with the Department Of Justice, Civil

Rights Division. This was done about 4 months ago. To date
I have heard nothing.

The complaint was about snow removal in Florence. I do

not think the city is being fair to persons with a disability
The complaint goes into full details.

Thank you for your help in this matter.

Thank you;

XX
01-04220