Complaint about ADA access appears to be dead
BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

PHOTO BY KATHY BARATTA The clubhouse at The Village Grande at Battleground adult community in Manalapan is at the heart of a complaint made by a resident who decries the fact that the facility is not easily accessible to people with disabilities.

MANALAPAN - A recent complaint made by a homeowner who alleged construction violations at his adult community clubhouse has been found by officials to be without merit.

Ken Gesser, a resident of The Village Grande at Battleground, off old Route 33 near Millhurst Road, claimed that the clubhouse built there for the age-restricted community was not constructed in compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and was therefore in violation of the federal act.

The ADA forbids discrimination against people who are disabled. Part of the law addresses how public places must be made accessible to people with disabilities.

Gesser said that when he contacted the builder, D.R. Horton, regarding the fact that the clubhouse's entrance is not accessible to individuals with handicaps because it does not have an automatic door, the builder's representatives told him the clubhouse is considered to be a private facility that does not have to conform to the requirements of the ADA.

Manalapan construction official Richard Hogan said he researched the matter and determined that the builder is not in violation of any act.

"Our review of the complaint is that the complaint is baseless. The building complies with the barrier-free subcode of the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code. The facility is not open to the general public, but only to residents and their guests, and we believe it complies," Hogan told the News Transcript.

Hogan said even though the clubhouse may be rented by residents for private parties and visited by guests from outside the community, that does not constitute a public use of the facility.

Gesser contended that because residents who want to reach the community's pool can only get to the pool area by going through the clubhouse, the entrance should be equipped with an automatic door.

He said he found it unacceptable that a building constructed for an over-55 adult community does not feature handicap-accessibility. According to Gesser, besides being the only way of entry to the community pool, the clubhouse has an exercise room and a community room where events that are open to the residents are held.

Attorney Jay Goldberg, who represents D.R. Horton, said Monday, "We built the building in compliance with all applicable building codes."

Chris Donnelly, a spokesman for the state Department of Community Affairs concurred with Hogan's assessment of the situation. According to Donnelly, the only requirement governing the clubhouse's construction is that it comply with the barrier-free subcode of the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code, which Hogan contends it does.