Thursday, March 13, 2008
County, bank battle over height of counter
HomeTown Bank officials hope a deal can be reached this week on new bank construction.
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HomeTown Bank officials call it good policy and customer service to provide a private room for wheelchair-using customers of its soon-to-open branch.
But Roanoke County building officials say carrying out such a plan would constitute discrimination.
Twice in the past nine months, Roanoke County has told the bank that one of its teller windows needs to be lower than 36 inches to accommodate customers in wheelchairs.
Citing safety concerns, the bank has repeatedly requested that the entire teller counter of the new branch at Electric Road and Colonial Avenue be at a height of 40 inches.
Officials from the bank and county were supposed to work it out today in front of the Board of Building and Fire Code Appeals.
But HomeTown Bank withdrew its appeal Wednesday. President and Chief Executive Officer William Clark said he hopes the two sides will be able to reach a compromise as soon as this week. The bank is scheduled to open April 12.
As the bank changed its plans for an appeal hearing, a local advocacy group also changed its stance -- withdrawing support for the bank's proposal.
Roanoke County originally rejected the bank's building plans June 26, saying the teller counter was not acceptable by the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the International Building Code.
Two days later, county officials said the bank's plan to serve disabled customers in another area of the branch was also unacceptable.
The bank's architect asked in July that the building permit be issued anyway so construction could start on time, and the county approved the plan and issued a permit Aug. 1, subject to the required changes being made.
On Feb. 18, Roanoke County received another request for modification, once again looking to alter the counter-height requirement. Building officials quickly denied the request, leading the bank to request an appeal hearing.
Roanoke County officials say that this is the first time a bank has battled the code since they began strictly enforcing it in 1997.
Another nearby new bank, the FNB Corp. branch at 2133 Electric Road, has one teller window lower than the others. The entire teller counter of First Market Bank, which is building a new branch a short distance away from HomeTown's on Electric Road, will be at the low position.
But Clark said a lower teller window at HomeTown Bank would allow potential robbers easier access and would pose a safety concern to employees and customers alike.
"It is definitely not our intent to violate the ADA, but yet, that is our paramount concern. Not only are we trying to accommodate people [with accessibility concerns] ... we were trying to keep public safety in mind and it seems like a win-win situation to us," said Clark, who said Roanoke County officials have mischaracterized the building code.
Al Hazen, president of the Florida-based National Association for Bank Security, agrees that higher counters are better for bank security.
However, he said, "counter jumper robberies are the minority. Usually robbers come in with a baseball cap, sunglasses and a sweatshirt and will slide a note to the teller without ever going behind the counter."
HomeTown Bank officials argue that the IBC does not require customers with accessibility issues to be served in a connected area to those without accessibility concerns.
Instead of offering a lower teller counter, they want to serve wheelchair users in a separate area of the branch -- in a private room.
"I certainly think a desk in a private room with much more working room is suitable and arguably has superior accessibility and usability as an alternative and should be approved by the County of Roanoke," Clark said in a June letter to building officials.
However, Building Commissioner Joel Baker, in a Feb. 25 letter to the bank's lawyers, said "both the ADA and the IBC are clear in the intent to integrate or 'mainstream' disabled individuals ... Requiring a disabled person to use an alternative service area harkens back to the day of racial segregation and is not an acceptable solution."
Regional experts on accessibility issues also have weighed in on the topic.
Susan Williams, executive director of the LOA Area Agency on Aging, originally called the separate customer service area "reasonable and acceptable" in a letter to the bank backing its plans. The bank's lawyer forwarded the letter to county authorities.
However, on Wednesday, after studying the matter, Williams said she reconsidered her position in light of evidence that lower teller windows are showing up in other new bank branches and in buildings remodeled for branches.
"The county's decision is appropriate," Williams said.
Joann Willis, a rehabilitation engineer with the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services, agreed.
In her own letter to county building officials, she said "a desk in a private office may have 'superior accessibility and usability'; however, it also provides discrimination on the basis of disability by preventing 'full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations.' "
Baker, a bank representative and the bank's architect plan to meet Friday.
"The county has agreed to work with us on resolving this so the hearing has been canceled," Clark said.
Baker said it is unclear if the bank has much negotiating room. However, Baker said he will listen to what he has been told is a new proposal that the bank plans to present.
Staff writer Jeff Sturgeon contributed to this report.
