A restaurant in Wallingford will undergo major renovations to make it more accessible for people with disabilities, officials said.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Ives Road LLC, the owner of the building at 20 Ives Road that currently houses the Pacific Buffet & Grill restaurant, has entered into a settlement agreement to resolve allegations that the building’s parking lot does not comply with standards set forth in the Americans with Disabilities Act.
An individual filed a complaint with the Department of Justice alleging that the restaurant did not have adequate parking spaces, and after an investigation, officials found multiple ADA violations in Pacific Buffet’s parking lot and entrances.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Ives Road has agreed to make modifications to its building’s entrance and parking lot to make them more accessible to people with disabilities. The modifications requested in the agreement include Ives Road adding three handicapped spaces to its parking lot and eliminating gaps in the pavement around the handicapped parking spaces. It will also make the entrance more accessible by reducing the pressure required to open the front door and increasing the maneuvering space at the front door. Ives Road has a total of three months to complete these modifications.
“No one in our state should have to worry about not being able to find a handicapped parking spot,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa Avery. “ADA requirements have been in place for over a decade, and I want to commend Ives Road for doing the right thing by cooperating with our investigation and agreeing to make Pacific Buffet more accessible to everyone going forward.”
The Department of Justice encourages members of the public who wish to file a complaint regarding the ADA to contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office at 203-821-3700 and ask to speak to a Civil Rights Specialist. For additional information regarding the ADA, visit www.ada.gov or call the Department of Justice’s toll-free information lines at (800) 514-0301 and (800) 514-0383 (TTY). More information about the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces can be found at www.justice.gov/crt.
Stephen Underwood can be reached at [email protected]