"Can I borrow a cup of sugar Tom Bohannon?"

Did anyone read the El Paso Times story on the city council agenda item coming up for consideration Tuesday on developers wanting to change building code and the disabled community's opposition?

I wouldn't have, as I don't read the EP Times- can't even get it delivered properly to my home, let alone their "investigative reporting" is quite lacking.

But a friend of mine called and told me about it so I looked it up online.

The EP Times wrote that Victor Torres, development services director, stated "he met with developers and that the 5% rule was one area identified as a barrier to building more apartments"

WHY DIDN'T VICTOR TORRES MEET WITH ANYONE FROM THE ELDERLY/DISABLED COMMUNITY AND GET THEIR SIDE? I'm sure ADAPT/Pact would have welcomed him in a discussion on accessible housing, let alone senior centers, Volar, Project Bravo etal.

The EP Times further writes "Under the city's existing ordinance, 5% of all ground floor apartments must offer roll-in showers for handicapped accessibility." said Bill Bennett, a city coordinator"

BILL BENNETT IS NOT JUST A NON-DESCRIPT CITY COORDINATOR AS STATED BY THE EP TIMES- BILL BENNETT IS THE ADA COORDINATOR!!!!! That's Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator. Hello?

"Apartment developer Tom Bohannon said there was not enough demand for the 5% rule to make sense.""Bohannon Development Corp. owns and manages 1,000 apartment units in El Paso. Of those, he said 50 are fully-equipped for disabled people, as required by city law, and 390 can easily be converted for that use." "Of those 440 units, I have 1 person in a wheelchair" he said."

SEE HOW TOM BOHANNON LIKES TO USE NUMBERS TO WORK IN HIS FAVOR??? REMEMBER- I WENT TO LOOK AT HIS APARTMENTS AT THE POINTE AND WAS TOLD THERE WERE NO HANDICAP ACCESSIBLE UNITS AVAILABLE AND NO ONE EVER OFFERED TO CONVERT ONE FOR ME!!!! TOM BOHANNON ONLY HAS 1 PERSON IN A WHEELCHAIR IN ALL HIS 1,000 APARTMENTS???? WHY DOESN'T TOM BOHANNON WANT PEOPLE IN WHEELCHAIRS IN HIS UNITS??? WHAT DOES HE HAVE AGAINST THE DISABLED???? DOES THAT INCREASE HIS INSURANCE? OR ARE THE DISABLED A BLIGHT IN HIS EYES?

"Bohannon says it's tough to rent disabled-accessible units to non-disabled residents. He has to offer discounts to fill them up".

THIS STATEMENT SHOULD OUTRAGE US ALL!!! NOT ONLY IS BOHANNON NOT TRYING TO RENT THESE UNITS TO DISABLED PERSONS- HE WOULD RATHER GIVE A NON-DISABLED PERSON A DISCOUNT FOR LIVING IN AN ACCESSIBLE APARTMENT THAN RENT IT TO THE PEOPLE WHOSE USE IT IS INTENDED!!!! THIS IS WALKING A VERY FINE LINE OF DISCRIMINATION!!!

Now, not all disabled persons are in wheelchairs. Some are heart patients, the elderly with balance and other health issues, or any other disability that may not be apparent just from looking at the outside of a person. But Bohannon brought up wheelchairs for some reason. Is that how he compartmentalizes disabled persons? I already got into the argument in another post about affordability- but this looks more and more like not advertising to the disabled/elderly community and I can only come to the opinion that it is because he doesn't want to rent to that sector of our community. For whatever reasons- financial, personal, I don't know.

Either way- there is a need for accessible housing, and done in a fair way. Normally I'd say boycott the guy that doesn't want the disabled community in his apartments- but in this case I say to my disabled and elderly brothers and sisters- get your pens ready and let's all go apply for an apartment with Bohannon!!! Let's be his neighbor and long-term!!! Let's look him in the face everyday and say "I am here and I'm not going anywhere soon and can I borrow a cup of sugar?"

And ask him for a discount because we don't like the aesthetics of his accessible units.