Proposed Pilot Program Could Reduce Fees for Veterans Home Modifications

Disabled veterans who need to modify their homes are could be getting a boost from the city of San Diego if Councilman Chris Cate gets his way.

Cate is proposing a pilot program to make it less expensive for veterans to make changes to their homes to make it easier for them to get around.

Ramps, such as the one outside of Clarke Young's home, help him and his disabled wife, Sarah, get her wheelchair into their home. Young served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.

He is one of the estimated nearly 240,000 veterans living in the county. Many disabled veterans such as Young need to make modifications to their homes to help them get around, such as plumbing or electrical improvements, chairlifts and wheelchair ramps.

Some also need to widen hallways and doorways to get around. Few, however, can afford it.

To address this issue, in 2017 Gov. Jerry Brown signed into a law a bill that would waive or reduce permit costs for these type of modifications. Cate would like the city of San Diego to further reduce these costs.

In a memorandum dated Thursday, Cate is urging the city to adopt a pilot program that would waive fees up to $1,000.

"That is the cost of making sure that ADA appliances could be put in kitchens it could be added to the cost of a ramp that needs to be installed,” NOLAH executive director Bari Vaz said. “It's going to be extremely beneficial."

NOLAH is a nonprofit that helps disabled veterans stay in their homes by making these types of modifications.

Young is hopeful the pilot program will help the nearly 35,000 disabled veterans gain the mobility they need.

"It gives them a chance to live a more normal life,” he said. “And maybe by living a more normal life they'll heal faster or feel better, they’ll feel stronger.”

If approved by the City Council, the pilot program will be available to the nearly 35,000 disabled veterans San Diego.

A spokeswoman for Cate’s office said approval for the pilot program could take as long as next summer but, by issuing the memorandum, he is getting the process started.