The Arizona Republic
The predicament surrounding Apache ASL Trails, an apartment community in Tempe designed specifically to accommodate the needs of deaf people, can be comprehended only by continually reminding yourself of the following:
If you accept money from the federal government to build something, you should expect to have to abide by federal rules.
But even that does not adequately address the quandary of Apache ASL Trails, because similar apartment complexes built elsewhere around the country have not endured anywhere near this level of scrutiny from the feds. In so many ways, the federal complaints regarding this apartment complex are simply mystifying.
The “ASL” in Apache ASL Trails stands for American Sign Language. The $16 million, 75-unit complex is designed to attract deaf people. It has lights that are color-coded to alert people who cannot hear that, say, someone is at the door. Or a phone is ringing. It has an intricate system of video monitors that allow residents to communicate via sign language. It is designed to eliminate sight barriers.
It is, in short, a residence designed for the hearing-impaired. And word is getting out: 90 percent of residents at Apache ASL Trails are deaf or hearing-impaired, and many of them have moved to the complex from other states precisely because it is so accommodating.
Unfortunately, it is precisely that popularity that appears to have attracted federal disapproval.
